Weiner closes with a cautious faith in the agency's rank and file, shadowed by a clear sense of foreboding." -
The New Yorker"This masterful new history should be required reading. . . . Astonishing. . . . A singular triumph." -
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"In this triumphant follow-up to
Legacy of Ashes, National Book Award winner Weiner continues his history of the CIA. . . . Chilling. . . . A crucial document of the present times." -
Publishers Weekly (starred review)"Riveting. . . . How Weiner persuaded so many people to talk on the record is a journalistic feat that should make
The Mission impossible to dismiss." -
Associated Press"
The Mission is an outstanding book. The most important CIA intelligence activities of this century are examined here, fairly and in lively prose." -
Loch K. Johnson, SpyTalk"An absorbing, informative portrait of an embattled organization that is facing formidable challenges abroad and at home." -
Minneapolis Star Tribune"In 2007, Weiner, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, rankled U.S. spy organizations with
Legacy of Ashes, a chronicle of the C.I.A.'s 20th-century failings that won a National Book Award. He's back with the story of the agency's evolution since Sept. 11 - a period when American covert services took an increasingly militaristic role in the Middle East and, Weiner contends, pushed the business of war deeper into the dark." -
New York Times, Editors' Choice"No one has opened up the CIA to us like Weiner has, and
The Mission deserves to win Weiner a second Pulitzer." -
John Simpson, The Guardian"Weiner has made tracking the fluctuating fortunes of the American intelligence community his life's work. His masterly
Legacy of Ashes, detailing the C.I.A.'s first half-century, won a National Book Award in 2007.
The Mission picks up where that book left off, narrating the agency's history well beyond the fall of communism. It is exhaustive and prodigiously researched." -
Scott Anderson, New York Times Book Review"A remarkable piece of journalism and history, based on scores of on-the-record interviews with CIA veterans. Weiner takes us deep into that covert world, exposing its scandals and chronicling the agency's little-known successes. . . . I marvel at Weiner's accomplishment." -
David Corn, Mother Jones"
The Mission reads like a thriller. . . . a remarkable collection of information we never had before and wouldn't have without Weiner." -
Rachel Maddow"Readers of
The Mission may wonder whether spy fiction and political dramas have a future. The author certainly provides rich background for aspiring thriller writers. But he suggests that reality, in the US at any rate, is intriguing enough, and scary. . . . Weiner brings a sharpness and added value mainly through his interviews with many of the players involved, along with his cutting and perceptive observations." -
Times Literary Supplement (London)"The Mission is a fantastic read. . . . reminds us of the importance of the human element when it comes to high-stakes diplomacy, and the life-and-death decisions on which our national security depends." -
The Observer (London)"Weiner meticulously documents a level of chaos, deception and politicization in the upper echelons of the CIA that put in perspective current debates over Donald Trump's own efforts to reshape and purge the agencies."
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The Economist"Riveting. . . .
The Mission is a penetrating portrait of the nation's most powerful intelligence service and its existential evolution as a last line of defense against enemies foreign and domestic."
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Shelf Awareness, starred review
