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The CIA: An Imperial History
The CIA: An Imperial History
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The CIA: An Imperial History
The CIA: An Imperial History is a compelling and analytical title that suggests an in-depth exploration of the Central Intelligence Agency's role in global affairs. It implies a historical perspective on how the CIA has influenced international politics, covert operations, and power dynamics, often in service of imperial or geopolitical interests. The title hints at a critical examination of espionage, regime changes, and the broader impact of intelligence agencies on world history. It is well-suited for a book or documentary that investigates the agency’s strategies, controversies, and long-term influence on global events
In this “superb” (Kathryn Olmsted) new history of American intelligence, a celebrated historian uncovers how the CIA became the foremost defender of America’s covert global empire
As World War II ended, the United States stood as the dominant power on the world stage. In 1947, to support its new global status, it created the CIA to analyze foreign intelligence. But within a few years, the Agency was engaged in other operations: bolstering pro-American governments, overthrowing nationalist leaders, and surveilling anti-imperial dissenters at home.
The Cold War was an obvious reason for this transformation—but not the only one. In The CIA, celebrated intelligence historian Hugh Wilford draws on decades of research to show the Agency as part of a larger picture, the history of Western empire. While young CIA officers imagined themselves as British imperial agents like T. E. Lawrence, successive US presidents used the covert powers of the Agency to hide overseas interventions from postcolonial foreigners and anti-imperial Americans alike. Even the CIA’s post-9/11 global hunt for terrorists was haunted by the ghosts of empires past.
Comprehensive, original, and gripping, The CIA is the story of the birth of a new imperial order in the shadows. It offers the most complete account yet of how America adopted unaccountable power and secrecy abroad and at home.
