Legacy of Ashes

The History of the CIA

By: Tim Weiner

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 21 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

National Book Award Winner, Nonfiction, 2007

This is the book the CIA does not want you to read. For the last 60 years, the CIA has maintained a formidable reputation in spite of its terrible record, never disclosing its blunders to the American public. It spun its own truth to the nation while reality lay buried in classified archives. Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Tim Weiner offers a stunning indictment of the CIA, a deeply flawed organization that has never deserved America's confidence.

Legacy of Ashes is based on more than 50,000 documents, primarily from the archives of the CIA. Everything is on the record. There are no anonymous sources, no blind quotations. With shocking revelations that will make headlines, Tim Weiner gets at the truth and tells us how the CIA's failures have profoundly jeopardized our national security.

©2007 Tim Weiner (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Absorbing...a credible and damning indictment of American intelligence policy." ( Publishers Weekly)
"A timely, immensely readable, and highly critical history of the CIA, culminating with the most recent catastrophic failures in Iraq." (Mark Bowden, author of Blackhawk Down)

An Amazingly Comprehensive Indictment

This book is a surprisingly refreshing look at the often revered American intelligence community. It's non-partisan and thoughtful insight into the history of the CIA is an must listen for anyone who cares about the future of the United States.

Should the CIA exist at all?

After reading this any notions that the United States was good at spying was washed away.

One sided account.

The narrator is either 25 year old, or has lived under a rock. MiloseviCK? Really?

NY Times Guide to CIA Follies

This is a “must read” (or “must listen”) for those who really want to understand the CIA and its history. It is more than a review of the recently released CIA “family jewels.” The author did extensive research to provide a much more complete picture, albeit through the prism of a New York Times pedigreed journalist. However, even a Southern conservative, Republican partisan, living in the Republican bastion of “Little Havana” in Miami, like myself, still found this to be a riveting book.

As a nation currently in the middle of an ideological, global struggle, this book begs the troubling question, “What should be the mission and scope of activities of our intelligence agency and its clandestine service; and who’s going to manage, staff, oversee and ultimately be responsible for its successes (or failures) while maintaining the utmost of secrecy in an ‘open’ society?”

Tough question.

Eye opening

Not only was this book eye opening for me but sad. This book has given me a better understanding of the cia .

ok

The problem with trying to assess intelligence organizations is that by their very existence, action and recommendations, they influence change in decisions on both sides of any issue or conflict. Failures will always be easier to find, describe, and attribute. Ultimately, the scope and relative success or failure of an intelligence organization should be laid at the feet of the decision maker; he/she who provides little to no consistent direction and who abuses the covert and classified nature of the organization to subvert the checks and balances of our government, hoping for faster results and political gain.

Well titled

1) Regime change did not start with Bush or Iraq. It started with Eisenhower.

2) JFK was not all Camelot. He made the CIA intervene in internal affairs of many countries than any of his predecessors. His obsession with killing Castro and his subsequent assassination may or may not be revenge killing.

3) CIA is not all great as its myth. It was brilliantly bad at its core purpose (to collect intelligence). It was good at wetware operations and regime changes.

4) The CIA was almost always wrong with its intelligence reports, so bad in fact not one President trusted it. Except for the Israeli war, it was wrong on ALL counts.

5) The CIA did not win the Cold war. The USSR lost it.

6) The sheer amount of useless lives lost due to CIA carelessness is criminal.

7) The CIA was a bastard child since its inception was vetoed by the President who refused to sign the declaration and killed the OSS.

The Truth of the CIA early years

Where does Legacy of Ashes rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

top notch. Also enjoyed Enemies, narrated by the same person. Excellent.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Legacy of Ashes?

When they were throwing away young recruits, by sending into harms way with no real mission or backup..

Which scene was your favorite?

The changing of command

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Who knew? CIA started out as the Keystones cops agency.

Any additional comments?

The author and his narrator was great. I am so looking forward to more of the collaboration.

So this is the CIA

Very suspenseful and action grabbing. Once I started, it was difficult to stop! It displays the CIA in a manner that surprised me.

very well done

this book is a true in sight into out Intelligence agency and many of the operation that have happened since the cold war