Persico, Joseph E. Casey: From the OSS to the CIA. New York: Penguin Books, 1991. 601 pages.

The author first met William J. Casey in the course of writing an earlier book, Piercing the Reich, on the penetration of Nazi Germany by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Casey spent the last part of the war in London and then Paris, running OSS agents into Germany. In 1966 he ran for Congress and lost, having already become a multi-millionaire from his investments. In 1968 he worked for the International Rescue Committee with his good friend Leo Cherne; in 1971 he was appointed chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission by Richard Nixon.

The Reagan campaign of 1980, which Casey managed, was his springboard into the directorship of the CIA. He was the most controversial director in the agency's history; his hands-on buccaneering style produced dirty fingers in Central America and hostages-for-arms in Iran, despite Congressional prohibitions against such activity. Questions also emerged about Casey's role in the 1980 "October Surprise," an alleged scheme to delay the release of hostages in order to prevent the re-election of President Carter. Casey died on May 6, 1987, just one day after the first witness was called to testify in the Iran-contra investigation. Had he lived, there is no doubt that he would have been a major target of the special prosecutor.
ISBN 0-14-011314-2

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