I was initially interested in this book because I do enjoy historical biographies and love a good story of survival. This book details the life of John "Jack" Downey, America's longest held POW. I went in expecting a biography and while you do get a great deal of information about John, I would say this is more of a history of the Cold War that incorporates Downey's story. I thoroughly enjoyed the parts with regards to Downey's life, but I found the historical background incredibly tedious at times. That said, if you are a fan of history and are looking to learn about the Cold War, especially with regards to China, then this is a great book for you. Werth obviously did his research, and Downey's story is compelling. However, if you prefer a simple biography, you might want to look elsewhere.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book

Wow - a fascinating read about the life of Jack Downey. Downey was a CIA officer who was captured in China during the Korean War and held as a prisoner of war for 21 years. Downey's story deserves to be told, and I feel privileged to have read this book. I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.

This work of nonfiction recounts the scary fate of ex-CIA member Jack Downey, who was captured by the Chinese during a covert operation of the early Cold War. Downey remained imprisoned for over twenty years, having fallen between the cracks of various political agendas.

I liked this book for the excellent research and writing. The author knows how to tell a good story.

But that's also where it ends for me. Apart from the book being unnecessarily long, I was turned off by the countless sexualized mentions of women in Downey's life or his surroundings. At one point it was necessary to include that a postcard with “two bare-breasted Intuit women” was bought, though completely irrelevant to the story. There's mention of trips to “whorehouses”, of “booze, broads, and butts”, of womanizers, and somehow the author felt it necessary to describe the different wives of politicians that weren't at all part of the story. I will stop here because I don't want to quote any text from my Advance Reader's Copy before it's final.

The author also chose to intersperse political history with Downey's life story. To some degree this was enjoyable and provided important background, but it got too detailed and tedious, making me almost want to skip those portions. It just seems that this very detailed life story in addition to the history of the Cold War is too much to pack into a book like this.

In summary, this is a well written but very “male” read - glorifying, sexualizing, and then some. I'm a little surprised we still publish such things these days.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the Advance Reader's Copy!

Thank you to Netgalley and Barry Werth for allowing me to read this book.
This book covers the life of Jack Downey a Yale graduate and prisoner of war.
The first part covers his life growing up and his background and various family members. It was very detailed and covered not only him growing up but also his ancestors how they arrived in the Northeast of the United States the various industries that they worked in. As with each section of this book it's very detailed. I believe this section is also the first time that it's mentioned that he was also related to the shock radio host Morton Downey junior This section also includes his time at Yale.

The second part of the book covers his recruitment by the CIA and his ill-fated flight into mainland China and his capture by communist China. At this point the book is very heavy in details of politics perhaps leaning a little towards the democrats but showing both the failures of the democrats and the republicans in efforts to get Jack Downey released. This section literally covers 5 American presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and their administration's efforts to get Downey and other prisoners released. This section literally covers everything that was going on in the world, to the cold war, to the Mao Communist China. This is a section that really bogged down for me there were way too many details way, too many political details, way too much outside information that really had nothing to do with Jack Downey in his situation.
The last part of the book basically covered his release after he was released and what he made of his life from his political aspirations to his judgeship and it even went into a very detailed court case that he oversaw as a family court judge which I thought was odd to pinpoint that specific case. The section also went into Morton Downey junior's life briefly and his rise to the top.
This book for me was way too detailed, way too history focused and it really kind of lost me and to be honest the book is only 400 some pages and I thought it was like a 800 page novel because it just seemed to drag for so long.
I really think some editing could help this book move along a little bit quicker. The topic itself is fascinating and learning about his time as a prisoner was a great part of the book and was very good.

“Prisoner of Lies” tells the real-life story of CIA officer John Downey, Jr.’s decades-long imprisonment in mainland China. It is an excellent choice for readers interested in late-20th-century American History, U.S.–China relations, The CIA, and/or what it was like serving a life sentence in communist China having been convicted of espionage.

