Secret Empire: Eisenhower, CIA, and the Hidden Story of America's Space Espionage

Liked it. Eisenhower has been written in the history books as a post WWII General/President that isn't known for much social change. This book casts light on his focus on intellegence and building the mechanisms to gather it.

As a student of pre-modern history (pre-Renaissance), I usually have little interest in this period or genre of history as it is usually tainted by politics and the shortsightedness of having been so recent. However, this history is one of the most fascinating histories I have read or listened to.

I was taught that the Eisenhower years were a kind of "Howdie Doodie", "Happy Days" world where Ike went golfing and the world was all rosey. Not true--Ike and his administration had to fight a very hard and dangerous world during the Cold War. It is remarkable that they of this time kept is so isolated to the average American.

Here is a story of how we brought technology to espionage in a very heightened way. This is a story of unsung heroes and geniuses and gutsy men who protected us from a very real threat, both real and apparent.

Normally, a history with so much sci-tech as its backbone would be rather specialized and boring; this one is not. The technical problems to be solved were significant and very difficult. There is a lot of spine in this book

This story needs to be told.

I thought this was a good book overall. There is some times to where the history jumps around and leaves you unsure of the date they are talking about. I would recommend this book and I'm glad I got to listen to it. Very good overview of the spy history. If you like the U2 story and the spy satellites you will enjoy this.

I was looking for a book on Ike. The tech stuff was interesting but not really much news

This is an interesting and balanced account of US espionage and reconnaissance efforts during the first part of the Cold War. The author mixes the personal stories and anecdotes of the people who built the U2 and the Corona satellites with a wealth of interesting technical detail and a solid account of the larger Cold War context. Eisenhower is well drawn and impressive. His concern about needless escalation and provocation shames his more militant advisors and generals and may have prevented a nuclear war.

This book is likely to be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the Cold War and the technology of reconnaissance.

This book gives great insight into the start of the US reconnaisance satellite program, as well as the key players in its beginning. With great detail into the technical obstacles to be overcome when trying to create something that has never been built before, this book also highlights tension created within the intelligence community, Washington, and Moscow.

I would recommend this book to anybody with an interest in intelligence, satellites, or the Cold War.

Unknown

The involvement of Edward Land with the CIA and President Eisenhower.

I rarely read books any longer but I did like his reading.

I was surprised about what went on behind the scenes in the 50's regarding our intelligence efforts.

Excellent book and reading; great companion for those long commutes

I felt this book was incorrectly named. It should've been called: "The making of the U2 and other spy satellites." For those of you looking for information regarding Eisenhower and his approach to the Cold War and espionage this is not the book. His role is merely sketched out while the details of how they made the various pieces of technology to carry out spy operations was fleshed out to a level of detail that was frankly boring. There should have been more information on cabinet meetings or a more detailed analysis on how the administration dealt with the lack of information about the former Soviet Union. Unfortunately, instead of looking at the big picture, the book focused on minutia. Endless minutes were given to descriptions of how they purchased various pieces of technology and the difficulties in creating new optical systems for spy satellites. For the most part Eisenhower was portrayed as simply giving the OK for various projects. In only small sections of the book does it provide a little detail on how he grappled with the actual results of espionage. I found the book truly disappointing.