The U-2 Affair

by David Wise, Thomas B. Ross

The 1960 U-2 incident occurred during the Cold War on 5/1/1960 during Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency when an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over the USSR. At first, the US government denied the plane's purpose & mission, but was forced to admit its role as a covert surveillance aircraft when the Soviet government produced its remains (largely intact) & surviving pilot, Francis Gary Powers. Coming just over two weeks before the scheduled opening of an East-West summit in Paris, the incident was a great embarrassment to the USA & prompted a marked deterioration in its relations with the Soviet Union.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

269 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

From Wikipedia:
«David Wise (May 10, 1930 – October 8, 2018) was an American journalist and author who worked for the New York Herald-Tribune in the 1950s and 1960s, and published a series of non-fiction books on espionage and US politics as well as several spy novels. His book The Politics of Lying: Government Deception, Secrecy, and Power (1973) won the George Polk Award (Book category, 1973), and the George Orwell Award (1975).»

Most of his books were non-fiction examinations of espionage and U.S. politics. According to his obituary in the New York Times, “He also wrote three spy novels, which were praised for their insight and authority.” Those novels include:
• Spectrum, 1981
• The Children's Game , 1983
• Samarkand Dimension , 1987

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in Michigan, probably before reading The Invisible Government, another book about US spying by Ross and Wise which Dad owned. By age ten I'd already, thanks to his influence and my interest in the Kennedy administration, become interested in government and, sadly, exposed to its corruption.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to evaluate decisions & contributing factors, as well as thinking through cultural aspects.