The Mission

The CIA in the 21st Century

By: Tim Weiner

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

New York Times Bestseller * A New Yorker Best Book of the Year * A Washington Post Notable Book of the Year * A New York Times Editors' Choice

"No one has opened up the CIA to us like Weiner has, and The Mission deserves to win Weiner a second Pulitzer." —The Guardian

A masterpiece of reporting based on-the-record interviews with six former CIA directors and scores of spies, station chiefs, and top operations officers: The Mission is a gripping and revelatory history of the modern CIA, reaching from 9/11 through its covert operations in Afghanistan and Iraq to today’s secret battles with Russia and China, concluding with the Agency's own fight for survival under the current president of the United States

Tim Weiner's epic successor to Legacy of Ashes, his National Book Award–winning classic about the CIA's first sixty years

At the turn of the century, the Central Intelligence Agency was in crisis. The end of the Cold War had robbed the agency of its mission. More than thirty overseas stations and bases had been shuttered, and scores that remained had been severely cut back. Many countries where surveillance was once deemed crucial went uncovered. Essential intelligence wasn’t being collected. At the dawn of the information age, the CIA’s officers and analysts worked with outmoded technology, struggling to distinguish the clear signals of significant facts from the cacophony of background noise.

Then came September 11th, 2001. After the attacks, the CIA transformed itself into a lethal paramilitary force, running secret prisons and brutal interrogations, mounting deadly drone attacks, and all but abandoning its core missions of espionage and counterespionage. The consequences were grave: the deaths of scores of its recruited foreign agents, the theft of its personnel files by Chinese spies, the penetration of its computer networks by Russian intelligence and American hackers, and the tragedies of Afghanistan and Iraq. A new generation of spies now must fight the hardest targets—Moscow, Beijing, Tehran—while confronting a president who has attacked the CIA as a subversive force.

From Pulitzer Prize winner Tim Weiner, The Mission tells the gripping, high-stakes story of the CIA through the first quarter of the twenty-first century, revealing how the agency fought to rebuild the espionage powers it lost during the war on terror—and finally succeeded in penetrating the Kremlin. The struggle has life-and-death consequences for America and its allies. The CIA must reclaim its original mission: know thy enemies. The fate of the free world hangs in the balance.

A masterpiece of reporting, The Mission includes exclusive on-the-record interviews with six former CIA directors, the top spymaster, thirteen station chiefs, and scores of top operations officers who served undercover for decades and have never spoken to a journalist before.

A must read in our troubled times

Read the first CIA history. Weiners follow up is extremely important in our modern times. Covers many of the issues that are presently being denied as false news but really happened

Outstanding book about the contemporary threats faced by the CIA.

In depth analysis of the challenges facing our democracy and the roll of the CIA to protect the national security interests of nation and the freedom of our people.

Thorough must-listen

I was familiar with much of the CIA’s work and expertise, yet some chapter’s information surprised me thoroughly. Often I could not stop shaking my head, other times I had to promptly share with someone what I’ve learned. It is amazing that there are still people who do not listen to intelligence reports and guidance. Would recommend if this is your jam!

What about the women?

Very male centered story. Compare with The Sisterhood the Secret History of Women of the CIA.

Relevance of cia history to today

Legacy of Ashes was, of course, a lot about Hoover but still very full of unknown detail and background/
backstories.
This book reads similarly well & doesn’t shy from cia’s history of deficits, though focus turns to lessons learned & efforts to build a new agency post 9-11.
Goes into detail about things current admin would hate, such as Russia’s intrusion on ‘16 election.
The epilogue brings us to 5/25 & sums up what keeps democracy lovers worldwide awake at night.
Great read. MAGAs will hate it but if you’re not that, it’s a useful history of CIA through 21st century so far.