David Talbot

"Seeds of Resistance is a wake-up call. With vivid and memorable stories, Mark Schapiro tells us how seeds are at the frontlines of our epic battle for healthy food.” —Alice Waters, founder of Chez Panisse and the Edible Schoolyard Three-quarters of the seed varieties on Earth in 1900 were driven to extinction by 2015. In Seeds of Resistance: The Fight for Food Diversity on Our Climate-Ravaged Planet, investigative journalist Mark Schapiro takes us to the frontlines of the struggle over the seeds that remain—a struggle with some of the world’s biggest agri-chemical companies that will determine the long-term security of our food supply. His investigation unravels the stories of seed survival strategies and why it matters that more than half of all commercially traded seeds are under the control of three multinational agri-chemical companies—producing chemical dependent uniform seeds just as climate change is profoundly altering the conditions for growing food. And he dives deep into the growing movement in the United States and around the world to defy these trends, and assert autonomy over locally evolved seeds that are, by contrast, showing high levels of resilience to the onrushing impacts of climate change. He probes into the implications for our health and for the Earth’s ecological health, of patented seeds, and the companies that have turned them, and the chemicals they require to survive, into one of the world’s most valuable commodities. Schapiro, also a lecturer at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, applies his investigative and storytelling skills to this riveting narrative, from the environmentally stressed fields of the American Midwest and California’s Central Valley to the unexpected centers of climate-resilient seed diversity in the arid, war-torn fields of Syria and Iraq, the mountains of southern Mexico and Latin America, and the lands of indigenous food cultivators in the American Southwest and Northwest. There, Native American communities are seeing increasing interest in their ability to grow food in shifting conditions over thousands of years. Newly updated and available for the first time in paperback, Seeds of Resistance gives new meaning to the term ‘farm to table’ by unearthing the largely hidden backstory to the first ingredient in that journey, the seed.

How long has it been since you looked at your phone or checked your emails? These simple acts are performed by millions upon millions of people numerous times each day. But the longer a person's face is illuminated by the glow of their screen, the more at risk they are of experiencing a negative impact on their attention span, productivity, memory and mental health, and the more at risk they are of becoming addicted to their screens, of becoming a 'glowface'. Littered with anecdotes and rendering the results of research into everyday language, Glowface explores the following questions: When we expose children to screens at a young age and for long periods of time, what effect does it have on their natural talents? What happens to our thought processes when we allow screens to constantly interrupt us? What is the impact on our lives when we work in careers built on distraction? What are the repercussions of electing and appointing leaders who reflect our distracted selves? As we increasingly hand our children's education over to screen devices, is it improving educational outcomes? When we use our screen devices to store and share our memories, what is the impact on our own memory? How enriching are our digital pastimes? What are our screen devices doing to our mental health? Our talents, thought processes, careers, leadership, education, memory, leisure time and mental health - these are just some of the things that make us who we are, and each is being eroded by screens. Each is being stolen. Glowface makes readers confront this reality and gives them a reason to start to claim them back.

Winner of the Northern California Book Award for General NonfictionNew York Times bestselling author David Talbot and New Yorker journalist Margaret Talbot illuminate “America’s second revolutionary generation” in this gripping history of one of the most dynamic eras of the twentieth century—brought to life through seven defining radical moments that offer vibrant parallels and lessons for today. The political landscape of the 1960s and 1970s was perhaps one of the most tumultuous in this country's history, shaped by the fight for civil rights, women’s liberation, Black power, and the end to the Vietnam War. In many ways, this second American revolution was a belated fulfillment of the betrayed promises of the first, striving to extend the full protections of the Bill of Rights to non-white, non-male, non-elite Americans excluded by the nation’s founders. Based on exclusive interviews, original documents, and archival research, By the Light of Burning Dreams explores critical moments in the lives of a diverse cast of iconoclastic leaders of the twentieth century radical movement: Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers; Heather Booth and the Jane Collective, the first underground feminist abortion clinic; Vietnam War peace activists Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda; Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and the United Farm Workers; Craig Rodwell and the Gay Pride movement; Dennis Banks, Madonna Thunder Hawk, Russell Means and the warriors of Wounded Knee; and John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s politics of stardom. Margaret and David Talbot reveal the epiphanies that galvanized these modern revolutionaries and created unexpected connections and alliances between individual movements and across race, class, and gender divides. America is still absorbing—and reacting against—the revolutionary forces of this tumultuous period. The change these leaders enacted demanded much of American society and the human imagination. By the Light of Burning Dreams is an immersive and compelling chronicle of seven lighting rods of change and the generation that engraved itself in American narrative—and set the stage for those today, fighting to bend forward the arc of history. By the Light of Burning Dreams includes a 16-page black-and-white photo insert.

