This definitive history of covert action is both timely and necessary.
- James Bamford, author of <I>The Puzzle Palace<I>, <I>Body of Secrets<I>, and <I>A Pretext for War<I>,
Prados brings together in one colorful narrative a sweeping history of America’s covert wars.
- Kai Bird, coauthor of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer,
<i>Safe for Democracy</i> is history for adults—not White House spin but what really happened and why.
- Thomas Powers, Pulitzer Prize winner for national reporting and author of <I>Intelligence Wars: American Secret History from Hitler to Al-Qaeda,
Highly readable, this is intelligence history, and intelligent history at its best.
- Lloyd Gardner, foreign policy specialist and author,
A comprehensive and up-to-date account.
- Norman Polmar, co-author of <I>Spy Book: The Encyclopedia of Espionage<I>,
Prados... constructs factual narratives of events based on thorough research with minimal analytic interpretation interspersed.
- Bruce Miller, Blue Voice
Prados has performed a valuable service....A comprehensive and superbly researched effort that is both engrossing and disturbing.
Booklist
If you're studying the CIA's operations and routines you can't be without <i>Safe for Democracy</i>.
Midwest Book Review
This is the most detailed single volume on the modern history of US covert operations.
Choice Reviews
Prados is an extraordinarily tenacious researcher....[This book is] an impressive achievement.
- Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs
A rare degree of success....His coverage is unusually comprehensive and objective....An authoritative, original work....Prados demonstrates his virtuosity.
Journal of American History
A well-researched, detailed, and vivid account....Prados proves a master of his subject.
- Dimitris Keridas, Poliltical Science Quarterly
Factual and capacious...if anyone writes hereafter about CIA's covert actions without consulting Prados, the result will be woefully deficient.
- Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., special assistant to President Kennedy and author of A Thousand Days,
The book has many strengths…[Prados] introduces a mountain of newly declassified documents and information from memoirs and interviews. The book thus contains much new detail about individuals involved in covert operations and project costs.
The Historian
<i>Safe for Democracy</i> argues its author's case very well, and it opens some very serious questions for scholarly military historians.
Military History