Theoharis, Athan, ed. The Central Intelligence Agency: Security under Scrutiny. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006.Theoharis, Athan, ed. The Central Intelligence Agency: Security under Scrutiny. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006.
Peake, Studies 50.3 (Sep. 2006) and Intelligencer 15.2 (Fall/Winter 2006-2007), identifies this work as "a research guide to the Central Intelligence Agency from its origins in 1947 to the end of 2004." The reviewer notes that this book is "already out of date in terms of organization and key personnel assignments"; however, "it is the most current book available on the CIA.... There are no sources cited..., a peculiar omission considering it was written by scholars. Thus it must be viewed as tentative, and where a point of interest arises in its use, students should look to primary sources for validation."
Theoharis, Athan G. The Quest for Absolute Security: The Failed Relations Among U.S. Intelligence Agencies. Chicago, IL: Ivan R. Dee, 2007.
From publisher: The author's "analysis traces the troubled history of relations among American intelligence agencies and points out the historical myopia that characterizes the Kean Commission's findings and recommendations" in its 2004 report on 9/11.
Keiser, Proceedings 134.3 (Mar. 2008), notes that the author believes "'absolute security' is an illusory quest." This work "is a most useful historical review." Noting the author's claim that "increased centralization will only lead to more abuses by the intelligence agencies," Peake, Studies 52.1 (Mar. 2008) and Intelligencer 16.1 (Spring 2008), finds that the book fails in its effort to make its point.
Trento, Joseph J. The Secret History of the CIA. New York: Prima, 2001.
According to the reviewer for Publishers Weekly, 17 Sep. 2001, the author "views the CIA as stunningly incompetent.... But Trento's provocative conclusions ... suffer from the poor credibility of his sources.... Trento's prose sometimes reads like boilerplate spy thriller."
Pearce, National Observer, Spring 2002, notes that this book "has a sensationalist tendency" and urges that it "be viewed with much caution" and the "analysis treated with suspicion." It is difficult to know "which of the facts [Trento] sets out are accurate and which are distorted or wrong." The reviewer concludes that this is "an unbalanced work, and apparently deliberately so."
For Len M., Studies 46.2 (2002), "[i]n terms of respect for facts and an understanding of the intelligence collection and analysis process, The Secret History of CIA is the worst book yet purporting to provide an account of the Agency's past." The reviewer suggests retitling the book "Garbled Accounts and Ingenious Interpretations of Selected CIA Operations." A "reader will gain no reliable new insight into the CIA's past from slogging through" this book.
Weiner, Tim. Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA. New York: Doubleday, 2007.
Click above for a selection of the many reviews of this controversial work.
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