Explosive account of the intrigue, hit men, and Cuban exiles in the CIA's war to destroy Fidel Castro Antonio Veciana fought on the front lines of the CIA’s decades-long secret war to destroy Fidel Castro, the bearded bogeyman who haunted America’s Cold War dreams. It was a time of swirling intrigue, involving US spies with license to kill, Mafia hit men, ruthless Cuban exiles—and the leaders in the crosshairs of all this dark plotting, Fidel Castro and John F. Kennedy. Veciana transformed himself from an asthmatic banker to a bomb-making mastermind who headed terrorist attacks in Havana and assassination attempts against Castro, while building one of the era’s most feared paramilitary groups—all under the direction of the CIA. In the end, Veciana became a threat—not just to Castro, but also to his CIA handler. Veciana was the man who knew too much. Suddenly he found himself a target—framed and sent to prison, and later shot in the head and left to die on a Miami street. When he was called before a Congressional committee investigating the Kennedy assassination, Veciana held back, fearful of the consequences. He didn’t reveal the identity of the CIA officer who directed him—the same agent Veciana observed meeting with Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas before the killing of JFK. Now, for the first time in paperback, Veciana tells all, detailing his role in the intricate game of thrones that aimed to topple world leaders and change the course of history.

Winner of the Northern California Book Award for General NonfictionNew York Times bestselling author David Talbot and New Yorker journalist Margaret Talbot illuminate “America’s second revolutionary generation” in this gripping history of one of the most dynamic eras of the twentieth century—brought to life through seven defining radical moments that offer vibrant parallels and lessons for today. The political landscape of the 1960s and 1970s was perhaps one of the most tumultuous in this country's history, shaped by the fight for civil rights, women’s liberation, Black power, and the end to the Vietnam War. In many ways, this second American revolution was a belated fulfillment of the betrayed promises of the first, striving to extend the full protections of the Bill of Rights to non-white, non-male, non-elite Americans excluded by the nation’s founders. Based on exclusive interviews, original documents, and archival research, By the Light of Burning Dreams explores critical moments in the lives of a diverse cast of iconoclastic leaders of the twentieth century radical movement: Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers; Heather Booth and the Jane Collective, the first underground feminist abortion clinic; Vietnam War peace activists Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda; Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and the United Farm Workers; Craig Rodwell and the Gay Pride movement; Dennis Banks, Madonna Thunder Hawk, Russell Means and the warriors of Wounded Knee; and John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s politics of stardom. Margaret and David Talbot reveal the epiphanies that galvanized these modern revolutionaries and created unexpected connections and alliances between individual movements and across race, class, and gender divides. America is still absorbing—and reacting against—the revolutionary forces of this tumultuous period. The change these leaders enacted demanded much of American society and the human imagination. By the Light of Burning Dreams is an immersive and compelling chronicle of seven lighting rods of change and the generation that engraved itself in American narrative—and set the stage for those today, fighting to bend forward the arc of history. By the Light of Burning Dreams includes a 16-page black-and-white photo insert.

