The spymasters : how the CIA directors shape history and the future / Chris Whipple.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Whipple, Chris, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Central Intelligence Agency.

Employees.

United States. Central Intelligence Agency--History.

United States.

United States. Central Intelligence Agency--Officials and employees.

History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xviii, 377 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First Scribner hardcover edition.

Other Title:

Spy masters : how the CIA directors shape history and the future

How the CIA directors shape history and the future

Place of Publication:

New York : Scribner, 2020.

Summary:

"Only eleven men and one woman are alive today who have made the life-and-death decisions that come with running the world's most powerful and influential intelligence service. With unprecedented, deep access to nearly all these individuals plus several of their predecessors, Chris Whipple tells the story of an agency that answers to the United States president alone, but whose activities--spying, espionage, and covert action--take place on every continent. At pivotal moments, the CIA acts as a brake on rogue presidents, starting in the mid-seventies with DCI Richard Helms's refusal to conceal Richard Nixon's criminality and continuing to the present as the actions of a CIA whistleblower have ignited impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. Since its inception in 1947, the Central Intelligence Agency has been a powerful player on the world stage, operating largely in the shadows to protect American interests. For The Spymasters, Whipple conducted extensive, exclusive interviews with nearly every living CIA director, pulling back the curtain on the world's elite spy agencies and showing how the CIA partners--or clashes--with counterparts in Britain, France, Germany, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Russia. Topics covered in the book include attempts by presidents to use the agency for their own ends; simmering problems in the Middle East and Asia; rogue nuclear threats; and cyberwarfare"-- Amazon.com.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. "Stay the hell away from the whole damned thing." / Richard Nixon

2. "You know he's one of them, don't you?." / Gerald Ford

3. "We were just plain asleep." / Jimmy Carter

4. "That's the most frightening thing I've ever heard." / Ronald Reagan

5. "Never go home at night without wondering where the mole is." / George H. W. Bush

6. "A jungle full of poisonous snakes." / Bill Clinton

7. "They're coming here." / George W. Bush

8. "It's a slam dunk." / George W. Bush

9. "He died quickly." / George W. Bush

10. "You just have to hope that ultimately God agrees with you." / Barack Obama

11. "Everyone thinks this stuff is easy. None of this stuff is easy." / Barack Obama

12. "I would like you to do us a favor though." / Donald Trump.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 339-356) and index.

ISBN:

1982106409

9781982106409

OCLC:

1105951227