This story deals with a succession of events in the evolution of an intelligence operative from his recruitment, training and final insertion into a host or target country. It monitors a candidate from the lowest beginning in the military to the final end product, a well-trained espionage operative. It is an account of the tedious and exhaustive, yet routine, attention to detail and the leaving of a minimum to chance in the making or breaking of an operative. It delves into the practice of espionage at the grass-roots level, the day-today activities of the intelligence operative in-place and functioning. The world powers are currently thinking in terms of ten to twenty year assignments for their intelligence gathering people - ergo, a flawless command of one or more foreign languages, the possession of extensive background information and a primary marketable skill are mandatory. Previously it was generally accepted by members of American Military Intelligence that the training for an operative required not less than two years before that operative arrived in-country. It was likewise believed that in-country seasoning of cover required, at a minimum, an additional two years before the operative could become operational. Based on world-wide trends and practices these estimates have been drastically and realistically revised upward. Melting the Ice Road James Prentiss Hooper | Melting The Ice Road by James Prentiss Hooper, Paperback | Indigo Chapters