Winner of the Northern California Book Award for General NonfictionNew York Times bestselling author David Talbot and New Yorker journalist Margaret Talbot illuminate "America's second revolutionary generation" in this gripping history of one of the most dynamic eras of the twentieth century--brought to life through seven defining radical moments that offer vibrant parallels and lessons for today. The political landscape of the 1960s and 1970s was perhaps one of the most tumultuous in this country's history, shaped by the fight for civil rights, women's liberation, Black power, and the end to the Vietnam War. In many ways, this second American revolution was a belated fulfillment of the betrayed promises of the first, striving to extend the full protections of the Bill of Rights to non-white, non-male, non-elite Americans excluded by the nation's founders. Based on exclusive interviews, original documents, and archival research, By the Light of Burning Dreams explores critical moments in the lives of a diverse cast of iconoclastic leaders of the twentieth century radical movement: Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers; Heather Booth and the Jane Collective, the first underground feminist abortion clinic; Vietnam War peace activists Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda; Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and the United Farm Workers; Craig Rodwell and the Gay Pride movement; Dennis Banks, Madonna Thunder Hawk, Russell Means and the warriors of Wounded Knee; and John Lennon and Yoko Ono's politics of stardom. Margaret and David Talbot reveal the epiphanies that galvanized these modern revolutionaries and created unexpected connections and alliances between individual movements and across race, class, and gender divides. America is still absorbing--and reacting against--the revolutionary forces of this tumultuous period. The change these leaders enacted demanded much of American society and the human imagination. By the Light of Burning Dreams is an immersive and compelling chronicle of seven lighting rods of change and the generation that engraved itself in American narrative--and set the stage for those today, fighting to bend forward the arc of history. By the Light of Burning Dreams includes a 16-page black-and-white photo insert.

An impassioned takedown of the undemocratic features of American electoral politics and their role in the 2016 election. Americans are taught to cherish our democracy, especially our right to vote. But after the 2016 presidential election, we are confronted, yet again, with the reality that our system is neither free nor fair. Almost every step along the way is filled with intentional and unintentional pitfalls, barriers, and dysfunction. The results disadvantage, discourage, and ultimately disenfranchise, but a myth persists that our elections and democracy are exemplary. Our system is adept at pre-empting the very citizens whose participation would upend governing classes and economic elites. That’s done by making voting more complicated, less accountable and resistant to reform. Whether we’re talking about voter ID laws, superdelegates, convoluted state recount rules, or the archaic Electoral College, procedures have greater weight than democratic principles, or evidence-based determinations. Democracy Betrayed catalogs the long litany of ways our elections failed, and continue to fail, their billing as model democracy. It will look through the lens of impassioned skepticism, highlighting what went wrong and conveying why that need not be the case. More people registered to vote in 2016 than ever before, even if turnout was about the same as 2012. That shows people want a system they can believe in. This book will speak to them and show them how they can fight for a better democracy.

Djävulens schackbräde är en inträngande och spännande dokumentär thriller om en av kalla krigets mäktigaste gestalter, Allen Dulles, och framväxten av CIA som en stat i staten. En av USA:s mäktigaste män under efterkrigstiden var aldrig president. Han var mästerspion. Hans namn var Allen Dulles. Han byggde upp CIA till att bli den mäktigaste av alla myn­dig­heter, vars nya huvuduppgift blev, inte att samla under­rättelser, utan att aktivt ingripa i politiska skeenden över hela världen. Manipulering av val, lönnmord, tortyr och stats­kupper - inga metoder var främmande för Allen Dulles CIA. CIA kom även att bli ett hot inte bara mot miss­hagliga ­re­ge­­­ring­ar och personer i ­and­ra länder, utan också, vilket byråns grundare Harry Truman varnade för mot slutet av sitt liv, mot demokratin i USA. År 1961 bestämmer sig dock den nyvalde presidenten John F. Kennedy för att utmana Allen Dulles makt. Efter den miss­­lyc­kade invasionen av Kuba, vid Grisbukten, tvingar han Dulles att avgå och säger sig vilja "stycka upp CIA i tusen bitar". När Kennedy därtill lägger om kursen för den konfrontativa utrikespolitik, som Allen Dulles och hans bror, den tidigare utrikesministern John Foster Dulles, grundlagt, ställs konflikten mellan landets "öppna" och "hemliga" regering på sin spets. "Jag tror att det är nödvändigt att se över CIA:s uppdrag och verksamhet. Mitt syfte var att skapa en myndighet som samordnade de strömmar av känslig information som samlades i Vita huset. Jag hade ingen tanke på att CIA skulle omvandlas till en spionverksamhet i fredstid. CIA har kommit långt bort från sina ursprungliga uppgifter. Byrån har blivit en operativ, och ibland beslutsfattande, gren av rege­ringen, och uppfattas som en symbol för lömska och dunkla intriger i främmande länder. CIA:s sätt att fungera kastar en skugga över vår ställning som ett fritt och öppet samhälle. Min känsla är att detta måste rättas till." Harry Truman, CIA:s grundare, i Washington Post, 22 december 1963 OM FÖRFATTAREN David Talbot, född 1950 i Los Angeles, är jour­na­list och författare till bland annat Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years (2007). Han är grundare av och tidi­gare chefredaktör för Salon, en av de första webbtidningarna i Nordamerika. Han har medverkat i publikationer som Time Magazine, New Yorker och Rolling Stone. OM BOKEN »Ytterst läsvärd, engagerande och bitvis mycket underhållande." Consortium News "En skrämmande biografi om makt, manipulation och förräderi." Kirkus Review "Årets bästa spionthriller är inte någon roman, utan en historisk skildring." Salon "John le Carré och Graham Greene skulle inte ha kunnat gjort det bättre." Daily Beast "Talbot har gjort en enastående insats med sin bok om CIA:s rötter och de män som utformade den kallakrigsanda, vilken kom att dominera amerikansk utrikespolitik i flera decennier. Djävu­lens schackbräde är den bästa enskilda boken som i detalj beskriver framväxten av denna aktivistiska ­underrättelseapparat. Vad gäller Kennedymordet erbjuds här en av de mest tänkvärda dis­kus­sionerna som ­hittills gjorts i bokform." Huffington Post "Djävu­lens schackbräde ­port­rät­te­rar ­Allen Dulles som det kalla krigets ­mörka furste, en man som manipule­rade me­dier, förde presidenter bakom ­lju­set, anstiftade statskupper och möjligen också var involverad i mordet på John F. Kennedy. Läsare som gillar spionhistorier kommer att ha svårt att lägga ifrån sig denna bok." Library Journal

