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Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA | 
| Author: Tim Weiner
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy New: $9.99
You Save: $6.96 (41%)
Rating:  139 reviews
Sales Rank: 1260
Media: Paperback
Pages: 848
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 1.7
ISBN: 0307389006
Dewey Decimal Number: 327.1273009
EAN: 9780307389008
ASIN: 0307389006
Publication Date: May 20, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 4 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20090107232017T
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
With shocking revelations that made headlines in papers across the country, Pulitzer-Prize-winner Tim Weiner gets at the truth behind the CIA and uncovers here why nearly every CIA Director has left the agency in worse shape than when he found it; and how these profound failures jeopardize our national security.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 134 more reviews...
an enjoyable read January 8, 2009
K. Josic (Houston, TX USA)
This is really the first book I have read about the US intellingence
community, and it was a very enjoyable read. Tim Weiner has
very few good things to say about the CIA. It is difficult to judge
whether he is too critical - I am certain he stuck to the facts, but there
are many different ways of presenting them, and many different
things to pick on in the nearly 60 year history of the agency.
However, I've learned quite a bit about some of the most important
moments in the nation's history from a very special viewpoint.
It is frightening if an agency that has for so long eluded oversight and
accountability was involved in these events to the extent portrayed.
Ultimately, all intelligence services are antithetical to democracy - particularly
those whose activities go beyond collecting information. Even if the
present book does not tell the complete story, it does make clear that the US has
not solved the problem of how such an agency can be part of a democratic
society without undermining its very tenets.
 Outstanding Service and Response December 12, 2008
L. K. Fink Jr. (Apollo Beach, FL)
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
My recent order for a book was processed quickly and efficiently delivered in short order. This was important since I was under a deadline for reading the book in time for our monthly book discussion group meeting.
Excellent discussion of the CIA October 28, 2008
CJ (Seattle, WA USA)
This is a fairly comprehensive study of the CIA and its history. The author has added very extensive endnotes. It evenly covers the sixty year history of the agency and the various manifestations. The most interesting past is the beginning sections, where the author relies on recent declassified documents. The book is not without its faults the author has it's bias of the concept of "original sin" - the agency was designed poorly from the beginning and the founding fathers of the CIA laid the basis for future disaster. This is an arguable premise, but the author attacks with a little too much zeal. He is also sometimes a bit sympathetic for the more modern CIA staff and directors - remember that he has spent 20 years covering the CIA as a journalist, and he starts relying more on interviews of Tenet, etc. Despite this, it deserves a five star rating and should be on the list of recent required reading.
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