Helpful Score: 1
I have mixed feelings for this book. As an audio book, it was not the best. The narration was dry with hardly any attempt at different voices or tones. Very monotonus. The writing itself was better. This book gives quite a good look at the history of the CIA and Weiner took pains to use original sources and attribute quotes to actual people - no anynomus sources. I was impressed and surpriesd by the detail that is covered. This books allows us to peek behind the curtain of secrets and I would reccommend it to anyone who has an interest in American government or world events.
Not very complimentary. Gives a presidency-by-presidency historical account.
Dense, factual, eye-opening account of the CIA from Truman to Bush43. The author reveals the CIA warts and all and leaves you to draw your own conclusions about past events. He bases his research on recently declassified information (some recently "re-classified") and interviews, with extensive notes at the end.
Although not very complimentary as another reviewer said, Weiner recognizes the importance of swift, accurate intelligence for the sake of national security. He outlines the history of the CIA's decision-making -- the hubris, the predominance of covert action over active intelligence (spying), the inability to self-examine when things go wrong, and just the nasty push and pull of politics between the Whitehouse and the Director of the CIA. Now that the CIA appears to be swallowed up by the Pentagon after the fiasco of Iraq's WMD's, (Weiner views this as a testament of the loss of faith in the CIA but not necessarily what's best for the CIA as an institution), he rather poignantly wonders if it might be too late for the CIA to rise again from the ashes of a legacy that has fallen far, far short of delivering its best work.
Although not very complimentary as another reviewer said, Weiner recognizes the importance of swift, accurate intelligence for the sake of national security. He outlines the history of the CIA's decision-making -- the hubris, the predominance of covert action over active intelligence (spying), the inability to self-examine when things go wrong, and just the nasty push and pull of politics between the Whitehouse and the Director of the CIA. Now that the CIA appears to be swallowed up by the Pentagon after the fiasco of Iraq's WMD's, (Weiner views this as a testament of the loss of faith in the CIA but not necessarily what's best for the CIA as an institution), he rather poignantly wonders if it might be too late for the CIA to rise again from the ashes of a legacy that has fallen far, far short of delivering its best work.
Marcie D. (PatchesMom) - reviewed Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA. on + 91 more book reviews
excellent book