Author Barry Werth begins the tale by introducing us to Jack Downey, a middle-class kid from Wallingford, Connecticut whose life and family were turned upside down due to the sudden death of his hard-working and successful father. Nevertheless, Jack manages to work his way through, and earn everyone’s respect and admiration at, Choate and then Yale, where during his final semester he is recruited by the CIA.

The year is 1952. The Korean War rages. Harry Truman is nearing the end of his presidency. The CIA sends Jack to Japan as part of a program to support anti-Communists inside communist China. During a flight into the mainland to retrieve an agency operative, Jack’s plane is shot down and he is captured by the Chinese. Thus begins his 21-year ordeal. At first, and for months, he resists Chinese interrogation efforts to give the agency time to bring endangered assets to safety. When he finally does confess, he is tried, convicted, and sentenced to life.

Mr. Werth recounts the story of Downey’s incarceration through five American presidencies. Not only does he describe Downey’s day-to-day existence, and how he coped with prison, he also details the efforts undertaken by the Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations to secure Downey’s release, as well as how a wide variety of global events affected those efforts. For example, Werth covers American attitudes and policies toward Communism, relations between Stalin’s and Mao’s governments, Stalin’s death and Khrushchev’s ascension, China’s “Long March” and “Cultural Revolution,” the Korean and Viet Nam wars, the Cuban crises, the Kennedy assassination, the “Pueblo Incident,” and CIA’s internal policies, politics, and transformations, just to mention a few.

The final third of the book covers Downey’s release and return to the United States and the career and life he was finally able to build for himself after two decades of denial—a life that included marriage and children, law school and practice, politics, public service, and a judgeship. It continues to examine Downey’s life against the backdrop of events within and outside the United States and even contrasts Jack’s life with the life of Jack’s first cousin, one of the first practitioners of so-called “Trash-TV,” Morton Downey, Jr.

One caveat: Politically, Mr. Werth seems more in tune with Democrats/Progressives than he does with Republicans/Conservatives. He doesn’t seem extreme in his beliefs. He doesn’t hector from a soap box. And he’s pretty balanced in terms of pointing out the failings of both Republican and Democrat administrations. So, while I found some of his political positions noticeable, I wasn’t bothered by them. Others may feel differently.

In sum, Mr. Werth has given us a well-researched, well-written examination of a very good man required to endure a very trying time far from family, friends, and home, only to return to lead a quiet yet effective life of service. Kudos to Mr. Werth, and most especially to John Downey, Jr., for an inspiring tale very well told.

My thanks to NetGalley, author Barry Werth, and publisher Simon and Schuster for providing me with a complimentary ARC. This review consists solely of my independent opinions.

Excellent history book about America's cold war with China and one American man's experience as a prisoner
I went into this book really to learn about Jack Downey's life and experience of being a prisoner, especially the aftermath.
I was looking for a biography and this book is really a history of the Cold War, especially regarding China.
He was the longest imprisoned American PQW ever, 21 years, basically because of stupid American policies. A true pawn of the cold war.
The biography part was great, but I really wanted to know to know in detail what is it like leaving American in the early 50s and to come back in the 70s. The changes must have been stunning, but this book doesn't really go that deep into Downey's post prisoner life.
Not really the book I was looking for, but an exhaustive report of the cold war with Asian and the terrible policies that kept Downey in prison for 21 years.

To be honest, I did not know about John Downey, Jr. until I read this book. It’s utterly heartbreaking that a young man sacrificed so many years of his wife in order to serve his country. The author did an incredible job for all of us can know the story of John. John was imprisoned for twenty-one years in China. It is time we all know his name and his story. A must-read for anyone wanting to know more about U.S. history.


Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for sending me an ARC in exchange of an honest review of the book received.

This was an excellent book. I had heard of this man, but I didn't know much about him or his ordeal. This author took the trouble to ensure I knew what happened and why.