THE USA TODAY BESTSELLER 'As fast paced as a thriller' Fred Burton Stratfor Talks' Pen and
Sword Podcast 'Jacobsen here presents a tour de force exploring the CIA's paramilitary
activities...this excellent work feels like uncovering the tip of the iceberg ...Highly
recommended for those seeking a better understanding of American foreign policy in action'
Jacob Sherman Library Journal 'A behind-the-scenes look at the most shadowy corners of the
American intelligence community...Well-sourced and well-paced this book is full of surprises'
Kirkus 'Annie Jacobsen takes us inside the darkest and most morally ambiguous corner of our
government where politicians ask brave men and women to kill-up close and personal-on
America's behalf' Garrett M. Graff author of Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government's
Secret Plan to Save Itself - While the Rest of us Die 'This is a first rate book on the CIA
its paramilitary armies operators and assassins' New York Journal of Books 'Having already
demonstrated her remarkable aptitude for unearthing government secrets in books like Area 51
(2011) and The Pentagon's Brain (2015) Jacobsen pulls back the curtain on the history of
covert warfare and state sanctioned assassinations from WWII to the present...Jacobsen's work
revealing a poorly understood but essential slice of warfare history belongs in every library
collection' Booklist The definitive character-driven history of CIA covert operations and U.S.
government-sponsored assassinations from the author of the Pulizter Prize finalist The
Pentagon's Brain Since 1947 domestic and foreign assassinations have been executed under the C
IA-led covert action operations team. Before that time responsibility for taking out America's
enemies abroad was even more shrouded in mystery. Despite Hollywood notions of last-minute
rogue-operations and external secret hires covert action is actually a cog in a colossal
foreign policy machine moving through among others the Bureau of Intelligence and Research
the House and Senate Select Committees. At the end of the day it is the President not the C
IA who is singularly in charge. For the first time Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times
bestselling author Annie Jacobsen takes us deep inside this top-secret history. With
unparalleled access to former operatives ambassadors and even past directors of the Secret
Service and CIA operations Jacobsen reveals the inner workings of these teams and just how
far a U.S. president may go covertly but lawfully to pursue the nation's interests.
