William Bertram MacFarland

My name is William Bertram MacFarland (more familiarly known in government circles as Bertie Mac). I am a Patriot, a Soldier, a Spy and an Assassin. My life has turned out to be totally different from the one which I envisioned for myself when I was an undergraduate majoring in both math and nuclear physics at Duke University in the United States.

Towards the end of my Junior year at Duke, I was approached in the Dean's office by a Mr. Smith who, after the Dean had left us alone in his own office, confided that he worked for the CIA and offered me a no-obligation summer's pre-employment introductory program in Washington to see if they liked me and I liked them. With all expenses paid, free room and board and a generous spending allowance, I thought it was a great idea and accepted.

Although it was a considerably more rigorous "getting to know you" program than I had anticipated, I found it interesting and informative - and thought-provoking. When I graduated with honors the next year with both my degrees and also as a newly commissioned U.S. Army lieutenant (ROTC program at Duke), I joined the CIA.

My first book - Back Channel: The Kennedy Years - pretty much takes it from there. It describes the intensive training (both military and CIA), language training, and my fateful first assignment as a "State Department Courier" for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Swapped by the Embassy (with the concurrence of the CIA) for one of State's employees being held by the dreaded KGB, I was hauled off to the notorious Moscow KGB Lubyanka prison and was close to death after weeks of torture when I was clandestinely released to two high-ranking Soviet military officials who were aware of the Soviet Union's plan to install nuclear missiles in Cuba and wanted to do what they could to avoid a possible nuclear war. I was given a message to be given personally to President Kennedy and turned over to the American Embassy in Helsinki. Via these two Generals, I became the White House back channel to Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Starting with Kennedy, I have been a Special Assistant to the President for eight more Presidents. As a result, I have been privy to and part of some of the most secret things our government has engaged in from Kennedy onwards and I think that most people will find some of it truly shocking. I believe that if more of the American people had knowledge of some of the decisions that were taken in their name, more people would become involved and interested in governmental transparency. Although my first book is a rollicking good story in and of itself (some people have compared it to a James Bond or Jason Bourne novel), it is meticulously documented with some 72 pages in the Appendices - many containing photocopies of the actual Top Secret documents (now declassified) referred to in the text. (Incidentally, if you download the Kindle edition of Book 1, the Appendices are not included. Not to worry, you can find them at www.bertiemacdocs.com). You can't fake this stuff.

Although I have made it clear in the prologue that because I have deliberately changed some of the names, dates and places used in the text to protect still living "assets," this book and all the ones that will follow have to be classified as "historical fiction," you can decide for yourself. You can Google almost everything.

Step behind the curtain and see what life in the White House, Defense Department, and our various intelligence agencies is really like. If you are an American reader, it's your history. If you are a Vietnamese reader, Book 2 - Back Channel: The Vietnam Betrayal - will explain a whole lot about why the American/Vietnam war/invasion happened. In addition to learning interesting stuff, you'll have a lot of fun on the way. You definitely won't be bored.