Secret CIA 'Magic' Manual Reveals Cold War Spy Tricks

[Elmore Furth]

Once classified manuals written in the early '50s by American magician John Mulholland showed magic techniques that could be used by CIA agents.

Complete with illustrations, "The Official C.I.A. Manual of Trickery and Deception" describes a wide range of Mulholland's Houdini-like tricks designed to help spies pull off a number of clandestine operations, such as slipping poison into an enemy's drink or surreptitiously removing documents.

Other magician-historians previously established Mulholland's connection to the CIA and printed portions of his reports – and one, Michael Edwards, said he received full copies of the reports from the CIA in 2003. But the authors say their book is the first to publish the historical documents in their entirety.




Secret CIA 'Magic' Manual Reveals Cold War Spy Tricks