Ike's Spies - by Stephen E Ambrose (Paperback)

About the Book

"During his time in office, Eisenhower projected the image of a genial bureaucrat, but behind that public face, he ran the most efficient espionage establishment in the world, overseeing assassination plots, the growth of the CIA, and the overthrow of governments. This book gives a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most ambitious secret operations in American history, including the 1954 overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz Guzmâan's government of Guatemala; Operation AJAX, which toppled Iran's Mossadegh; and the U-2 flights over Russia. Some of Ike's most conspicuous intelligence missteps are also discussed, including the failure to predict the German attack during the Battle of the Bulge and the tragic encouragement of freedom fighters in Hungary, Indonesia, and Cuba. Ike's Spies is indispensible to anyone interested in the development of America's Cold War spy operations."--

Book Synopsis

This classic Cold War-era history looks at the way President Dwight Eisenhower managed America's secret operations as general and as commander in chief and is based on privileged access to the president and his private papers--from bestselling historian Stephen E. Ambrose.

During his time in office, Eisenhower projected the image of a genial bureaucrat, but behind that public face, he ran the most efficient espionage establishment in the world, overseeing assassination plots, the growth of the CIA, and the overthrow of governments. This book gives a behind-the-scenes look at some of the most ambitious secret operations in American history, including the 1954 overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán's government of Guatemala; Operation AJAX, which toppled Iran's Mossadegh; and the U-2 flights over Russia. Some of Ike's most conspicuous intelligence missteps are also discussed, including the failure to predict the German attack during the Battle of the Bulge and the tragic encouragement of freedom fighters in Hungary, Indonesia, and Cuba. Ike's Spies is indispensible to anyone interested in the development of America's Cold War spy operations.

Review Quotes

"Revealing and engagingly written. . . . A book with the qualities of an adventure story."
--The New York Review of Books

"Ambrose is a superb historian."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Historians and public alike should be profoundly grateful to Ambrose."
--Chicago Tribune

"Ambrose brought American history to life with intelligence and care."
--The Tampa Tribune

About the Author

Stephen E. Ambrose was the author or co-author of more than thirty books on military affairs and foreign policy. Early in his career he was an associate editor of The Eisenhower Papers, and he later went on to publish the definitive, three-part biography of Eisenhower, as well as many bestselling books of military history, including Band of Brothers and Undaunted Courage. He died in 2002.