Legacy of Ashes
by Tim Weiner · first published 2007
64% recommend36% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Readable, well-researched history of the CIA since its creation, drawing on primary-source interviews and declassified material. Argues its record is one of incompetence and broken trust. For covert-operations readers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Here is the hidden history of the CIA: why eleven presidents and three generations of CIA officers have been unable to understand the world; why nearly every CIA director has left the agency in worse shape than he found it; and how these failures have profoundly jeopardized United States national security. For sixty years, the CIA has managed to maintain a formidable reputation in spite of its terrible record, burying its blunders in top-secret archives. Its mission was to know the world - when it did not succeed, it set out to change the world instead. The author offers the first definitive h
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…governments were attempting to seize back control of these assets, and in many cases grant them back to the often poor and rural communities that should have owned them in the first place. Tim Weiner's book Legacy of Ashes is a good overview of the many "interventions" the US undertook to replace regimes that threatened the economic domination of the West. For the lazy, Wikipedia provides a decent list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_involvement_in_r...…
on “70 years ago, an Anglo-US coup condemned Iran to decades of oppression” ↗I recently finished reading Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner, a history of the CIA. He basically argues that the entire organization has been marked by incompetence and politics throughout history. It was really eye-opening to me to hear that the…
on “Bugger: Maybe spies aren't very good at their jobs (2013)” ↗How about "Legacy of Ashes"? https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-History-Tim-Weiner/dp/03...
on “Secrecy, overclassification, and the the CIA’s hidden history” ↗…will have a weapon tell us nothing about the effectiveness of Stuxnet. This is a matter of logic. I also don't know where this perception comes from Reading books about intelligence services...like Legacy of Ashes http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-History-Tim-Weiner/dp/038... Beyond that, this is really basic systems theory. Intelligence service oversight, at least in the US, is very lax. The people doing oversight…
on “Stuxnet is embarrassing, not amazing” ↗I have been reading Tim Weiner's excellent "Legacy of Ashes", a history of the CIA. Everyone should read it; it won a national book award and is generally well-researched and sourced. What it indicates is that the CIA is essentially a long-running unconstitutional…
on “The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)” ↗If you want to read something interesting regarding sponsored subversion, I recommend 'Legacy of Ashes' by Tim Weiner. Fantastic hacks and incredible, yet true and widely uncredited events in US and world history executed by the OSS and CIA.
on “OSS (pre-CIA) Simple Sabotage Field Manual” ↗Legacy of Ashes - Tim Weiner. Pulled the wool from my eyes as to what my country is capable of performing in my name.
on “Ask HN: What books fundamentally changed the way you think about the world?” ↗…intervention in their political system(dating back to the occupation) to undermine any leftist challenge to conservative rule. You can read about both circumstances in Tim Weiner’s book on the CIA, “Legacy of Ashes.”
on “As crime dries up, Japan’s police hunt for things to do” ↗Legacy of Ashes does a pretty good job to that end... https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-History-Tim-Weiner/dp/03...
on “30 spies dead after Iran cracked CIA comms network” ↗For anyone who wants to learn more about Angleton and the destructive effect his paranoia had on the CIA, I strongly recommend "Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA" by Tim Weiner. Gripping stuff, with lots of primary source material and high-level interviews.
on “How to explain the KGB’s amazing success identifying CIA agents? (2015)” ↗…headlines to hopefully inform some more folks, but you really have to go digging for this stuff intentionally to get to juicy details. If you are interested in doing so, I recommend picking up Weiner's "Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA". [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Blauer [1] https://apnews.com/2e5220ecb195844edacfbffdb0a37a5a
on “The CIA's Secret Quest For Mind Control” ↗There are multiple incidents like this in Tim Weiner's opinionated history of the CIA Legacy of Ashes. It's not exactly a neutral presentation of the facts, but it's based on extensive research and newly declassified data, and to my knowledge no-one has disputed any of his facts. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/970488.Legacy_of_Ashes
on “An Illustrated First-Person Guide to the CIA’s Torture Program” ↗The author of this article, Tim Weiner, wrote a great book about the history of the CIA called, “Legacy of Ashes.” It covers the history of these operations in Japan and across Europe.
on “Efforts to change the Japanese culture of extreme work weeks” ↗…these individuals and take them out I’m sure they could. Recommended reading on the history of only one of these intelligence agencies (and the somewhat extrajudicial way in which they often operate) is Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner, which is a fantastic history of the CIA.
on “Massachusetts Steamship Authority hit by ransomware attack; ferries delayed” ↗…other associated partners such as for example Atlas Network, Radio Free Asia also falls on that category, same with Voice Of America If you are interested in books both, Killing Hope by William Blum and Legacy Of Ashes by Weiner are very, very, very good authoritative sources on the matter If you prefer podcasts, Warnerd Radio has a couple very good episodes on the National Endowment For Democracy, tho they both quote…
on “FBI's ability to legally access secure messaging app content and metadata [pdf]” ↗