The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton

A revelatory new biography of the sinister, powerful, and paranoid man at the heart of the CIA for more than three tumultuous decades.

In The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton, Jefferson Morley delivers a gripping biography of CIA spymaster James Jesus Angleton, one of the most important unelected officials in the US government during the 20th century. Virtually untouchable, Angleton operated beyond the view of the public, Congress, and even the president himself. In this first biography of Angleton in over twenty years, Morley reveals the extent of his influence and power during his time at the CIA, from the start of World War II through to the final days of the Cold War.

Mentored in the art of spy craft by British MI6 officer Kim Philby, Angleton excelled in a life of deception, quickly rising through the ranks of the CIA to become chief of counterintelligence, a position he would hold for over 20 years. Despite his background as a former literature student and a friend to poets Ezra Pound and TS Eliot, Angleton became one of the most powerful men in the country. He initiated programmes that included the US's first foray into mass surveillance of its citizens. After discovering that Philby was a double agent, Angleton became obsessed with hunting for communist moles within his own organisation, a search that nearly destroyed the Agency.

Yet, during his seemingly lawless reign, Angleton also proved to be a formidable adversary to America's enemies, earning a mythic stature within the CIA that persists to this day. Morley uses exclusive interviews with colleagues and friends, alongside never-before-seen correspondence, to create a detailed and fascinating portrait of one of the most influential spies of our times.