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The Secret Team: The CIA & its Allies in Control of the United States & the World
The Secret Team, L. Fletcher Prouty's CIA exposé, was first published in the 1970s, but virtually all copies of the book disappeared upon distribution, purchased en masse by shady "private buyers." Certainly Prouty's amazing allegations—that the U-2 Crisis of 1960 was fixed to sabotage Eisenhower-Khrushchev talks, and that President Kennedy was assassinated to keep the U.S., and its defense budget, in Vietnam—cannot have pleased the CIA. Though suppressed (until now), The Secret Team was an important influence for Oliver Stone's Academy Award-winning film JFK and countless other works on U.S. government conspiracies, and it raises the same crucial question today that it did on its first who, in fact, is in control of the United States and the world?
480 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 1972
422 people are currently reading
1699 people want to read
About the author
L. Fletcher Prouty
13 books38 followersCol. Prouty spent 9 of his 23 year military career in the Pentagon (1955-1964): 2 years with the Secretary of Defense, 2 years with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and 5 years with Headquarters, U.S. Air Force. In 1955 he was appointed the first "Focal Point" officer between the CIA and the Air Force for Clandestine Operations per National Security Council Directive 5412. He was Briefing Officer for the Secretary of Defense (1960-1961), and for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In this capacity Col. Prouty would be at the nerve center of the Military-Industrial Complex at a time unequalled in American History. He has written on these subjects, about the JFK assassination, the Cold War period, and Vietnamese warfare, and the existence of a "Secret Team". He backs up his his work with seldom seen or mentioned official documents - some never before released.
In this capacity Col. Prouty would be at the nerve center of the Military-Industrial Complex at a time unequalled in American History. He has written on these subjects, about the JFK assassination, the Cold War period, and Vietnamese warfare, and the existence of a "Secret Team". He backs up his his work with seldom seen or mentioned official documents - some never before released.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
October 29, 2007
"The Secret Team" is one of the most important books of the twentieth century. Col. Fletcher Prouty, formerly associated with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote this tell-all expose of the CIA's various misdeeds at around the same time that the Church Committee was exposing them in the U.S. Senate. Sadly, some thirty years later, all too many have forgotten the crimes and misdeeds of our runaway intelligence agency, the worst of which are probably not even publicly known. With authors like Tom Clancy and shows like "21" glorifying them, CIA agents have managed to become "cool" again. Everyone who is tempted to think that the CIA is working for the "good guys" should read this book.
September 20, 2021
An incredibly frustrating book, one I can't really recommend. It does provide some insight into the day to day bureaucratic functioning of the CIA and its relations with other US national security state institutions, or at least how those functioned 50 years ago. But it spends most of its time bemoaning the dastardly deeds of the men at the CIA in comparison to the "brave, honorable" men in the executive, especially Eisenhower. It never mentions the CIAs coups in Iran or Guatemala in the 50s, presumably because they would disrupt the "honorable Eisenhower" narrative.
It also puts forth the assertion with no evidence that Gary Powers U2 flight was specifically setup to fail by the CIA to scuttle the planned 1960 peace conference. I have no doubt plenty of people in the CIA wanted nothing more, but we have all the details of that incident from the Soviet archives which confirm the plane was shot down by a Soviet SAM while operating at its full height, because the Soviets had long been aware of the U2 flights and had improved their missile technology to deal with it.
Additionally, while the book is intended to be a primary source from an insider, the fact that it cites literally 0 sources means its more of a memoir than an exposé.
There are much better books on the CIA now, such as Whiteout, Killing Hope, The Jakarta Method, and The Devil's Chessboard, you should read those instead of this.
It also puts forth the assertion with no evidence that Gary Powers U2 flight was specifically setup to fail by the CIA to scuttle the planned 1960 peace conference. I have no doubt plenty of people in the CIA wanted nothing more, but we have all the details of that incident from the Soviet archives which confirm the plane was shot down by a Soviet SAM while operating at its full height, because the Soviets had long been aware of the U2 flights and had improved their missile technology to deal with it.
