The devil's chessboard
by David Talbot · first published 2015
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Detailed biography of Allen Dulles and the early CIA, valued for its account of operations like the 1954 Guatemala coup and for exposing covert activities; suits readers curious about postwar US intelligence history.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"An explosive, headline-making portrait of Allen Dulles, the man who transformed the CIA into the most powerful and secretive colossus in Washington, from the founder of Salon.com and author of the New York Times bestseller Brothers. America's greatest untold story: the United States' rise to world dominance under the guile of Allen Welsh Dulles, the longest-serving director of the CIA. Drawing on revelatory new materials, including newly discovered U.S. government documents, U.S. and European intelligence sources, the personal correspondence and journals of Allen Dulles's wife and mistress, a
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…most US arms and supplies were not actually getting to the front in Ukraine? How long did it take for them to “partially” retract it for some embarrassingly bogus reason? PS: if you haven’t read “The Devil’s Chessboard” by David Talbot, highly recommend.
If you find this interesting, read "The Devil's Chessboard" by David Talbot. Nixon was highly indebted to the Dulles brothers, and they carried out many operations like this at home and abroad (including against their own-- see Frank Olson). They also looked…
on “The Nixon White House plotted to assassinate a journalist 50 years ago” ↗Any recommendations for a book about Hoover? I just finished reading The Devil's Chessboard about Allen Dulles and the nascent CIA. It's a great book if you haven't read it.
on “FBI improperly used 702 surveillance powers on US senator” ↗A great book on this topic is The Devil's Chessboard, which focuses on the nascent CIA and Allen Dulles.
on “CIA publicly acknowledges 1953 coup it backed in Iran was undemocratic” ↗Another good book on this, covering the CIA's part in this history is David Talbot's The Devil's Chessboard. Talbot's coverage of the '54 coup was particularly gripping, and very depressing.
on “The Myth of Bananaland” ↗