The Ghost

Jefferson Morley, an American investigative journalist, is the latest to try to wrestle Angleton from the layers of mystery that surround him, and he does a fine job of filleting out the mans talents and charisma from the dark deeds he committed Morley adeptly builds a picture of a spymaster weaving a web in which his concept of duty gradually eroded his moral sense. -- Ben Macintyre * The Times * James Angleton's real life is the most intriguing, moving, and at times shocking spy story in American history. In The Ghost, Jeff Morley has captured the man in all his brilliant and sometimes delusional eccentricity. Angleton is woven through many of the strangest episodes of the 1950s and 60s including the Kennedy assassination in what was invisible thread, until Morley's book. A must read for anyone who wants to understand just how strange and secretive the CIA was at the height of the Cold War. -- David Ignatius, columnist for <i>The Washington Post</i> and author of <i>The Director</i> The best book ever written about the strangest CIA chief who ever lived. No screenwriter or novelist could conjure a character like Angleton, but Morley's stellar reporting and superb writing animate every page of this work. It's essential history and highly entertaining biography. -- Tim Weiner * National Book Award winning author of <i>Legacy of Ashes</i> * Americans are finally coming to know the Cold War spymasters and other hidden figures who lived their lives in secrecy while shaping our national destiny. The Ghost reveals a fascinating chapter of this hidden history. It is a chilling look at the global power that is wielded in Washington by people who are never known until a book comes out to spill their secrets. -- Stephen Kinzer * author of <i>The Brothers</i> * The Ghost is the compulsively readable, often bizarre true-life story of American spymaster James Jesus Angleton the CIAs poetry-loving, orchid-gardening mole-hunter for almost 20 years. Capturing the extent of Angletons eccentricity, duplicity and alcohol-fueled paranoia would have challenged the writing skills of a Le Carr or Ludlum, and Jeff Morley has done it with flair. This important book depicts the trail of wreckage left behind by Angleton in a CIA career that involved him in virtually every major spy-versus-spy drama of the Cold War and drew him deeply into the mysteries of the Kennedy assassination and the murder of one of JFKs mistresses. * Philip Shenon, author of <i>A Cruel and Shocking Act</i> * 'Transcending mere thriller comparisons, this gripping read is filled with descriptions of events that sometimes beggar belief and open the reader's eyes to a world that often has much greater influence on world politics that we might realise. The Ghost is compulsory reading for anyone interested in contemporary history, American politics and the mysteries of the 20th century secret intelligence community.' * All About History * This is the book to read if youve ever doubted the extent to which powerful countries can meddle or if youve ever naively disbelieved that the CIA has a reprehensible record of interference, both domestically and internationally. * The Listener * A fascinating insight into a murky, labyrinthine world, one which ultimately trapped the man who built it. * Daily Telegraph * [Morley] writes fluently and engagingly. -- Josephine Fenton * Irish Examiner *

Jefferson Morley is a journalist and editor who has worked in Washington for over thirty years, fifteen of which were spent as an editor and reporter at The Washington Post. The author of Our Man in Mexico, a biography of the CIAs Mexico City station chief Winston Scott, Morley has written about intelligence, military, and political subjects for Salon, The Atlantic, and The Intercept, among others. He is the editor of JFK Facts, a blog. He lives in Washington, DC.