Additionally, while the book is intended to be a primary source from an insider, the fact that it cites literally 0 sources means its more of a memoir than an exposé.
There are much better books on the CIA now, such as Whiteout, Killing Hope, The Jakarta Method, and The Devil's Chessboard, you should read those instead of this.
December 6, 2011
This book has to be read very carefully to gather the useful material (of which there is a great deal); Prouty has an agenda, and after a couple of rereadings it becomes pretty clear as to what the agenda is. Basically, Prouty blamed the entire Vietnam debacle on the CIA (most likely at the behest of his patrons in the uniformed services, the Joint Staff, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense). This book was published at the beginning of the national recriminations over Vietnam and how we got there.
When Prouty discusses the nuts-and-bolts mechanics of how the CIA worked during the Cold War, he's mostly accurate (the notion of an entire aircraft without ANY serial numbers on its parts strains credulity). When he gets into who did this, said that, or made a key decision, he's less reliable. The military made a series of bad judgments and worse decisions over how to handle Vietnam, and they do deserve censure for these mistakes--but Prouty blames it all on the CIA.
Again, his goal is to uphold the honor of the military--which, at the time this was written, was taking a beating in the press (interestingly enough, many of those administering said beating had extensive ties to the CIA).
Overall, this book is an interesting account of what sorts of things the CIA did and the mechanics of how they did it, and an artifact of a particularly fractious time in the national security establishment. As an account of Vietnam, it suffers from the defects mentioned above.
When Prouty discusses the nuts-and-bolts mechanics of how the CIA worked during the Cold War, he's mostly accurate (the notion of an entire aircraft without ANY serial numbers on its parts strains credulity). When he gets into who did this, said that, or made a key decision, he's less reliable. The military made a series of bad judgments and worse decisions over how to handle Vietnam, and they do deserve censure for these mistakes--but Prouty blames it all on the CIA.
Again, his goal is to uphold the honor of the military--which, at the time this was written, was taking a beating in the press (interestingly enough, many of those administering said beating had extensive ties to the CIA).
Overall, this book is an interesting account of what sorts of things the CIA did and the mechanics of how they did it, and an artifact of a particularly fractious time in the national security establishment. As an account of Vietnam, it suffers from the defects mentioned above.
March 17, 2017
This is probably one of the best books on CIA that was written by somebody who had actually worked inside the Agency and has a first hand experience of it. The original purpose of CIA of gatherer of intelligence became CIA participating in clandestine operations and creation of them in the first place. The Agency is like cancer cell that invisible spread everywhere in the Government, Business and Military. So even though we have overt Government at the same time we have covert government of shadow government of CIA that is not managed or observed by anyone including the president. Fascinating book, and a second read for sure.
April 24, 2016
Prouty's first publication, 'The Secret Team', has, like it's author, quite a fascinating history. Colonel Prouty served in the Pentagon through 1955-1964 in the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and held a focal point role between the Air Force and CIA.
'The Secret Team:The CIA & it's Allies in Control of the United States & the World' is one of those scary titles that some folk will associate with doubts about moon landings or stories of abductions by aliens in silver saucer crafts. This expose of CIA dirty tricks, originally published in 1972, only for it to be mysteriously dropped by publishing houses and the Library of Congress. The twilight zone tale is fully presented in the Author's Note. However, not to keep a good man down, Col. Prouty returned to the press in 1997.
Both books will be different things to different readers. 'JFK: The CIA, Vietnam and the Plot to Assassinate John F. Kennedy' as with 'The Secret Team' are profound insights gained from a most unique position. Without doubt the frightening rise of CIA through the 1950's and 1960's has generated many issues and agendas, many still hidden, relating to the Cold War and beyond. Prouty's two books come, perhaps, as close as we are going to get to the hidden control of the men of Langley and military intelligence agencies.
