A glimpse into a shadowy world where half-truths, lies, blunders, and cover-ups are accepted realities . . . . Possibly the most unsettling moment in the book is the discussion of the CIA’s relative independence, even of the President.”
“The decision to send a U-2 over Russia just before a summit convergence was, the author believes, a bungle by American intelligence for which he was made, to a limited extent, the scapegoat . . . . Powers’s book is interesting all by itself, and it joins the roster of works that have been raising an exasperating problem: How can an open society cope with secret agencies, its own or anybody else’s?”
“Powers seems the epitome of the spy in his very interesting chronicle. The story he writes is immensely personal, filled at various times with pride, fears, and misgivings. . . .
