The Very Best Men: The Daring Early Years of the CIA

An absorbing and well researched history of the CIA's early years told through the biography of four CIA officers. It provides insight into a culture that is little understood outside the intelligence community and in a way provides us with a better perspective on today's issues regarding American intelligence. The fact that Evan Thomas had access to the CIA archives and to CIA personnel makes this book a valuable historical resource. I'm sorry the book is out of print, it deserves to be readily available to scholars now and in the future.

An action-packed spy novel this is not, but this remains one of my favorite books about the beginnings of the CIA. Sure there are other books that exist that examine early covert intelligence operations more thoroughly, but this book is a perfect balance of biography and Agency history. I was definitely inspired by this book and Ted Gup's " The Book of Honor : The Secret Lives and Deaths of CIA Operatives " to read many more books about the Agency. I find this group of men to be fascinating, as they are largely a group of private school boys who grew up to be tasked with preventing the spread of communism. Like several of Thomas' books, this jumps from person to person in different chapters, which as the reader I rather enjoy.

Evan Thomas unveils a rich cache of tales about these sometime brilliant and always curious characters. Each member of this quartet was instrumental in establishing the direction taken by the young Central Intelligence Agency. These are narratives worth discovering. Thomas is a gifted writer and his stories of Frank Wisner, Tracy Barnes, Desmond FitzGerald and Richard Bissell are guaranteed to keep the reader intrigued. One can better understand (if not forgive) the excesses of the CIA when is able to see its goals (and actions) through the vision of these swashbuckling actors. A fascinating look at those who wielded secret power for better or worse. It was not always for better, in retrospect, but their achievements were remarkable by any standard. Highly recommended.

If you’re a history lover then you will love this book. If you’re looking to do a book report on the early years of the CIA, then this book is for you.

Unconsciously hilarious account of how the best brought up (mostly out of Groton and Yale ), with mostoften the best intentions, mismanaged a trade they were not educated for. It is a wonder that the CIAstill exists. But do not mistake me. These men were some of the very best men you could hope to meet.They did the best they could. They simply were not prepared at Groton or Yale to do what they wereexpected to do.It was as if Woodrow Wilson had been expected to build a world wide espionage network, one ready to use anydirty trick if it were but for the greater good of mankind.

This is a very detailed analysis of the few men that powered up the early CIA. They were Ivy League School graduates.

Good read about how the CIA began. The good and the bad is covered in this well researched tome. I enjoyed the read.

I wouldn't say that THE VERY BEST MEN is boring, but my interest started waning rather quickly. Thomas is a wonderful researcher, and the prose is fine, but perhaps the CIA has always been more romantic when it comes to the myth as opposed to the reality.