Although Prouty does not mention the name of Oswald, on p202 he writes, 'The term sheep-dipped is an intricate Army-devised process by which a man who is in the service as a full career soldier or officer agrees to go through all the legal and official motions of resigning from the service. Then, rather than actually being released, his records are pulled from the Army personnel files and transferred to a special Army intelligence file. Substitute but nonetheless real-appearing records are then processed, and the man "leaves" the service. He is encouraged to write to friends and give a cover reason why he got out. Meanwhile, his real Army records are kept in secrecy, but not forgotten. Some very real problems arise in the event he gets killed or captured as a prisoner.'
Not a book to curl up with in front of the fire, along with a cup of cocoa....but, well worth ploughing through these five hundred pages, for the little gems of information within.
There are some areas here that contradict what Professor Newman states in his 'JFK & Vietnam', but all in all, perhaps this is the best gold mine we can access prior to the record releases scheduled for 2017.
'The Secret Team:The CIA & it's Allies in Control of the United States & the World' is one of those scary titles that some folk will associate with doubts about moon landings or stories of abductions by aliens in silver saucer crafts. This expose of CIA dirty tricks, originally published in 1972, only for it to be mysteriously dropped by publishing houses and the Library of Congress. The twilight zone tale is fully presented in the Author's Note. However, not to keep a good man down, Col. Prouty returned to the press in 1997.
Both books will be different things to different readers. 'JFK: The CIA, Vietnam and the Plot to Assassinate John F. Kennedy' as with 'The Secret Team' are profound insights gained from a most unique position. Without doubt the frightening rise of CIA through the 1950's and 1960's has generated many issues and agendas, many still hidden, relating to the Cold War and beyond. Prouty's two books come, perhaps, as close as we are going to get to the hidden control of the men of Langley and military intelligence agencies.
Although Prouty does not mention the name of Oswald, on p202 he writes, 'The term sheep-dipped is an intricate Army-devised process by which a man who is in the service as a full career soldier or officer agrees to go through all the legal and official motions of resigning from the service. Then, rather than actually being released, his records are pulled from the Army personnel files and transferred to a special Army intelligence file. Substitute but nonetheless real-appearing records are then processed, and the man "leaves" the service. He is encouraged to write to friends and give a cover reason why he got out. Meanwhile, his real Army records are kept in secrecy, but not forgotten. Some very real problems arise in the event he gets killed or captured as a prisoner.'
Not a book to curl up with in front of the fire, along with a cup of cocoa....but, well worth ploughing through these five hundred pages, for the little gems of information within.
There are some areas here that contradict what Professor Newman states in his 'JFK & Vietnam', but all in all, perhaps this is the best gold mine we can access prior to the record releases scheduled for 2017.
March 31, 2011
Buku ini merupakan sebuah buku yang bersifat kontroversi. Seperti tajuknya,penulisnya memfokuskan bagaimana 'Secret Team' (ST) di dalam organisasi Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),dengan memberikan beberapa contoh konflik yang berlaku di dunia ini,memainkan peranan yang penting dalam sesebuah konflik itu. Tambah menarik,peranan kumpulan ini di dalam sesebuah operasi itu sering kali dilakukan secara rahsia dan tidak menuruti undang-undang. Sebagai contohnya,operasi Bay of Pigs di Cuba dan penembakan jatuh pesawat pengintip U-2 yang dipandu oleh Gary Powers di Rusia.
Walaupun buku ini pada asalnya diterbitkan pada tahun 1973,namun,buku ini mempunyai maklumat-maklumat yang masih relevan sehingga sekarang. Melaluinya,kita dapat mengetahui bagaimana konflik-konflik yang berlaku di dunia pada masa lalu dan mungkin pada masa kini dipengaruhi oleh'tangan-tangan ghaib' CIA dan ST. Malah,penulis juga telah membincangkan dengan agak terperinci sejarah penubuhan CIA dan ST. Para pembaca akan terkejut apabila kita mengetahui tujuan sebenar CIA ditubuhkan dan bagaimana peranan dan ruang lingkup tugasan sebenar CIA telah berubah sama sekali seperti yang kita boleh perhatikan sekarang!
Buku ini amat baik untuk dibaca. Buku ini disyorkan kepada sesiapa yang berminat untuk mengetahui dengan lebih dalam sejarah dan peranan CIA dan ST di dalam konflik-konflik di serata dunia.