An SS colonel goes underground at the end of WWII Eugen Dollmann was a scholar and member of the SS whose connections among Italian society led to a posting as a liaison officer attached to Mussolini during World War II. In his work as a diplomat and interpreter, he associated with Heydrich, Himmler, and Hitler. This memoir begins with the surrender of the Germans in 1945 and relates how after Dollmann escaped from the British, a Roman Catholic cardinal helped him by allowing him to hide in a home for drug addicts. Later, Dollmann was provided with false papers by the CIA who enlisted him for the fight against communism. After he was arrested by the Italian police, the Americans had no alternative but to jail him, and after some months he was transferred to a camp near Frankfurt for “outstanding cases,” where some of the prominent Nazis were held. Dollmann was released, but he decided to get back to Italy across the frontiers, which he succeeded in doing only after a series of varied escapades. Nazi Fugitive is a remarkable story of a former enemy turned ally during the early years of the Cold War.

An in-depth look at the decades-long effort to escalate hostilities with Russia and what it portends for the future. Since 1945, the US has justified numerous wars, interventions, and military build-ups based on the pretext of the Russian Red Menace, even after the Soviet Union collapsed at the end of 1991 and Russia stopped being Red. In fact, the two biggest post-war American conflicts, the Korean and Vietnam wars, were not, as has been frequently claimed, about stopping Soviet aggression or even influence, but about maintaining old colonial relationships. Similarly, many lesser interventions and conflicts, such as those in Latin America, were also based upon an alleged Soviet threat, which was greatly overblown or nonexistent. And now the specter of a Russian Menace has been raised again in the wake of Donald Trump’s election. The Plot to Scapegoat Russia examines the recent proliferation of stories, usually sourced from American state actors, blaming and manipulating the threat of Russia, and the long history of which this episode is but the latest chapter. It will show readers two key things: (1) the ways in which the United States has needlessly provoked Russia, especially after the collapse of the USSR, thereby squandering hopes for peace and cooperation; and (2) how Americans have lost out from this missed opportunity, and from decades of conflicts based upon false premises. These revelations, amongst other, make The Plot to Scapegoat Russia one of the timeliest reads of 2017.

