"One is impressed by the maturity and sophistication of this work, as well as by the extraordinary breadth and depth of the research. The author's access to hitherto classified materials ensures the reader of fresh information and insights. All of this constitutes a well-organized and clearly written outstanding whole." -- Charles D. Ameringer, author of U.S. ForeignIntelligence: The Secret Side of American History"This well-crafted and path-breaking study carefully reconstructs the roles played by U.S. military and naval attaches in America's relations with three Latin American nations experiencing coups and revolutions in the 1950s and 1960s." -- Peter Karsten, author of The Military inAmerica"In these times of new preemptive policies in other, less amenable, parts of the world, Kirkland provides us with a small, but pointed lesson on the importance of good intelligence to decision making.." -- Journal of Military History

• 1. The Attaché Corps in the Pre-Cold War Era, 1888-1945 2. The Attachés, their Duties, Responsibilities, Education, Training and Attitudes, 1945-1964 3. U.S. Attachés, Guatemala and the Overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz, 1950-1954 4. U.S. Attachés and the Cuban Revolution, 1952-1958 5. U.S. Attachés and the Bolivian MNR, 1958-1964 6. Conclusions Appendices Bibliography