All-powerful, brilliant, decisive, ruthlessly effective ... this is the image of the CIA as portrayed in countless films and novels. It is wrong.

This shocking book, based on thousands of declassified documents and interviews with agents at all levels, shows the reality behind the glamorous myth: a blundering, chaotic and dangerously incompetent organization, so ineffective it was nicknamed 'Can't Identify Anything' by Nato forces. In a story of botched coups, missed targets, lost operatives and fatal errors, Tim Weiner shows how the CIA now poses a threat not only to the security of the US, but the world.

About the Author
Tim Weiner is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at the New York Times where he has reported from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, and fifteen other nations. He was based for a decade in Washington, DC, where he covered the CIA and the military - the last topic being the basis for his famous book Blank Check: The Pentagon's Black Budget.

Reviews
This extraordinary story reads like tragedy and thriller. Impeccably sourced, utterly absorbing, dazzling and very, very dark * Time Out *
This racy history reveals the CIA as a secret service to make Smiley weep and Bond howl in horror * Daily Telegraph *
Combines thrilling storytelling with terrifying revelations -- Simon Sebag Montefiore * New Statesman, Books of the Year *
Weiner's riveting history of the CIA contains dozens of jaw-dropping incidents ... astonishing * Evening Standard, Books of the Year *
Timely, immensely readable, and highly critical -- Mark Bowden, author of 'Black Hawk Down'
Marvellous ... that every quote is also on the record is a testament to his skill -- Steve Coll, author of 'Ghost Wars'
Winner of the National Book Award * Prizes and awards *


Awards
Winner of National Book Award.



Book Information
ISBN 9780241956236
Author Tim Weiner
Format Paperback
Page Count 832
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 576g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 35mm