Book description
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…
Why read it?
2 authors picked The Devil's Chessboard as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Dwight D. Eisenhower served two terms as United States president, from 1952-1960. His administration is widely remembered for rapid economic growth and adept international diplomacy. Yet the pubic face of much of that growth and diplomacy masked Ike’s vehement prosecution of a brutal cold war—acts of attrition and deceit overseas that vastly expanded the US empire around the globe.
The brothers John Foster Dulles, Eisenhower’s secretary of state, and Allen Dulles, who was head of the Central Intelligence Agency, led the American rise to international preeminence. The Devil’s Chessboard focuses largely on Allen Dulles, who waged secret wars across the…
From Greg's list on exposing the hidden underbelly of the American empire.
Most people fall into one of two categories: those who firmly believe Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman in the John F. Kennedy assassination, and those who don't. Before The Devil's Chessboard, lots of researchers examined the Warren Commission's own files, found solid evidence of a conspiracy, and wrote books presenting their findings. Their point-by-point analyses blew apart the official story, but few readers bothered to slog through their dense prose.
I was a fence-sitter until I read Talbot's book. He skillfully disposes of the official story as part of a larger narrative about an out-of-control, fascist-riddled CIA…
From Anita's list on plots to overthrow the US government.
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These Blue Mountains
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
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