Secret History: The C.I.A.'s Classified Account of Its Operations in Guatemala, 1952-1954

This is a fascinating study, first commissioned in 1992 by the CIA itself as an internal teaching tool and classified "secret," and later (in 1997) made public during a brief vogue for more open disclosure policies at the agency. The relatively few redacted portions are represented in the present volume by blank spaces. The study exposes the specific conditions which led to the CIA's short-lived "success" in its Guatemalan operations, why that success indeed proved illusory, and how the CIA was in error to use the results of its campaign in Guatemala as encouragement to proceed with covert operations in other countries, such as Cuba. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)