In 514 pages of text, supported by 154 pages of endnotes, he describes a 60-year record of unremitting failure, not only in specific covert missions gone wrong but also in the Agency’s “central mission: informing the president of what is happening in the world.” He finds the Agency’s annals “replete with fleeting successes and long-lasting failures,” and concludes that “the most powerful country in the history of Western civilization has failed to create a first-rate spy service.”Īs one would expect of a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist for the New York Times who has covered the intelligence beat for 20 years, Weiner writes skillfully and dramatically, frequently marshaling direct quotations in support of his arguments. Tim Weiner’s thesis in this book is conveyed by its title.
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