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13th out of 14 books
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Inside the CIA
A Simon & Schuster eBook
Mass Market Paperback, 400 pages
Published
January 10th 2012
by Pocket
(first published 1992)
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Meter
added it
Point of the book:
CIA is not very old.
CIA recruits assets instead of doing dirty work themselves.
CIA's charter includes directive to break laws of other countries.
CIA does a lot of sweeping to detect bugs.
CIA used to pull shenanigans but not anymore, except the Iran Contra thing which considering this book was written around 1991 really wasn't that long ago was it.
CIA gets screwed over by bureaucratic appointments.
CIA also gets screwed over by closed-minded shut-away inbreeding type thought proc...more
CIA is not very old.
CIA recruits assets instead of doing dirty work themselves.
CIA's charter includes directive to break laws of other countries.
CIA does a lot of sweeping to detect bugs.
CIA used to pull shenanigans but not anymore, except the Iran Contra thing which considering this book was written around 1991 really wasn't that long ago was it.
CIA gets screwed over by bureaucratic appointments.
CIA also gets screwed over by closed-minded shut-away inbreeding type thought proc...more
From a purely informational and documentary perspective, this book is useful. However, it's just too kissy-assy from a journalist who clearly thinks the CIA is oh so like totally awesome, and it reads as a mash note by a 13-year-old girl to a teen idol which she sprays with her perfume and stamps with her favorite hearts, flowers and kitty stamps just to let the recipient know how much she looooooooooooves him. "I just can't wait until you and I can live together in a 50-room mansion on the...more
Kessler is a rational rather than a fanatic advocate of good spying. He describes James Angleton's paranoid efforts well. He points out that CIA breaks laws and gets away with it. Wasting money is what they do while engaged in searching for spies. He points out the different styles of spies; some are like us while some are more like characters from a horror movie.
I found this book BORING; it reads like a research paper. The writing is not done well - there are no connectors to the story. I was interested in learning about the CIA, but this reads like a choppy report. It was interesting to learn about the CIA, its history, and key players, but I had to force myself to keep reading because the style was so plain.
I debated if I should rate Inside the CIA two or three stars. For thoroughness it rates a three, for readability, it gets a two. Kessler's writing style is plodding and convoluted, which makes reading the material a chore. Add to this how dated the information is and I would find myself recommending other books instead of this one.
Another book covering the disaster that the CIA has been for the most part. I had read "Legacy of Ashes" which is much better so I wasn't able to get through all of this work. It was just going over the same material that was handled better in Legacy of Ashes.
Very out dated information while some of it is still relevant there are many more books out there that are much more current that deal with DHS and other intelligence agencies. Only reason for the low score is the fact that it is outdated.
I listened to this book on Audible and the narrator was horrible, I can't see how this guy ever got the job as a narrator. As for the book itself I was not all that impressed. The author focused on some very different aspects of the CIA. To give an example he focused almost the same amount of time on the Directorate of Operations as he did the special assistants to the DCI. He also seemed to focus more on the shortcomings of the agency than the benefits of it.
Blake
rated it
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in intelligence or security studies
Shelves:
intelligence
This book is a little dated at this point, but it remais the best researched and most even handed representation of the CIA, its mission, bureaucracy, culture, triumphs and failures that is available. Mr. Kessler has written excellent primers on both the CIA and FBI that avoid conspiracy theories while aiming criticism where criticism is due. For this reason, he was granted unprecedented access to the CIA and its people to conduct research for this book. His previous book on the FBI actually ...more
Rick
added it
4 stars
I suppose it's good research material if you're turned on by dry descriptions of how things work at the CIA. (I read the book because I had planned to write fiction about a CIA character.) I agree with John really... the book is a bore. It's anything but juicy and mostly rather dull.
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This book is an interesting look at what goes on behind the scenes at the CIA. But considering it was a book that was recommended to me BY the CIA when I was interviewing with them, I imagine it gives a rather soft portrayal of things.
Very interesting reading. Everyone in the english speaking world knows of the CIA, this book lets you understand it and understand much more about its effect and the impact of politics and the CIA on the world
this really bummed me out. i was hoping for a juicy little glimpse into the cia. all i got was a book that read like a flier to entice potential employees to sign up. shitty.
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