Walaupun buku ini pada asalnya diterbitkan pada tahun 1973,namun,buku ini mempunyai maklumat-maklumat yang masih relevan sehingga sekarang. Melaluinya,kita dapat mengetahui bagaimana konflik-konflik yang berlaku di dunia pada masa lalu dan mungkin pada masa kini dipengaruhi oleh'tangan-tangan ghaib' CIA dan ST. Malah,penulis juga telah membincangkan dengan agak terperinci sejarah penubuhan CIA dan ST. Para pembaca akan terkejut apabila kita mengetahui tujuan sebenar CIA ditubuhkan dan bagaimana peranan dan ruang lingkup tugasan sebenar CIA telah berubah sama sekali seperti yang kita boleh perhatikan sekarang!
Buku ini amat baik untuk dibaca. Buku ini disyorkan kepada sesiapa yang berminat untuk mengetahui dengan lebih dalam sejarah dan peranan CIA dan ST di dalam konflik-konflik di serata dunia.
April 14, 2013
Leroy Fletcher Prouty (1/24/17-6/5/01) wrote this book primarily based upon his experiences as liaison officer between the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Central Intelligence Agency. Serving in the military, he was not constrained by the confidentiality agreements made by former CIA employees and so was able to include information which had not previously been officially attested.
Much of The Secret Team is about how government operates. My favorite portion was Prouty's description of Defense Secretary McNamara's first visit to Vietnam during the Johnson administration. To the public this was presented as a fact-finding mission. In fact, the official report of "the facts" had been composed prior to his departure and cables noted as originating in Vietnam had been first sent from Washington to Saigon, then transmitted back again. The actual tour was entirely sanitized, McNamara being handled by the CIA operatives on the ground who, until 1965, ran the war.
Much of The Secret Team is about how government operates. My favorite portion was Prouty's description of Defense Secretary McNamara's first visit to Vietnam during the Johnson administration. To the public this was presented as a fact-finding mission. In fact, the official report of "the facts" had been composed prior to his departure and cables noted as originating in Vietnam had been first sent from Washington to Saigon, then transmitted back again. The actual tour was entirely sanitized, McNamara being handled by the CIA operatives on the ground who, until 1965, ran the war.
September 6, 2012
This book is long and dense, but the nitty gritty details of intelligence operations are very illuminating. Unfortunately, spying is actually tedious and boring. Repetitive. Systematic. This has been repeatedly cited as a fundamental work in intel history (the Pentagon Papers had come out before this, and it makes many references to that).
October 26, 2009
I recently re-read this book. It is still relevant and helps explain the failure of our drug policy for the last 40 years. Prouty explains one facet of the military-security-industrial complex very well
June 2, 2020
Took me a long time to get around to this book but I'm glad i did.
Colonel Fletcher Prouty who was played by Donald Sutherland in JFK had intrigued me.
Who was this ex CIA man who knew things but never really revealed anything other than with clever hints?
So here he talks of the origins of the CIA as it morphed from the OSS and as President Truman believed it to be an organisation that would answer to him and subsequent presidents but as the book spells out that was not to be.
Under the auspices of Allen Dulles it became a different much more secret organisation that at first was there to weed out communism but then would find communism where it never existed by creating troubles in 3rd world countries like Laos,Indonesia or the Congo and then sending in counter insurgency teams to deal with the contrived uprisings.
Eisenhower was at the helm when the U2 spy plane came down over Russia and when the Soviets paraded Gary Powers the pilot alive there was an embarassing moment for the US that Eisenhower had to wear and show that he was in control and not a rogue CIA.
After Eisenhower left office Kennedy was left to deal with the inherited and planned under Eisenhower Bay of Pigs operation that was meant to fail while Dulles disappeared as it took place . Kennedy took the public blame but realised along with his brother Bobby that this CIA behemoth would have to be reined in.
He tried to prepare the way for pulling out of Vietnam by 1965 but as history shows that was not to be and LBJ allowed or realised he had no choice but to expand the military presence in Indo China.
The domino theory was in full effect and the industry grew exponentially from here on.
Prouty having been there shows how even the CIA itself doesn't know who is doing what as it became so big.
Even though the book is dated just substitute fighting Communist insugency to fighting terrorism and you have the modern CIA .
Alas all is not what it seems.
Colonel Fletcher Prouty who was played by Donald Sutherland in JFK had intrigued me.
Who was this ex CIA man who knew things but never really revealed anything other than with clever hints?
So here he talks of the origins of the CIA as it morphed from the OSS and as President Truman believed it to be an organisation that would answer to him and subsequent presidents but as the book spells out that was not to be.
Under the auspices of Allen Dulles it became a different much more secret organisation that at first was there to weed out communism but then would find communism where it never existed by creating troubles in 3rd world countries like Laos,Indonesia or the Congo and then sending in counter insurgency teams to deal with the contrived uprisings.
Eisenhower was at the helm when the U2 spy plane came down over Russia and when the Soviets paraded Gary Powers the pilot alive there was an embarassing moment for the US that Eisenhower had to wear and show that he was in control and not a rogue CIA.
After Eisenhower left office Kennedy was left to deal with the inherited and planned under Eisenhower Bay of Pigs operation that was meant to fail while Dulles disappeared as it took place . Kennedy took the public blame but realised along with his brother Bobby that this CIA behemoth would have to be reined in.
He tried to prepare the way for pulling out of Vietnam by 1965 but as history shows that was not to be and LBJ allowed or realised he had no choice but to expand the military presence in Indo China.
The domino theory was in full effect and the industry grew exponentially from here on.
Prouty having been there shows how even the CIA itself doesn't know who is doing what as it became so big.
Even though the book is dated just substitute fighting Communist insugency to fighting terrorism and you have the modern CIA .
Alas all is not what it seems.
December 29, 2016
Where does power lie?
A revealing look at the real forces at work in our government, this well-documented account of the insidious growth of the CIA in the second half of the 20th century presents the profound struggle any elected President has to control it. One is reminded of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-four. Though covering only the period up to and including the Vietnam war, when Communism was viewed as America's greatest threat, the machinery involved and the vast network of influence has great implications for today, when "Terrorism" has replaced "Communism" as our perceived threat. Similar structures and actions persist now as before.
This work is rather repetitive and a bit ponderous to read. However, the repetition may be necessary to pound in understanding. The subject matter is compelling. It is an important document for anyone trying to understand the background of our current involvements in world affairs. The authors credentials make it the more believable.
A revealing look at the real forces at work in our government, this well-documented account of the insidious growth of the CIA in the second half of the 20th century presents the profound struggle any elected President has to control it. One is reminded of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-four. Though covering only the period up to and including the Vietnam war, when Communism was viewed as America's greatest threat, the machinery involved and the vast network of influence has great implications for today, when "Terrorism" has replaced "Communism" as our perceived threat. Similar structures and actions persist now as before.
This work is rather repetitive and a bit ponderous to read. However, the repetition may be necessary to pound in understanding. The subject matter is compelling. It is an important document for anyone trying to understand the background of our current involvements in world affairs. The authors credentials make it the more believable.
September 30, 2017
Interesting early (mid-70s) overview of the CIA, which was of personal interest as background for a book I was working on about the CIA in Tibet (never completed). Prouty makes some good points, but he is/was not an impartial commentator (he was apparently the model for the Donald Sutherland character "X" in Oliver Stone's "JFK"), so this needs to be read in conjunction with other sources - good luck ever accurately separating the facts from the legends from the rumors from the bullshit when it comes to CIA history...
August 24, 2014
This book should be taught in high school, just like 1984 and Brave New World.
June 20, 2015
Another must read book that will help a generation understand how we arrived at our current global hell on earth.
February 26, 2016
Coming from a man who knew first hand
September 28, 2016
Very enlightening and uncovers much about our undercover agency and the 'games' they play.
April 14, 2018
This cannot be completely true. An espionage of espionage, a truly chaotic view of the spying profession.
January 5, 2022
Sharing this excellent review by Luc Reynaert!
"This is an extremely important book. The proof of it is that even the official copy in the Library of Congress disappeared (!). Moreover, even after his death, the author continues to be the object of a smear campaign (see internet).
His book is not less than a frontal attack on US intelligence and concomitantly on those who control it.
Its portrait of Allen Dulles, a longtime intelligence director, says it all: `I am a lawyer'; in other words, a servant. But of whom?
This book unveils the existence of a secret cabal, a Power Elite (G. William Domhoff), a `deep State' (P.D. Scott) within the US and its government as well as in about 40 host countries.
This Power Elite uses the Secret Team of top intelligence and military commanders as its long arm and protects it. Together they stand above the law and the democratic process. They get things done, whether they have the political authorization or not.
They dispose of a vast undercover political, military, intelligence, business, media and academic infrastructure, in the US as well as worldwide. They don't respect the nation State and are able to create, to influence and to topple governments in the hemisphere controlled by them.
The author gives a remarkable insight into the inner workings, the logistics, the strategies and the tactics of the intelligence agency. Its creation and history show that President H. Truman never intended to create an autonomous operational agency in the clandestine field. L.F. Prouty also gives valuable information about the U2- G. Powers incident (apparently to torpedo the US/USSR peace talks) and the Pentagon papers (an intelligence whitewash).
At the end, the author poses the all important question: `Can any President ever be strong enough really to rule?'
This book is a must read for all those interested in US history and for all those who want to understand the world we live in.
For more information on the Power Elite, I recommend the works of ... Peter Dale Scott, Carroll Quigley, Gary Allen and G. W. Domhoff."
"This is an extremely important book. The proof of it is that even the official copy in the Library of Congress disappeared (!). Moreover, even after his death, the author continues to be the object of a smear campaign (see internet).
His book is not less than a frontal attack on US intelligence and concomitantly on those who control it.
Its portrait of Allen Dulles, a longtime intelligence director, says it all: `I am a lawyer'; in other words, a servant. But of whom?
This book unveils the existence of a secret cabal, a Power Elite (G. William Domhoff), a `deep State' (P.D. Scott) within the US and its government as well as in about 40 host countries.
This Power Elite uses the Secret Team of top intelligence and military commanders as its long arm and protects it. Together they stand above the law and the democratic process. They get things done, whether they have the political authorization or not.
They dispose of a vast undercover political, military, intelligence, business, media and academic infrastructure, in the US as well as worldwide. They don't respect the nation State and are able to create, to influence and to topple governments in the hemisphere controlled by them.
The author gives a remarkable insight into the inner workings, the logistics, the strategies and the tactics of the intelligence agency. Its creation and history show that President H. Truman never intended to create an autonomous operational agency in the clandestine field. L.F. Prouty also gives valuable information about the U2- G. Powers incident (apparently to torpedo the US/USSR peace talks) and the Pentagon papers (an intelligence whitewash).
At the end, the author poses the all important question: `Can any President ever be strong enough really to rule?'
This book is a must read for all those interested in US history and for all those who want to understand the world we live in.
For more information on the Power Elite, I recommend the works of ... Peter Dale Scott, Carroll Quigley, Gary Allen and G. W. Domhoff."
June 4, 2024
The author lives in a fantasy world…
The author gives a good account on two lines:
1. He well describes the harm caused by the combined government-business-media conglomerate we today call the Deep State, and which he calls by his own term, the Secret Team.
2. He makes a good point that there is much secrecy that is very likely unnecessary, and it is at a minimum expensive, and quite possibly harmful.
Having said that, he seems to make two assumptions that are so incredible to me I lost all respect for him early on. This made the book a tedious slog.
1. We are not in any real danger from our enemies (in his day Communism and in our day Terrorism) and thus don’t need any significant investment in defending against them.
2. As a consequence of the above point, there is no justification for or need of a potent, aggressive capability to combat threats in peacetime with covert action or even covert intelligence collection. While he does address the larger part played by other organizations, he overwhelmingly focuses on the CIA. He would have a CIA so impotent as to be useless, but why be bothered by this when there is no true threat and the people we think are our enemies are actually reasonable, well intentioned men?
The author gives a good account on two lines:
1. He well describes the harm caused by the combined government-business-media conglomerate we today call the Deep State, and which he calls by his own term, the Secret Team.
2. He makes a good point that there is much secrecy that is very likely unnecessary, and it is at a minimum expensive, and quite possibly harmful.
Having said that, he seems to make two assumptions that are so incredible to me I lost all respect for him early on. This made the book a tedious slog.
1. We are not in any real danger from our enemies (in his day Communism and in our day Terrorism) and thus don’t need any significant investment in defending against them.
2. As a consequence of the above point, there is no justification for or need of a potent, aggressive capability to combat threats in peacetime with covert action or even covert intelligence collection. While he does address the larger part played by other organizations, he overwhelmingly focuses on the CIA. He would have a CIA so impotent as to be useless, but why be bothered by this when there is no true threat and the people we think are our enemies are actually reasonable, well intentioned men?
June 26, 2018
I read this because my conspiracy friend had a group of us read it ... While there is some interesting perspectives here, the lack of editing and sourcing drove me batty, and really, it could have easily been cut by 1/2. Which is not say there isn't truth in here ... that the government spy operations fly under the weather and do disruptive things to the world.
January 4, 2020
Finished: 04.01.2020
Genre: non-fiction
Rating: D
Conclusion:
The long-winded writing style makes the book feel like a chore.
Most the information is already on the internet.
The book is pre-Watergate; pre-Snowden
...so there was not much new to be discovered.
The book is not forceful enough or really interesting
enough to sustain a 624 pages!
#Disapponted
Genre: non-fiction
Rating: D
Conclusion:
The long-winded writing style makes the book feel like a chore.
Most the information is already on the internet.
The book is pre-Watergate; pre-Snowden
...so there was not much new to be discovered.
The book is not forceful enough or really interesting
enough to sustain a 624 pages!
#Disapponted
May 15, 2020
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January 17, 2024
A book thrice disappeared in its entirety by mysterious means (read the foreword). It reveals the seemingly never-ending levels of corruption within the 70+ year existence of our Deep State. The evidence is public and overwhelming.
February 9, 2024
The book is very good and well written, it does provide very important information on the way that the CIA and the USA does its business, still at the last part of the book, it is a bit repetitive to be honest.
November 8, 2025
I enjoyed reading the book, but the style of writing is telling that the author is not a proper writer. He wanted to convey his thoughts and views on the Central intelligence agency, the CIA, and various flashpoints in which he's been involved, too.
He delves into the assassination of John F. Kennedy but uses an off-putting epithet "cabal" to describe the conspiracy of everyone involved.
For anyone who's interested more in JFK's assassination, he wrote a good article titled "Guns of Dallas".
I gave this book a 3/5 as it was interesting, yet did not fully deliver.
He delves into the assassination of John F. Kennedy but uses an off-putting epithet "cabal" to describe the conspiracy of everyone involved.
For anyone who's interested more in JFK's assassination, he wrote a good article titled "Guns of Dallas".
I gave this book a 3/5 as it was interesting, yet did not fully deliver.
December 29, 2018
Informative, scary, but redundant
January 26, 2020
Sad but not surprising
Very good overview of the origins of the CIA and how it has impacted United States war, diplomacy, and foreign policy decisions since its inception
Very good overview of the origins of the CIA and how it has impacted United States war, diplomacy, and foreign policy decisions since its inception
February 7, 2021
Interesting history of the CIA, with a convincing argument regarding what went wrong with its formation.
January 5, 2023
Interesting but dry, could've used a little pizzazz. I'm a huge fan of Ftetcher Prouty especially some of the older videos when he's discussing fossil fuels.
November 5, 2020
You need to read this
A history of how the CIA was started and how it got to be the out of control monster it is today. Fascinating!
A history of how the CIA was started and how it got to be the out of control monster it is today. Fascinating!
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