From the Publisher
A Cold War villain of realpolitik whose successes and blunders were unrivaled. As framed by Talbot, Dulles’s extra-legal interventions, coups, slush funds, and ex-Nazi collaborations were as much pro-corporate as anti-Communist, more Cheneyish than Nixonian.... He’d fit right into our globalized, subcontracted, and hypersurveilled era.” — New York Magazine
“Dulles is unmasked as the backstage manipulator of US policy (foreign and domestic) from the Cold War up to his skillful defense of the highly suspect Warren Commission report. Those who scoff at conspiracy theories might have a change of mind after reading this book.” — Boston Globe, Pick of the Week
“A frightening biography of power, manipulation, and outright treason…The story of Allen Dulles and the power elite that ran Washington, D.C., following World War II is the stuff of spy fiction…All engaged American citizens should read this book and have their eyes opened.” — Kirkus, starred review
“A damning biography—of the CIA’s longest standing director—and an exposé of American politics…. One would be hard pressed to find a book that is better at evoking the strange and apocalyptic atmospherics of the early Cold War years in America.... Neither le Carré nor Graham Greene could do any better.” — Daily Beast
“Offers a portrait of a black-and-white Cold War-era world full of spy games and nuclear brinkmanship.” — Mother Jones
“This year’s best spy thriller isn’t fiction — it’s history…. By the time ‘The Devil’s Chessboard’ eventually climaxes with the events that unfolded in Dallas in 1963, Talbot’s argument that Dulles had both the power and temperament to execute such a plot is more than believable.” — Salon
“A chilling psychological depiction.... The vast surveillance system so dramatically revealed to the world by Edward Snowden could never have come to pass without the culture of fanatical secrecy and habitual lawlessness handed down by Dulles and his loyal agents.” — Justyn Dillingham, Bookslut.com
“This aptly titled book portrays Allen Dulles as the dark prince of the Cold War who manipulated the media, deceived presidents, helped stir up coups... [and might] have been involved in Kennedy’s assassination. Readers who enjoy espionage’s dark history will have a tough time putting this book down.” — Library Journal
“Essential reading, especially for readers with even a passing interest in post-WW2 U.S. foreign policy.” — CounterPunch
CounterPunch
Essential reading, especially for readers with even a passing interest in post-WW2 U.S. foreign policy.
Salon
This year’s best spy thriller isn’t fiction — it’s history…. By the time ‘The Devil’s Chessboard’ eventually climaxes with the events that unfolded in Dallas in 1963, Talbot’s argument that Dulles had both the power and temperament to execute such a plot is more than believable.
Daily Beast
A damning biography—of the CIA’s longest standing director—and an exposé of American politics…. One would be hard pressed to find a book that is better at evoking the strange and apocalyptic atmospherics of the early Cold War years in America.... Neither le Carré nor Graham Greene could do any better.
Mother Jones
Offers a portrait of a black-and-white Cold War-era world full of spy games and nuclear brinkmanship.
New York Magazine
A Cold War villain of realpolitik whose successes and blunders were unrivaled. As framed by Talbot, Dulles’s extra-legal interventions, coups, slush funds, and ex-Nazi collaborations were as much pro-corporate as anti-Communist, more Cheneyish than Nixonian.... He’d fit right into our globalized, subcontracted, and hypersurveilled era.
Justyn Dillingham
A chilling psychological depiction.... The vast surveillance system so dramatically revealed to the world by Edward Snowden could never have come to pass without the culture of fanatical secrecy and habitual lawlessness handed down by Dulles and his loyal agents.
Boston Globe
Dulles is unmasked as the backstage manipulator of US policy (foreign and domestic) from the Cold War up to his skillful defense of the highly suspect Warren Commission report. Those who scoff at conspiracy theories might have a change of mind after reading this book.
Los Angeles Times on Brothers
Bracing.... Full of shocking moments and juicy tidbits.
4-starred Critics Choice Review People
David Talbot’s riveting account of the Kennedy Administration is heavy drama…. Brilliant journalism.
New York Times Book Review on Brothers
A fearless, passionate, angry book…. The story of how the Kennedy brothers tried to change the world.
Library Journal
10/01/2015
This aptly titled book portrays CIA director Allen Dulles as the dark prince of the Cold War who manipulated the media, deceived presidents, and helped stir up coups that led to untold numbers of deaths in order to serve his own vision of American power. Talbot's (Season of the Witch) fast-moving account claims that Dulles was motivated by his hatred of the Soviet Union and ran the CIA as a shadow empire that made its own rules, often to the United States's embarrassment. The director's handprints are found on most of the nation's foreign policy blunders: coups in Iran, Guatemala, and the Congo; a failed attempt to overthrow French president Charles de Gaulle; sometimes fatal mind-control experiments; the Bay of Pigs fiasco; and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Talbot portrays Dulles as the link among all of these events and devotes most of the book to the accounts of his cronies and victims, concluding that Dulles could have been involved in President Kennedy's assassination. (Some of the Kennedy material was covered in Talbot's 2007 Brothers.) VERDICT Readers who enjoy espionage's dark history will have a tough time putting this book down. See Stephen Kinzer's The Brothers for a fuller but no friendlier Dulles biography. [See Prepub Alert, 4/13/15.]—Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2015-07-28
Former Salon founding editor-in-chief Talbot (Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror and Deliverance in the City of Love, 2012, etc.) shares his extensive knowledge and intense investigations of American politics with a frightening biography of power, manipulation, and outright treason. The story of Allen Dulles (1893-1969), his brother John Foster, and the power elite that ran Washington, D.C., following World War II is the stuff of spy fiction, but it reaches even further beyond to an underworld of unaccountable authority. Dulles' career began in the New York law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, where he built a powerful client list. During wartime in Switzerland, he worked to protect his clients' corporations and build his own organization. In direct opposition to Franklin Roosevelt's policy, he sought a separate peace with the Germans to use them to fight communism. Talbot delivers a variety of thrilling stories about Dulles that boggle the mind, from skimming funds from the Marshall Plan to using Richard Nixon as his mouthpiece in Congress. It is really about the power elite, the corporate executives, government leaders, and top military officials who controlled the world. They protected corporate interests in Iran, Guatemala, and elsewhere, and they fomented revolutions, experimented in mind control, and assassinated those who got in their way. With John Foster as secretary of state, this "fraternity of the successful" enforced a Pax Americana by terror and intimidation, always invoking national security and often blatantly disobeying policy guidelines. The author asserts that the Bay of Pigs was an intentional failure, meant to force John F. Kennedy to invade Cuba and retrieve corporate properties. Even out of office, Dulles' conspiracies continued. Talbot also delves into CIA involvement in Kennedy's assassination. Ultimately, the blatant manipulative activities of the Dulles brothers will shock most readers. Washington, D.C., regulars may know some of this information, and foreign nations certainly do, but all engaged American citizens should read this book and have their eyes opened.
