Much of the CIA’s history has been taken up with trying (and mostly failing) to carry out covert action around the world. The second focus always outweighed the first. The first was to gather clandestine information on the nation’s enemies and the second was to carry out covert action against the nation’s enemies. As a result, the CIA had two focuses when it was created by Harry Truman in 1947. The CIA was an outgrowth of a World War II organization called the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), which carried out commando style raids and other covert operations. Weiner acknowledges in the beginning that no history of an inherently secret organization can be considered definitive, but I would say his comes as close as one can. Legacy of Ashes is a history of the CIA based on a slew of recently declassified documents and copious interviews. Therefore, it is not much of a surprise that Legacy of Ashes has been on my “to read” list for awhile. My fascination with it rests in the fact that it is kind of the dark side of what I do for a living: searching for information. Fiction or non-fiction, it does not matter. I love reading all things espionage (as you may have noticed if you have read my other reviews).
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