Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
by Tim Weiner
List Price:
Our Price: $10.63
You Save: $6.32 (37%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $5.76 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Tim WeinerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-05-20
ISBN: 0307389006
Number of pages: 848
Publisher: Anchor
Book Reviews of Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
Book Review: A Valuable Piece Of Scholarship.
Summary: 5 Stars
Tim Weiner's "Legacy Of Ashes" is a valuable work of scholarship that dives into the complex history of the CIA and in the process also gives us a valuable set of histories of our country and its role in the world. Some have accused Weiner of being "biased" or promoting some sort of "liberal agenda," this is far from the truth, Weiner is simply processing and creating a narrative culled from thousands of declassified documents and known facts. This is not the latest work from Al Franken or Keith Olbermann, this is a historical document. The reactions a few right-wing reviewers have posted on this page says more about them than about Weiner's work.
Weiner starts from the top, from the early days following World War II when President Truman replaced the OSS with the CIA which he at the time considered to be a more efficient, precise, official form of "newspaper" for the commander and chief to consult to be aware of the state of the world. However it didn't turn out this way, as the history progresses we see how the agency turned more into some sort of militant force that was eventually used more for the purpose of influencing or altering history instead of recording it. In clear, fluid detail, Weiner documents the first laboratories for covert operations that the CIA used, mainly Iran and Guatemala. In Iran the CIA helped the British overthrow the elected government of Mohammed Mossadegh because his nationalization of the country's oil was seen as a grave nationalist threat, the Shah was then re-installed and given military aid for decades. Latin America followed with a coup against the elected government Jacobo Arbenz, who challenged foreign corporate dominance of his country and paid for it with his presidency which was replaced by a brutal military junta. This was only the beginning however, of a longer, sadder story that would extend into countries like Vietnam, Chile and Greece.
"Legacy Of Ashes" has supposedly made headlines with some stunning revelations found in the new documents, but some the histories explored here are already well-known, such as the CIA-backed coup against the elected Allende government in Chile or the botched Bay Of Pigs invasion. What Weiner does so well is put these and lesser-known events in a greater context, he details how ignorance and arrogance have created an intelligence community that puts our security at greater risk. He provides a record of lying and plotting that is a peek into the dark corners of government. Consider the sections on Iran where we learn the CIA had a four-man, FOUR-MAN team in Tehran at the time of the Islamic Revolution, with none of them even speaking Farsi. It turns out CIA operatives failed to foresee the revolution because they were too busy dining with the Shah, the same as in Cuba where CIA agents miscalculated Fidel Castro's popularity because they spent more time indulging in the Batista regime's decadence than actually gathering solid intel on Cuban life, the status of the country and what led to the rise of Castro. This of course then led to lying and deception that guided the U.S. into the disastrous idea of launching an invasion on Cuba at the Bay Of Pigs.
Other revelations in the book are more insideous and intriguing such as the possible connection between the Kennedy White House and the assassination of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, the assassination of president Diem in Vietnam and the many unanswered questions surrounding JFK's own murder, the investigation becoming a further mess because director Richard Helms wanted to keep CIA covert ops in areas such as Cuba away from the public eye. There are also fascinating, disturbing moments of lesser-known history like Richard Nixon receiving thank you funds from the fascist Greek junta the U.S. helped install in 1967.
Weiner goes on the cover some of the CIA's most notorious scandals like Iran-Contra and more importantly, recent intelligence failures that could have contributed to 9/11. "Legacy Of Ashes" covers all this and more in an accessible, very readable and clear style where Weiner compiles a massive amount of information, facts, figures, events, names and dates but never confuses the reader and never muddles the presentation. This is one of the best recent works on the workings of American government and the best book available on the workings of the CIA. Weiner never takes a sensationalist tone and is very professional and objective, he is simply presenting the information as it is and draws conclusions and observations from hard facts, there is never a sense of Weiner theorizing or jumping into unknown territories. Anyone who takes the time to process the information can see clearly why Weiner comes to certain conclusions as to the status of American intelligence services.
"Legacy Of Ashes" is a great record of some 50 years of American history, this is the kind of book Americans should be looking into to understand our past and to better understand where we are now. And Weiner presents it in a way where the average reader can indulge and come away better informed and aware. Reading this you realize the works of authors like Newt Gingrich are just political junk food, here is a vital, important resource.
Summary of Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
With shocking revelations that made headlines in papers across the country, Pulitzer-Prize-winner Tim Weiner gets at the truth behind the CIA and uncovers here why nearly every CIA Director has left the agency in worse shape than when he found it; and how these profound failures jeopardize our national security.20th Century Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in 20th Century Books
Route 66: The Mother Roadby Michael Wallis
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 1992-09-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.85
Sweet and Low: A Family Storyby Rich Cohen
Picador; Published: 2007-03-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.08
Price in other shops:
When We Get to Surf City: A Journey Through America in Pursuit of Rock and Roll, Friendship, and Dreamsby Bob Greene
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2008-05-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.60
Price in other shops:
Gone to Texas: A History of the Lone Star Stateby Randolph B. Campbell
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2003-08-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $155.33
The Dodgers Move Westby Neil Sullivan
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1989-06-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.93
Price in other shops:
American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bushby Kevin Phillips
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2004-09-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.95
Price in other shops:
Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnamby H. R. McMaster
Harper Perennial; Published: 1998-05-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.36
Price in other shops:
My Father the Spy: An Investigative Memoirby John H. Richardson
Harper Perennial; Published: 2006-08-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
My Father the Spy: An Investigative Memoirby John H. Richardson
Harper; Published: 2005-08-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.59
Price in other shops:
A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906by Simon Winchester
PBS; Harper; Published: 2005-10-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.52
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaedaby Robert Wallace, H. Keith Melton, Henry R. Schlesinger
Baker and Taylor; Plume; Published: 2009-05-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.21
Price in other shops:
For the President's Eyes Only: Secret Intelligence and the American Presidency from Washington to Bushby Christopher Andrew
Harper Perennial; Published: 1996-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.29
Price in other shops:
The American Age: United States Foreign Policy at Home and Abroad, Vol. 2: Since 1896by Walter LaFeber
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 1994-02-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $37.86
Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis (2nd Edition)by Graham Allison, Philip Zelikow
Longman; Published: 1999-01-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.95
Price in other shops:
See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorismby Robert Baer
Broadway; Published: 2003-01-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.92
Price in other shops:
American Foreign Policy: Pattern and Processby Eugene R. Wittkopf, Christopher M. Jones, Jr. Charles W. Kegley
Wadsworth Publishing; Published: 2007-01-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $85.51
Price in other shops:
Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraqby Stephen Kinzer
Times Books; Published: 2007-02-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.74
Price in other shops:
The Craft of Intelligence: America's Legendary Spy Master on the Fundamentals of Intelligence Gathering for a Free Worldby Allen W. Dulles
Lyons Press; Published: 2006-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.62
Price in other shops:
Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001by Steve Coll
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2004-12-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.63
Price in other shops:
Enemies: A History of the FBIby Tim Weiner
Random House; Published: 2012-02-14; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.85
Price in other shops: