Scott Anderson's The Quiet Americans was such an interesting read, and I wish I had read a physical copy of the book instead of an e-ARC because there were so many pages that I wanted to bookmark and highlight.
Basically, this is the true story of how the United States got involved in the Cold War, starting all the way back to World War II and the start of the CIA. The book focuses on four spies that were major players in the CIA at that time (Michael Burke, Frank Wisner, Peter Sichel, and Ed Lansdale), but there were so many other men (and it was always only men back then) that had a hand in what was happening: Joseph McCarthy, J. Edgar Hoover, President Roosevelt, President Truman, President Eisenhower, and more. With all those players, I found it difficult to keep track of who was who and who was where. The story takes us all around the world, as America allowed its distrust of the Soviets and communism in general to give it permission to overthrow other world leaders who maybe didn't always fit with America's goals and focus. And THAT is what has harmed America's image on the world stage, even to this day.
I learned a lot that I hadn't known before in this book, and the interviews with Sichel and the children of the other men really added a lot of personality and inside views.
The Quiet Americans is published by Doubleday and will be on bookstore shelves September 1, 2020. I received an e-ARC for my review.
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