The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government - Hardcover

Talbot, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062276166 ISBN 13: 9780062276162

Publisher: Harper, 2015

Synopsis

An explosive, headline-making portrait of Allen Dulles, the man who transformed the CIA into the most powerful—and secretive—colossus in Washington, from the founder of Salon.com and author of the New York Times bestseller Brothers.

America’s greatest untold story: the United States’ rise to world dominance under the guile of Allen Welsh Dulles, the longest-serving director of the CIA. Drawing on revelatory new materials—including newly discovered U.S. government documents, U.S. and European intelligence sources, the personal correspondence and journals of Allen Dulles’s wife and mistress, and exclusive interviews with the children of prominent CIA officials—Talbot reveals the underside of one of America’s most powerful and influential figures.

Dulles’s decade as the director of the CIA—which he used to further his public and private agendas—were dark times in American politics. Calling himself “the secretary of state of unfriendly countries,” Dulles saw himself as above the elected law, manipulating and subverting American presidents in the pursuit of his personal interests and those of the wealthy elite he counted as his friends and clients—colluding with Nazi-controlled cartels, German war criminals, and Mafiosi in the process. Targeting foreign leaders for assassination and overthrowing nationalist governments not in line with his political aims, Dulles employed those same tactics to further his goals at home, Talbot charges, offering shocking new evidence in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

An exposé of American power that is as disturbing as it is timely, The Devil’s Chessboard is a provocative and gripping story of the rise of the national security state—and the battle for America’s soul.

About this title

About the Author

David Talbot is the author of the New York Times bestseller Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years and the acclaimed national bestseller Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love. He is the founder and former editor in chief of Salon, and was a senior editor at Mother Jones and the features editor at the San Francisco Examiner. He has written for The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Time, The Guardian, and other major publications. Talbot lives in San Francisco, California.

From the Back Cover

From the founder of Salon and the author of the New York Times bestseller Brothers, an explosive, headline-making portrait of Allen Dulles, the man who transformed the CIA into the most powerful—and secretive—colossus in Washington.

America’s greatest untold story: the United States’ rise to world dominance under the guile of Allen Welsh Dulles, the longest-serving director of the CIA.

Drawing on revelatory new materials—including recently discovered U.S. government documents, U.S. and European intelligence sources, the personal correspondence and journals of Allen Dulles’s wife and mistress, and exclusive interviews with the children of prominent CIA officials—David Talbot reveals the underside of one of America’s most towering and influential figures.

Dulles’s decade as the director of the CIA was a dark period in American politics. The spymaster saw himself as above the nation’s laws and elected leaders, manipulating and subverting American presidents in the pursuit of his personal interests and those of the wealthy elite he counted as his friends and clients—colluding with Nazi war criminals and Mafiosi in the process. Talbot charges that Dulles utilized the same ruthless tactics he employed abroad—targeting foreign leaders for assassination and overthrowing nationalist governments not in line with his political aims—to further his goals at home, and offers shocking new evidence regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

An exposé of American power that is as disturbing as it is timely, The Devil’s Chessboard is a provocative and gripping story of the rise of the national security state—and the battle for America’s soul.

Advance Praise for The Devil’s Chessboard

“A frightening biography of power, manipulation, and outright treason. . . . The story of Allen Dulles and the power elite that ran Washington, D.C., following World War II is the stuff of spy fiction. . . . All engaged American citizens should read this book and have their eyes opened.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Praise for Brothers

“A fearless, passionate, angry book . . . the story of how the Kennedy brothers tried to change the world.”—The New York Times Book Review

“David Talbot’s riveting account of the Kennedy administration is heavy drama . . . brilliant journalism.”—People, Critic’s Choice review

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062276166
• ISBN 13: 9780062276162
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 704