A review by icallaci
The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government by David Talbot

3.0

This could have been a 5-star book, but the author’s obvious bias caused me to question almost everything he wrote. It reminded me of fiction, with good guys and bad guys, instead of an objective account of the CIA’s role in world events. For example: “…Maheu tried to make it seem like his decision [to assassinate Castro] was a tortured process. But it actually sounded like a relative no-brainer for the security contractor…. When it came down to it, he didn’t mind having Castro’s blood on his hands, or that of his brother Raúl Castro and Che Guevara, for that matter.” How could the author possibly know this? No source is given. On the other hand, “[Kennedy] did not want to appear naïve about Communist exploitation of these national liberation movements. But he was even more concerned that the United States be on the right side of history, by supporting the aspirations of the peoples of Latin America, Africa, and Asia as they threw off their colonial shackles.” Again, no source is given to back up Kennedy’s humanitarian motives. The bad guys are always power-hungry, evil, scheming liars and murderers, while the good guys are always desperately trying to do the right thing, with no self-interest whatsoever, even when their actions result in chaos and revolution. As a thriller, the book definitely held my interest, so I gave it three stars instead of two. But I would have preferred (and am still looking for) a more nuanced version of both sides of the story.