If any of my readers are interested in obtaining a better understanding of the life and times of Allen Dulles, the former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, I suggest you read David Talbot's new book, The Devil's Chessboard - Allen Dulles, the CIA and the Rise of America's Secret Government.  I have no doubt that as you read the book you will experience a range of emotions depending on your political perspective on the US political and economic scene in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. 

Allen Dulles is one of the most important government figures in our national history and most US citizens know nothing about him.  Some people have heard of Dulles International Airport which serves the Washington, DC area.  The airport is named after John Foster Dulles, the older brother of Allen Dulles, and former Secretary of State under President Eisenhower.  Allen Dulles was one of the original Cold Warriors, an extremely powerful man that oversaw the development of the CIA into an extremely powerful military/intelligence organization. 

Talbot explains how the Dulles brothers began their careers as Wall Street lawyers dedicated to serving America's largest banks and corporations as they expanded their business around the world.  Allen Dulles became part of the US government intelligence community before World War II.  Even as the US was fighting Nazi Germany Allen Dulles was developing relationships with key Nazis that he would establish in the US and German intelligence community as part of his effort to engage the communists in the USSR and other European nations.  Dulles was an important figure in the OSS, the predecessor to the CIA under Roosevelt and Truman. 

Talbot tells the Dulles story during this entire period.  I believe Talbot is telling the truth about what happened.  President Eisenhower lost control of the Dulles led CIA during his eight years in office.  It is hard to believe some of the actions that were taken by our government that were outright evil but justified at the time as protecting our nation from Communists.  We can trace many of the issues we are dealing with today to the actions Allen Dulles took in the 1950s.  Who benefited from many of Dulles actions?  The banks and corporations that were the Dulles brothers clients when they were Wall Street lawyers. 

When John F. Kennedy was elected President he made the decision to keep Allen Dulles as Director of the CIA.  Talbot explains how JFK and his brother Robert began the process of changing the fundamental direction of the nation.  Allen Dulles and his long time "sponsors" despised JFK and the direction he was headed.  Talbot provides substantial evidence that Allen Dulles, after being fired by JFK from his job, was the central figure that organized the operation that resulted in President Kennedy's assassination.  After all the information I have received on this topic and discussed in detail on this site, I believe Talbot's conclusion is correct.  Until the final classified documents on this topic are released by the government we will not know absolutely for sure, and maybe not even then.  But the weight of the evidence that has been developed for over 50 years by many researchers supports Talbot's conclusions. 

Part of the title of the book is "the Rise of America's Secret Government".  There is no doubt that during the administrations of Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy, the President of the United States couldn't control the actions of intelligence organizations that appeared to march to the directions of a different drummer, namely banks and very large corporations.  Has anything really changed since then?  Who is really controlling US policy around the world?  Is it the President of the United States and his advisor's?  Or does part of our government respond directly to the desires of others? 

I hope we have put the "Secret Government" behind us, but who knows what is really happening.  Has anything really changed in the past 50 years.  Is The Devil's Chessboard even more complex today?

TPM

As the holiday season approached I decided to reach back into my personal library and reread another series of books that I originally purchased in paperback form in the 1970s, the Lew Archer private detective novels.  The eighteen Lew Archer novels were initially published by Ross Macdonald, the main pseudonym used by American-Canadian author Kenneth Millar, between 1949 and 1976.  Lew Archer is based in Southern California and the stories reflect the times the author is living in.  The series begins a few years after the end of World War II and reflects the Los Angeles as it existed during that period.  In some respect reading the early Lew Archer novels is like reading a history book. 

I plan on reading all eighteen of Lew Archer novels in the months ahead.  Here are the books of the Lew Archer series of novels and the copyright dates. 

The Moving Target - 1949  Reread 2015

The Drowning Pool - 1950  Reread 2015

The Way Some People Die - 1951 Reread 2016

The Ivory Grin - 1952 Reread 2016

Find a Victim - 1954 Reread 2016

The Barbarous Coast - 1956 Reread 2016

The Doomsters - 1958 Reread 2016

The Galton Case - 1959 Reread 2016

The Wycherly Woman - 1961 Reread 2016

The Zebra-Striped Hearse - 1962 Reread 2016

The Chill - 1964 Reread 2016

The Far Side of the Dollar - 1965 Reread 2016

Black Money - 1966 Reread 2016

The Instant Enemy - 1968 Reread 2016

The Goodbye Look - 1969 Reread 2016

The Underground Man - 1971 Reread 2016

Sleeping Beauty - 1973 Reread 2016

The Blue Hammer - 1976 Reread 2016 

There is also a book of short stories: 

The Name is Archer - 1955 Reread 2016

These books are one of the best series of crime novels ever written.  I salute Ross Macdonald for his great works about the life and times of Lew Archer, private detective.  It is a pleasure to read them again. 

TPM