Counterterrorist Forces with the CIA

Children's Literature

Among the many governmental departments designed to assure the security of American interests is the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). An outgrowth of military intelligence constructs during World War Two, the CIA is a highly secretive group that conducts overt and covert intelligence-gathering activities. In this illustrated history of the CIA author John Wright attempts to trace the complicated nature of one of the lowest profiled elements of the American government. As a part of the "Rescue and Prevention: Defending Our Nation" series, Wright's book primarily focuses upon efforts made by the CIA to combat global terrorism. However, Wright does provide information about affiliated agencies such as the FBI that are designed to combat domestic foes. In this work Wright tries to offer readers an overview of the tasks and modes of an agency that is pledged to secrecy. Unfortunately, author Wright is less than successful in carrying out this task. Using a writing style that is cumbersome and which features an inordinate number of acronyms, this is a rather uninteresting book. Additionally, Wright fails to make any mention of covert operations conducted by the CIA or FBI that were questionable in nature. By adopting a one-dimensional perspective, Wright's work is more akin to propaganda than research and does not do justice to its intended audience. 2003, Mason Crest Publishers, Ages 12 up.
— Greg M. Romaneck