Jeffreys-Jones, Rhodri. The CIA and American Democracy. New Haven CT:
Yale University Press, 1989. 338 pages.
Ordinarily, any book from Yale University Press about the CIA has two
strikes against it, because of Yale's long-standing relationship with
intelligence elites. But Jeffreys-Jones, from his perspective at the
University of Edinburgh, does a decent job of recounting CIA history from
the published record. This is a scholarly work that is based on manuscripts,
official documents, books, articles, memoirs, and oral history interviews,
many of which are from presidential libraries and other special collections.
The bibliography alone amounts to twenty pages of small print. It is not an
investigative book in the journalistic sense, and there's evidence of only
a handful of interviews by the author.
Most of this book covers familiar ground. There is more material on
Congressional relations than on covert operations, and the odd tidbit about
some obscure staff aide occasionally sheds new light. There is also material
on the machinations behind the founding of the CIA, and Truman's position
on this issue, that cannot be found in other books. The author's conclusions
are mushy, which is par for academia: yes, there's a contradiction between
democracy and the CIA; yes, the abuses of the power have been serious; no,
don't blame the CIA but instead blame presidential politics; yes, we need
covert operations; and yes, it's a dilemma that is sure to continue.
ISBN 0-300-04149-7
Extract the names from this source
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