Books like BURN BEFORE READING by Stansfield Turner

A definitive, document‑rich history of the CIA, revealing why presidents and CIA leaders have struggled to grasp global realities and how repeated failures have threatened U.S. national security.

“[The United States’ goal in Angola] was not to keep out the Cubans and Soviets but to make their imperial efforts as costly as possible and to prove that, after Vietnam. we were still capable of response, however insane. It is this story that has been told, and in impressive and convincing detail, by John Stockweli, the former chief of the CIA’s Angola task force.’ His hook should not he missed. Since strategic thought survives by ignoring experience, it has a highly professional interest in avoiding accounts such as this. By the same token, all who are alarmed about the tendency toward such strategic thinking should strongly welcome Mr. Stockwell’s book.” —John Kenneth Gaibraith. New York Review of Books In Search of Enemies is much more than the story of the only war to be found when the CIA sought to recoup its prestige after the Vietnam debacle. Though no American troops were committed to Angola, only “advisors,” many millions were spent, many thousands died, and many lies were told to the American people, in waging a war without purpose to American vital interests and without hope of victory. In Search of Enemies is unique in its wealth of detail about CIA operations and convincing in its argument that the clandestine services of the CIA should be abolished. John Stockwell, who lived in Africa for ten of his early years, is a graduate of the University of Texas and an alumnus of the U.S. Marine Corps. After twelve years as a CIA officer, he resigned from the agency on April I. 1977

An inside look at the President’s Daily Brief—how daily CIA reports shape presidential decisions on foreign relations, national security and intelligence.

John Foster Dulles and his brother Allen Dulles, key figures in U.S. foreign policy and CIA leadership during the early Cold War, are examined in a joint biography.

An investigative look at the George W. Bush years, exposing CIA and Defense Department actions, domestic surveillance, executive abuses, and how national security agencies operated behind the scenes.

The CIA's hidden manual of magic and deception: How the agency taught its agents to use sleight of hand for espionage and covert operations during the Cold War.

Executive Secrets traces the history of CIA covert action and its relationship to U.S. presidential decision-making, drawing on declassified documents, congressional investigations, and the author's own experiences.

George Friedman reveals the hidden forces shaping U.S. foreign policy and the global war on terror, offering a detailed look at America’s covert operations, strategic alliances, and decision-making since 9/11.