The Hidden Hand: A Brief History of the CIA

ISBN-13: 9781444351378 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 264 str.

Richard H. Immerman

Opis

The Hidden Hand is a succinct accessible and up-to-date survey of the Central Intelligence Agency's history from its inception in 1947 to the present.

• Covers both aspects of the CIA's mission - the collection and analysis of intelligence and the execution of foreign policy through covert, paramilitary operations
• De-mythologizes the CIA's role in America's global affairs while addressing its place within American political and popular culture
• Written by an esteemed scholar and high-ranking officer in the intelligence community, drawing on the latest research
• Assesses the agency's successes and failures, with an eye to the complex and controversial nature of the subject

This is an accessible history of the Central Intelligence Agency that takes the reader from its early days of intelligence gathering and analysis to its more recent execution of foreign policy by covert operations. In manageable chapters and easy–to–digest prose, it covers all aspects of the CIA from its mission to its performance to its record.

Recenzje

I highly recommend Immerman s history as a corrective.   (Journal of American History, 3 January 2016)

"Written in clear terms with excellent summaries of complex events, The Hidden Hand makes a mass of history and bureaucratic strife manageable to newcomers of the subject. ...The redactions in this volume serve as an introduction for would–be scholars to the risks of researching so close to the circles of power and authority."  (Intelligence and National Security, 6 February 2015)

Richard H. Immerman, who teaches the history of American foreign policy and intelligence at Temple University, has produced a fine, concise history of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The Hidden Handhas three major virtues: it is fair–minded, readable and up–to–date, including a useful insider s analysis of how the creation of the new position of National Director of Intelligence (NDI) in 2005 has affected the role of the CIA and its director.   (Survival: Global Politics and Strategy, 1 January 2015)

Meantime, as far as the book under review is concerned, It s a very well written piece of history and well referenced with numerous end–of–chapter source notes.   (Nurturing Potential, 1 March 2014)

Spis treści

Preface and Acknowledgments ix

Note on Redactions xiii

1 Birth of an Enigma: 1945 1949 1

2 Halcyon Days and Growing Pains: 1950 1961 35

3 The CIA and its Discontents: 1961 1976 70

4 A Time of Troubles: 1977 1987 108

5 Victory Without Redemption: 1988 2000 138

6 9/11, WMD, GWOT, IRTPA, and ODNI: 2001 2004 172

7 Crisis of Identity: 2005 2013 206

Index 235

O autorze

Richard H. Immerman is Professor and Edward J. Buthusiem Distinguished Fellow in History at Temple University and Marvin Wachman Director of its Center for the Study of Force and Diplomacy. The recipient of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations′ Bernath Book Prize in 1983 and its Bernath Lecture Prize in 1990, he served as SHAFR s president in 2007.  His most recent publications include The Oxford Handbook of the Cold War (2013) and Empire for Liberty: A History of U.S. Imperialism from Benjamin Franklin to Paul Wolfowitz (2012). From September 2007–December 2008, he served as Assistant Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analytic Integrity and Standards and Analytic Ombudsman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He currently chairs the Historical Advisory Committee to the U.S. Department of State.

Blurb

Since its inception in 1947, the Central Intelligence Agency has played an outsized role in the political life of the United States, whether by formulating and implementing policy or by fueling popular culture and imagination. The Hidden Hand is a succinct accessible and up–to–date history of the agency that succinctly takes the reader from its early days of intelligence gathering and analysis to its more recent involvement in the execution of foreign policy through covert operations, psychological warfare, and other programs. In manageable chapters and easy–to–digest prose, the author a respected scholar who has researched intelligence for more than 30 years and also served as a high–ranking officer in the intelligence community covers all aspects of the CIA from its mission to its performance to its record. He draws on the latest evidence and research to assess the agency s successes and failures over the last half century, highlighting key operations of the past and present. Throughout, his assessment is balanced and thorough with an eye on the complex and controversial nature of the subject. This is a masterful account that de–mythologizes the CIA s role in America s global affairs while addressing its integral place within American political and popular culture.