| ISBN |
9781529042481 (paperback) |
| Author |
Anderson, Scott, 1959- author. |
| Title |
The quiet Americans : four CIA spies at the dawn of the Cold War -- a tragedy in three acts / Scott Anderson. |
| Publisher/Date |
London : Picador, 2020. |
| ©2020 |
| Pagination etc. |
x, 562 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portraits ; 25 cm. |
| Bibliography, etc. note |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [477]-535) and index. |
| Contents note |
Act 1: This sad and breathless moment. Operation Dogwood ; A demon inside me ; A man called Typhoid ; The wunderkind ; The man who could disappear ; The sentinel ; A lush lawlessness ; The quiet American ; A world blowing up ; An end to normal things -- Act 2: Heart and minds and dirty tricks. The mighty Wurlitzer and the royal dwarf ; Operation Rusty ; Ripe for revolt ; Finding "our guy" ; Witch hunt ; Operation Fiend ; War as a practical joke ; Tossing the dice -- Act 3: Crowding the enemy. An alarming enthusiasm ; Red Scare revived ; White knight ; Operation Success ; Those bastards out there ; Collapse. |
| Summary Note |
At the end of World War II, the United States dominated the world militarily, economically, and in moral standing -- seen as the victor over tyranny and a champion of freedom. But it was clear -- to some -- that the Soviet Union was already executing a plan to expand and foment revolution around the world. The American government's strategy in response relied on the secret efforts of a newly-formed CIA. The Quiet Americans chronicles the exploits of four spies -- Michael Burke, a charming former football star fallen on hard times, Frank Wisner, the scion of a wealthy Southern family, Peter Sichel, a sophisticated German Jew who escaped the Nazis, and Edward Lansdale, a brilliant ad executive. The four ran covert operations across the globe, trying to outwit the ruthless KGB in Berlin, parachuting commandos into Eastern Europe, plotting coups, and directing wars against Communist insurgents in Asia. |
| Subject - Name |
Burke, Michael, -- 1918- |
| Sichel, Peter M. F. |
| Wisner, Frank, -- 1909-1965 |
| Lansdale, Edward Geary, -- 1908-1987 |
| Subject |
United States. -- Central Intelligence Agency -- Officials and employees -- Biography |
| Cold War |
| Espionage, American -- History -- 20th century |
| Intelligence officers -- United States -- Biography |
| Spies -- United States -- Biography |
| Biographies. |
| Shelf Location |
327.1273 ANDE |