Eight years apart in age, John F. and Robert F. Kennedy were wildly different in temperament and sensibility. Jack was the leader?charismatic, ironic, capable of extraordinary growth and reach, yet also reckless. Bobby was the fearless, hardworking Boy Scout?unafraid of dirty work and ruthless about protecting his brother and destroying their enemies. Jack, it was said, was the first Irish Brahman, Bobby the last Irish Puritan. As Richard D. Mahoney demonstrates with brilliant clarity in this impeccably documented, magisterial book, the Kennedys lived their days of power in dangerous, trackless territory. Mahoney gives us the Kennedy days and years as we have never before seen them. Here are Jack and Bobby in all their hubris and humanity, youthfulness and fatalism. Here, also, is American history as it unfolds. With a new foreword by David Talbot, The Kennedy Brothers is a masterful account of two men whose legacy continues to hold the American imagination.

From the New York Times bestselling author Dick Russell, edited and introduced by New York Times bestselling author Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.! ”A must read for anyone concerned with climate and energy issues.” —Leonardo DiCaprio, Academy Award winning actor and environmental activist The science is overwhelming; the facts are in. The planet is heating up at an alarming rate and the results are everywhere to be seen. Yet, as time runs out, climate progress is blocked by the men who are profiting from the burning of the planet: energy moguls like the Koch brothers and Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson. Powerful politicians like Senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Inhofe, who receive massive contributions from the oil and coal industries. Most of these men are too intelligent to truly believe that climate change is not a growing crisis. And yet they have put their profits and careers ahead of the health and welfare of the world’s population—and even their own children and grandchildren. How do they explain themselves to their offspring, to the next generations that must deal with the environmental havoc that these men have wreaked? Horsemen of the Apocalypse takes a personal look at this global crisis, literally bringing it home.

Antonio Veciana fought on the front lines of the CIA’s decades-long secret war to destroy Fidel Castro, the bearded bogeyman who haunted America’s Cold War dreams. It was a time of swirling intrigue, involving US spies with license to kill, Mafia hit men, ruthless Cuban exiles?and the leaders in the crosshairs of all this dark plotting, Fidel Castro and John F. Kennedy. Veciana transformed himself from an asthmatic banker to a bomb-making mastermind who headed terrorist attacks in Havana and assassination attempts against Castro, while building one of the era’s most feared paramilitary groups?all under the direction of the CIA. In the end, Veciana became a threat?not just to Castro, but also to his CIA handler. Veciana was the man who knew too much. Suddenly he found himself a target?framed and sent to prison, and later shot in the head and left to die on a Miami street. When he was called before a Congressional committee investigating the Kennedy assassination, Veciana held back, fearful of the consequences. He didn’t reveal the identity of the CIA officer who directed him?the same agent Veciana observed meeting with Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas before the killing of JFK. Now, for the first time, Veciana tells all, detailing his role in the intricate game of thrones that aimed to topple world leaders and change the course of history. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

An insider’s view of Hitler, Himmler, Heydrich, and Mussolini. In the years before World War II, Eugen Dollmann arrived in Rome on a scholarship, intending to write a history of the Catholic Church. Instead he joined the Nazi Party and became an interpreter to various members of the German and Italian Fascist hierarchy. In this capacity Dollmann attended the Munich Conference of 1938 and was present at most of the important meetings between Hitler and Mussolini, also witnessing many of the endless squabbles between Mussolini’s son-in-law Galeazzo Ciano and Hitler’s foreign secretary, Joachim von Ribbentrop. He interpreted for Heinrich Himmler during his visits to Rome and was, curiously for one of his temperament, appointed Obersturmführer in the Allgemeine SS. He played a considerable role in the surrender of the German Army in Italy, helping to prevent the execution of Hitler’s scorched-earth orders. The book is full of piquant anecdotes? Himmler’s excavations for the legendary treasure of King Alaric; the visit of Reinhard Heydrich to the House of the Provinces, a brothel frequented by officers and men of means; Hitler’s dread and annoyance at being piloted into his newly conquered Ukraine by Mussolini?to mention only a few. Throughout, Dollmann makes no attempt to conceal or exonerate his association with the Nazis. With Hitler and Mussolini is a fascinating memoir filled with political intrigue, undercover activity, and insights into the biggest personalities connected to the Second World War.

Based on explosive new evidence, bestselling author David Talbot tells Americaâ??s greatest untold story: the United Statesâ?? rise to world dominance under the guile of Allen Welsh Dulles, the longest-serving director of the CIA.

