Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
Book Information
- Publisher
- Doubleday
- Published
- 2007-06-28
- Pages
- 702 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 15.88 x 4.45 x 23.62 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780385514453
- ISBN-10
- 038551445X
- Price
- 4945 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/History/Americas/United States/20th Century
For the last sixty years, the CIA has managed to maintain a formidable reputation in spite of its terrible record, burying its blunders in top-secret archives. Its mission was to know the world. When it did not succeed, it set out to change the world. Its failures have handed us, in the words of President Eisenhower, “a legacy of ashes.” Now Pulitzer Prize–winning author Tim Weiner offers the first definitive history of the CIA—and everything is on the record. LEGACY OF ASHES is based on more than 50,000 documents, primarily from the archives of the CIA itself, and hundreds of interviews with CIA veterans, including ten Directors of Central Intelligence. It takes the CIA from its creation after World War II, through its battles in the cold war and the war on terror, to its near-collapse after 9/ll. Tim Weiner’s past work on the CIA and American intelligence was hailed as “impressively reported” and “immensely entertaining” in The New York Times . The Wall Street Journal called it “truly extraordinary . . . the best book ever written on a case of espionage.” Here is the hidden history of the CIA: why eleven presidents and three generations of CIA officers have been unable to understand the world; why nearly every CIA director has left the agency in worse shape than he found it; and how these failures have profoundly jeopardized our national security.
Tim Weiner is a reporter for The New York Times . He has written on American intelligence for twenty years, and won the Pulitzer Prize for his work on secret national security programs. He has traveled to Afghanistan and other nations to investigate CIA covert operations firsthand. This is his third book.
Reviews
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Brutally honest...
assessment of CIA history. Fair and well written. With so much nonsense written about the agency, books like this serve a valuable purpose. Covering the whole of its history, there are gaps, most notably any reference to waterboarding. It leaves the reader wanting more. I hope it will be reissued and updated soon.
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コストパフォーマンスで合格？？
要するに、CIAなる組織がいかに米国政府の厄介者だったかという内容。数ページごとに対象事件や対象地域も変わるので、一貫して楽しめる「物語」という類のものではありません。あくまでも、これまでの事実がどうだったのかを明らかにしようとする記事を集めたなようなものです。 話題がころころ変わりますので、また、その範囲がヨーロッパからアフリカ、中東、ロシア、アジアそしてラテンアメリカにいたるまで全世界にわたっておりますので、ある程度の全世界的な国際情勢に関する知識がないと楽しめないかと思います(・o・)
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アメリカの戦後史の「負の側面」
散発的に何かの機会に眼や耳にするしかなかった、CIAの「非合法」活動と、アメリカのそれぞれの政権、特に大統領との関係が、具体的にかつ包括的に書かれている。特にケネディ政権の部分が分量が多いし個人的にも興味深かった。テレビ広告により（映画もある）理想を追求する大統領兄弟のイメージがふりまかれた、一方で南米の左翼政権の暴力的破壊を試みていたとは。マフィアの抗争の結果のように二人とも暗殺された背景も示唆される。ルメイやマクナマナなど東京空襲の立案・実施者の戦後の生態もわかる。
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実名は出ているが
日本人としては１２章で岸と賀屋の記述に注目するところですが、なまなましい記述がさっぱり出てきません。『日本テレビとCIA』と同じCIAネームファイルを使用したとあるのですが、書いてあることが極めてソフトタッチでソフトフォーカスです。岸に資金を渡したエージェントの実名が出てくるところは非常に評価（というより彼らの家族のことを考えると心配）するのですが、中身がいかにもあたりさわがないので、やっぱりなとも思います。星三つはエージェントの実名をあげたことへの評価です。
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Typically US writing style but filled with details and cross referencing that made this entire book an engaging read. I personally enjoyed the level of detail supported by factual referencing u deepened by personal reflection and operational experience. Has encouraged me to read his follow-up ‘The Mission’. Anyone with an interest in 20th Century politics post WWII this is a must read.
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Arrived in perfect condition, very happy with quality and fascinating book!
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"The history of ashes" reads like a novel, with the tiny little difference that it is not. Amazing what Mr Weiner achieved with this book. Looking for a sequel.
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This means CIA is a total failur, nothing more.
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I came away with a lot more compassion for a whole political mindset that I have barely been able to deal with. Mr. Weiner has given us a detailed, researched, and intricately woven saga of an organization that with all its passion and service, has failed and was further scapegoated by the White House and the Pentagon when they were actually part of that failure.