Jack Downey's Cold War

John (Jack) Downey, Jr., was a new Yale graduate in the post-World War II years who, like other Yale grads, was recruited by the young CIA. He joined the Agency and was sent to Japan in 1952, during the Korean War. In a violation of protocol, he took part in an air drop that failed and was captured over China. His sources on the ground had been compromised, and his identity was known. Although he first tried to deny who he was, he eventually admitted the truth.

But government policy forbade ever acknowledging the identity of spies, no

matter the consequences. Washington invented a fictitious cover story and stood by it through four Administrations. As a result, Downey was imprisoned during the decades that Red China, as it was called, was considered by the US to be a hostile nation, until 1973, when the US finally recognized the mainland Chinese government. He had spent twenty-one years in captivity.

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Downey would go on to become a lawyer and an esteemed judge in Connecticut, his home state. Prisoner of Lies is based in part on a prison memoir that Downey wrote several years after his release. Barry Werth fluently weaves excerpts from the memoir with the Cold War events that determined Downey’s fate. Like a le Carré novel, this is a harrowing, chilling story of one man whose life is at the mercy of larger forces outside of his control; in Downey’s case as a pawn of the Cold War, and more specifically the Oval Office and the State Department. His freedom came only when US foreign policy dramatically changed. Above all, Prisoner of Lies is an inspiring story of remarkable fortitude and resilience.

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Praise for Prisoner of Lies:

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“A tale of resilience in the face of almost unthinkable misfortune…Barry Werth’s thoughtful and engaging narrative of Downey’s life and captivity gallops along from Downey’s school days in the 1940s all the way through the rise of Donald Trump as a public figure in the 1980s. Werth is an elegant writer, and a virtue of this book is that it situates Downey’s personal drama in the context of his times which stretch across the American Century and beyond.”

–The New York Times

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“Riveting…the CIA’s Rip Van Winkle…more than a hero of American spycraft,

Downey was its martyr.”

–The Economist

“Gripping…A thrilling spy story and informative Cold War exploration.”

–Kirkus (starred review)

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“Riveting…a robust look at the Cold War’s perpetual limbo through the prism of one spy’s harrowing ordeal.”

–Publishers Weekly

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“This long overdue book cuts through the web of deceit that shaped one of the most dramatic and secret episodes of the Cold War. Written with restrained outrage, it is both the story of one remarkable CIA officer and of the government that abandoned him. Thrilling, richly informative, and infuriating.”

–Stephen Kinzer

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“In this real-life spy thriller, a brave young American survives the cruelty of both sides in the Cold War. Jack Downey is the resilient hero of this astonishing saga, told by a writer in full command of his material. You will not soon forget this shocking tale.”

–Kati Marton

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“All countries lie and all countries spy. But for a while in the dead middle of the 20th century the United States pretended that it was different, and the young CIA recruit Jack Downey became the victim of the truths his country refused to tell. Barry Werth’s wonderful new book is a real-life page-turner, a history of the Cold War, a study in stoic heroism, and a profound tale of forgiveness and rebirth.”

–Michael Gorra

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“In Barry Werth, Downey’s story has found the perfect writer; thorough, fair,

insightful, and most of all empathetic. This is an important book.”

–Daniel Okrent