The Ghost

A revelatory new biography of the sinister, powerful,
and paranoid man at the heart of the CIA for more than three tumultuous
decades.

Legendary head of the CIA James Jesus Angleton was one of the most
powerful unelected government officials in American history. Virtually
untouchable, he operated beyond the view of the public, Congress, and
even the president himself.

In this gripping biography — the first in over 20 years —
investigative reporter Jefferson Morley reveals the man behind the
myths: from Angleton’s friendship with the poets Ezra Pound and TS
Eliot, to his links with the underground gay milieu of mid-century
Washington; from the intelligence secrets he unwittingly shared with
British double agent Kim Philby, to his obstruction of the investigation
into the JFK assassination; and from his initiation of the US’s first
foray into mass surveillance of its citizens, to his obsession with
hunting for communist moles — a search that nearly destroyed the Agency.


Yet during Angleton’s seemingly lawless reign, he also proved himself
to be a formidable adversary to America’s enemies, acquiring a mythic
stature within the CIA that continues to this day. Here, Morley uses
exclusive interviews with colleagues and friends, and never-before-seen
correspondence, to piece together a detailed and fascinating portrait of
one of the most influential spies of our times.