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Book Review of The Very Best Men: The Daring Early Years of the CIA

The Very Best Men: The Daring Early Years of the CIA
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Other reviewers describe the four subjects of this CIA history as , "Patriotic, decent, well-meaning, and brave, [and] . . . uniquely unsuited to the grubby, necessarily devious world of intelligence" AND some reviewers describe them as "the "Four" who did dare are all geniuses and each has played a part in making sure you sleep well at night." MAYBE. More importantly, this book details the reality of very human men, with all of their warts, and how the CIA really evolved, exposing both its successes and MANY failures. It's informative and scary. The CIA was not managed by Olympians from the heavens, but by ordinary men and an army of researchers, administrators, and overgrown boyscouts--some smart and talented, others crazy and out of control. One can easily see how and why it still gets mixed grades and lots of criticism on all fronts.