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

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Scribner, 2020Edition: First Scribner hardcover editionDescription: xviii, 377 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 1982106409
  • 9781982106409
Subject(s):
Contents:
Introduction: "There's something going on." -- "Stay the hell away from the whole damned thing" Richard Helms, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon -- "You know he's one of them, don't you?" James Schlesinger, William Colby, and Gerald Ford -- "We were just plain asleep" George H.W. Bush, Stansfield Turner, and Jimmy Carter -- "That's the most frightening thing I've ever heard" William Casy and Ronald Reagan -- "Never go home at night without wondering where the mole is" William Webster, Robert Gates, and George H.W. Bush -- "A jungle full of poisonous snakes" James Woolsey, John Deutch, and Bill Clinton -- "They're coming here" George Tenet, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush -- "It's a slam dunk" George Tenet and George W. Bush -- "He died quickly" Porter Goss, Michael Hayden, and George W. Bush -- "You just have to hope that ultimately God agrees with you" Leon Panetta and Barack Obama -- "Everyone thinks this stuff is easy. None of this stuff is easy" David Petraeus, John Brennan, and Barack Obama -- "I would like you to do us a favor though" Mike Pompeo, Gina Haspel, and Donald Trump.
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.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 327.1273 W573 Available 33111010399299
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Gatekeepers , a remarkable, behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to run the world's most powerful intelligence agency, and how the CIA is often a crucial counterforce against presidents threatening to overstep the powers of their office.

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.

A revelatory, behind-the-scenes look, The Spymasters recounts seven decades of CIA activity and elicits predictions about the issues--and threats--that will engage the attention of future operatives and analysts. Including eye-opening interviews with George Tenet, John Brennan, Leon Panetta, and David Petraeus, as well as those who've just recently departed the agency, this is a timely, essential, and important contribution to current events.

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

Introduction: "There's something going on." -- "Stay the hell away from the whole damned thing" Richard Helms, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon -- "You know he's one of them, don't you?" James Schlesinger, William Colby, and Gerald Ford -- "We were just plain asleep" George H.W. Bush, Stansfield Turner, and Jimmy Carter -- "That's the most frightening thing I've ever heard" William Casy and Ronald Reagan -- "Never go home at night without wondering where the mole is" William Webster, Robert Gates, and George H.W. Bush -- "A jungle full of poisonous snakes" James Woolsey, John Deutch, and Bill Clinton -- "They're coming here" George Tenet, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush -- "It's a slam dunk" George Tenet and George W. Bush -- "He died quickly" Porter Goss, Michael Hayden, and George W. Bush -- "You just have to hope that ultimately God agrees with you" Leon Panetta and Barack Obama -- "Everyone thinks this stuff is easy. None of this stuff is easy" David Petraeus, John Brennan, and Barack Obama -- "I would like you to do us a favor though" Mike Pompeo, Gina Haspel, and Donald Trump.

"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.

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