The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence
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| Author | Victor Marchetti, John D. Marks |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Central Intelligence Agency |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
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Publication date
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June 12, 1974 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 398 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 920485 |
| 327.1/2/06073 19 | |
| LC Class | JK468.I6 M37 1974 |
The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence is a 1974 controversial non-fiction political book written by Victor Marchetti, a former special assistant to the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and John D. Marks, a former officer of the United States Department of State.
The book discusses how the CIA works and how its original purpose (i.e. collecting and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and persons in order to advise public policymakers) has, according to the author, been subverted by its obsession with clandestine operations. It is the first book the federal government of the United States ever went to court to censor before its publication. The CIA demanded the authors remove 399 passages but they resisted and only 168 passages were censored. The publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, chose to publish the book with blanks for censored passages and with boldface type for passages that were challenged but later uncensored.
The book was a critically acclaimed bestseller whose publication contributed to the establishment of the Church Committee, a United States Senate select committee to study governmental operations with respect to intelligence activities, in 1975. The book was published in paperback by Dell Publishing in 1975.
The book is partly censored, but it is printed to show which parts were blacked out—it is perhaps the earliest published book to show its deletions. The book contains a list of foreign officials, including King Hussein of Jordan, who received clandestine payments from the CIA in return for "favors".
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