The CIA: An Imperial History -- Hugh Wilford, Hardcover

In this "superb" (Kathryn Olmsted) new history of American intelligence, a celebrated historian uncovers how the CIA became the foremost defender of America's covert global empire

As World War II ended, the United States stood as the dominant power on the world stage. In 1947, to support its new global status, it created the CIA to analyze foreign intelligence. But within a few years, the Agency was engaged in other operations: bolstering pro-American governments, overthrowing nationalist leaders, and surveilling anti-imperial dissenters at home.

The Cold War was an obvious reason for this transformation--but not the only one. In The CIA, celebrated intelligence historian Hugh Wilford draws on decades of research to show the Agency as part of a larger picture, the history of Western empire. While young CIA officers imagined themselves as British imperial agents like T. E. Lawrence, successive US presidents used the covert powers of the Agency to hide overseas interventions from postcolonial foreigners and anti-imperial Americans alike. Even the CIA's post-9/11 global hunt for terrorists was haunted by the ghosts of empires past.

Comprehensive, original, and gripping, The CIA is the story of the birth of a new imperial order in the shadows. It offers the most complete account yet of how America adopted unaccountable power and secrecy abroad and at home.

Author: Hugh Wilford
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 06/04/2024
Pages: 384
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 8.60h x 6.10w x 1.50d
ISBN: 9781541645912

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2024
Booklist 05/15/2024 pg. 2
Publishers Weekly 06/03/2024

About the Author

Hugh Wilford is a professor of history at California State University, Long Beach, and author of five books, including America's Great Game and The Mighty Wurlitzer. He lives in Long Beach, California.