Spies and Spooks: The (Mis)Adventures of the CIA
Bettmann / CORBIS
The Archetypal Director of Central Intelligence
Allen Dulles may have been the fifth director of the CIA, but he served in
that office longer than any other person (1953-61) and
had the most important historical link to "Wild Bill" Donovan. He had
worked with the OSS chief in recruiting German scientists and military
experts to work for the U.S., eliding any Nazi membership to sneak them into
the country. Dulles' tenure helped shape the CIA into the spy agency of
contemporary legend: covert manipulator, state within a state, overthrower
of unfriendly governments.
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