Wyden, Peter. Bay of Pigs: The Untold Story. New York: Simon & Schuster,
1979. 352 pages.
Two books in NameBase, "Operation Zapata" and Peter Wyden's "Bay of
Pigs: The Untold Story," deal with the 1961 CIA invasion of Cuba that was
inherited by President Kennedy as soon as he took office. This was the
first embarrassment for a CIA that had come to think of itself as all-
powerful. Hundreds of CIA-trained Cubans and dozens of CIA officials
blamed Kennedy after he failed to involve U.S. forces to salvage a
deteriorating situation. Some of the crucial events in U.S. history since
1961 can be traced back to the Bay of Pigs, and to Kennedy's subsequent
desire to rein in the CIA.
Wyden's book is probably the most complete narrative of the Bay of
Pigs that has been published. The author's efforts resulted in the
declassification of the available Taylor Commission material that is
reproduced in "Operation Zapata." Numerous interviews with CIA officials,
Bay of Pigs veterans, and even a six-hour interview with Castro, lend
considerable detail and authenticity to this highly-readable account.
ISBN 0-671-24006-4
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