The Agency: The Rise and Decline of the CIA

by John Ranelagh

Scores of interviews with insiders and more than seven thousand pages of formerly classified documents support this history of the CIA, which focuses on "The Company's" remarkable personalities and leaders from Wild Bill Donovan to William Casey

Genres: History, Politics, American History, Nonfiction, International Relations, Espionage

869 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad gave me this book in 1987, with a note that it was the best book he had read on the Agency, 9 on a scale of 10. I started to read it then, put it aside for my first sabbatical, and finally picked it up again two weeks ago. I wish I had read it when he was alive.

The book is certainly a tome - 700+ pages, plus another 90 or so of footnotes - but it is very well written and documented. Moreover, it is an exceptionally good portrait of the evolution of the Agency from its inception in 1947 (and even its precursor in OSS) to the mid-1980s, both in terms of its missions and its capabilities, to say nothing of the political and public pressures on its activities. The role of presidents and Agency directors in its design and activities is explored in depth, and its successes (such as are known) and failures (most of which are known) are each detailed. The drift away from covert operations in the wake of the Bay of Pigs, Watergate and Vietnam, and into technological intelligence and analysis, is described at length.

While an update for the period of 1986 to the present exists in various other works, this book is a terrific exploration of the roots and development of the Agency. And I understand much better now how and why dad's own views of his service, and his Agency, changed in his later years.

[Jacob]

This is a usually dry and very serious book. The epilogue was especially excellent.

[Lysergius · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book contains a number of interviews with Agency insiders, and more than seven thousand pages of formerly classified documents support this history of the CIA, which focuses on "The Company's" remarkable personalities and leaders from Wild Bill Donovan to William Casey.

My particular interest was in James Jesus Angleton who was chief of CIA Counterintelligence from 1954 to 1975. His official position within the organization was Associate Deputy Director of Operations for Counterintelligence. Angleton was significantly involved in the US response to the purported KGB defectors Anatoliy Golitsyn and Yuri Nosenko.

[Ferris Mx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was a long time reading. Very dense, very well researched, very comprehensive, very unbiased. I'm going to hold onto it for a while. This book covers the CIA through 1985, which means that I've owned this book unread for nearly as long as the period of time it covers.

Major points are that the CIA rarely if ever operated as a rogue, but rather according to its understanding of the President's intent. The idea that Kennedy would have gotten out of Vietnam is almost certainly bunk. And Carter was a really weak President.

[G Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A grand, well-researched (loaded with a F-ton of footnotes) book.