It does not “smell” like any of the serious historical works I’ve read. The book is an entertaining read, with lots of fascinating information and anecdotes but as a portrayal of historic truth it fails to pass the smell test. Weiner claims to be writing serious history, both in the book’s sub-title (“The History of the CIA”) and in his preface statement that this is “the first history of the CIA compiled entirely from firsthand reporting and primary documents….What I have written here is not the whole truth, but to the best of my ability, it is nothing but the truth.” ) Old foreign affairs professionals will find many familiar names in this book.

Interestingly for American Diplomacy readers, he quotes not only CIA officers but also many State Department Foreign Service Officers, drawing extensively on the oral history collection assembled by the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. In 514 pages of text, supported by 154 pages of endnotes, he describes a 60-year record of unremitting failure, not only in specific covert missions gone wrong but also in the Agency’s “central mission: informing the president of what is happening in the world.” He finds the Agency’s annals “replete with fleeting successes and long-lasting failures,” and concludes that “the most powerful country in the history of Western civilization has failed to create a first-rate spy service.”Īs one would expect of a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist for the New York Times who has covered the intelligence beat for 20 years, Weiner writes skillfully and dramatically, frequently marshaling direct quotations in support of his arguments. Tim Weiner’s thesis in this book is conveyed by its title.

Legacy of ashes by tim weiner