A New York Times Best Seller! Baltimore, one of our country’s quintessential urban war zones, is brought powerfully to life by literary talent, D. WatkinsTo many, the past 8 years under President Obama were meant to usher in a new post-racial American political era, dissolving the divisions of the past. However, when seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot by a wannabe cop in Florida; and then Ferguson, Missouri, happened; and then South Carolina hit the headlines; and then Baltimore blew up, it was hard to find any evidence of a new post-racial order. Suddenly the entire country seemed to be awakened to a stark fact: African American men are in danger in America. This has only become clearer as groups like Black Lives Matter continue to draw attention to this reality daily not only online but also in the streets of our nation’s embattled cities. D. Watkins. fought his way up on the eastside (the “beastside”) of Baltimore, Maryland—or “Bodymore, Murderland,” as his friends call it. He writes openly and unapologetically about what it took to survive life on the streets while the casualties piled up around him, including his own brother. Watkins pushed drugs to pay his way through school, staying one step ahead of murderous business rivals and equally predatory lawmen. When black residents of Baltimore finally decided they had had enough—after the brutal killing of twenty-five-year-old Freddie Gray while in police custody—Watkins was on the streets as the city erupted. He writes about his bleeding city with the razor-sharp insights of someone who bleeds along with it. Here are true dispatches from the other side of America. In this new paperback edition, the author has also added new material in a section title "Bonus Tracks", responding to the rising tide of racial resentment and hate embodied by political figures like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz as well as the heartbreaking killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, and the impact this has had on issues of race in America. This book is essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of the chaos of our current political moment.

A courageous look at a historic figure. From Oscar®-winner Oliver Stone, Snowden is a riveting personal look at one of the most polarizing figures of the twenty-first century, the man responsible for what has been described as the most far-reaching security breach in US intelligence history. This official motion picture screenplay edition, written by Kieran Fitzgerald and Oliver Stone, includes a foreword by David Talbot and dozens of photos from the film. In 2013, Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) quietly leaves his job at the NSA and flies to Hong Kong to meet with journalists Glenn Greenwald (Zachary Quinto) and Ewen MacAskill (Tom Wilkinson), and filmmaker Laura Poitras (Melissa Leo) to reveal US government cyber surveillance programs of epic proportions. A top security contractor with virtuoso programming skills, Ed has discovered that a virtual mountain of data on digital communication is being assembled?not just from foreign governments and terror groups, but from ordinary Americans. Disillusioned with his work in the intelligence community, Snowden meticulously gathers hundreds of thousands of secret documents that will expose the full extent of the abuses. Leaving his longtime love Lindsay Mills (Shailene Woodley) behind, Ed finds the courage to act on his principles. Snowden opens the door on the untold story of Edward Snowden, examining the forces that turned a conservative young eager patriot into a historic whistleblower and posing provocative questions about which liberties we are willing to trade for protection.

An explosive, headline-making portrait of Allen Dulles, the man who transformed the CIA into the most powerful--and secretive--colossus in Washington, from the founder of Salon.com and author of the New York Times bestseller Brothers. America's greatest untold story: the United States' rise to world dominance under the guile of Allen Welsh Dulles, the longest-serving director of the CIA. Drawing on revelatory new materials--including newly discovered U. S. government documents, U. S. and European intelligence sources, the personal correspondence and journals of Allen Dulles's wife and mistress, and exclusive interviews with the children of prominent CIA officials--Talbot reveals the underside of one of America's most powerful and influential figures. Dulles's decade as the director of the CIA--which he used to further his public and private agendas--were dark times in American politics. Calling himself "the secretary of state of unfriendly countries," Dulles saw himself as above the elected law, manipulating and subverting American presidents in the pursuit of his personal interests and those of the wealthy elite he counted as his friends and clients--colluding with Nazi-controlled cartels, German war criminals, and Mafiosi in the process. Targeting foreign leaders for assassination and overthrowing nationalist governments not in line with his political aims, Dulles employed those same tactics to further his goals at home, Talbot charges, offering shocking new evidence in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. An expos of American power that is as disturbing as it is timely, The Devil's Chessboard is a provocative and gripping story of the rise of the national security state--and the battle for America's soul.