The Hidden Hand is a succinct accessible and up-to-date survey of the Central Intelligence Agency’s history from its inception in 1947 to the present. Covers both aspects of the CIA’s mission – the collection and analysis of intelligence and the execution of foreign policy through covert, paramilitary operations De-mythologizes the CIA’s role in America’s global affairs while addressing its place within American political and popular culture Written by an esteemed scholar and high-ranking officer in the intelligence community, drawing on the latest research Assesses the agency’s successes and failures, with an eye to the complex and controversial nature of the subject 

The Hidden Hand. A Brief History of the CIA