Ike's mystery man : the secret lives of Robert Cutler

"President Eisenhower's National Security Advisor Robert "Bobby" Cutler shaped US Cold War strategy in far more consequential ways than previously understood. A lifelong Republican, Cutler also served three Democratic presidents. The life of any party, he was a tight-lipped loyalist who worked behind the scenes to get things done. While Cutler's contributions to the public sphere may not have received, until now, the consideration they deserve, the story of his private life has never before been told. Cutler struggled throughout his years in the White House to discover and embrace his own sexual identity and orientation, and he was in love with a man half his age, NSC staffer Skip Koons. Cutler poured his emotions into a six-volume diary and dozens of letters that have been hidden from history. Steve Benedict, who was White House security officer, Cutlers' friend and Koons' friend and former lover, preserved Cutler's papers. All three men served Eisenhower at a time when anyone suspected of "sexual perversion", i.e. homosexuality, was banned from federal employment and vulnerable to security sweeps by the FBI."--Amazon.com.;Preface -- Bostonian republicans -- Bachelor -- Wartime -- From old colony to psychological warfare -- With Ike to victory -- Transition -- The gay spy -- Reforming and running the NSC -- Ike's peculiar ban on gays -- The passion of Oppenheimer -- The Iran coup -- Mystery man -- The Guatemala coup -- The Dr. Dick House, Joe McCarthy, and "sexual perversion" -- Exploiting Soviet vulnerabilities -- "Losing my right arm" -- The return -- "The greatest adventure of my life" -- Sputnik, turmoil, and love -- Challenging US nuclear strategy -- Venice, midnight -- "I love him..." -- Investigations--and agony -- Ike's man in Latin America -- "That which I am, I am." A “superb and harrowing history” of the Cold War, the Lavender Scare—and Eisenhower's first National Security Advisor (The Guardian) President Eisenhower's National Security Advisor Robert “Bobby” Cutler shaped US Cold War strategy in far more consequential ways than previously understood. A lifelong Republican, Cutler also served three Democratic presidents. The life of any party, he was a tight-lipped loyalist who worked behind the scenes to get things done. While Cutler’s contributions to the public sphere may not have received, until now, the consideration they deserve, the story of his private life has never before been told. Cutler struggled throughout his years in the White House to discover and embrace his own sexual identity and orientation, and he was in love with a man half his age, NSC staffer Skip Koons. Cutler poured his emotions into a six-volume diary and dozens of letters that have been hidden from history. Steve Benedict, who was White House security officer, Cutlers’ friend and Koons’ friend and former lover, preserved Cutler’s papers. All three men served Eisenhower at a time when anyone suspected of “sexual perversion”, i.e. homosexuality, was banned from federal employment and vulnerable to security sweeps by the FBI. “A genuinely engrossing read . . . Illuminating, because it resembles the experiences of countless men and women who, forced for so long to mask their true selves, appeared to the world as mysteries.” —The Washington Post “Shinkle’s illuminating biography is a love story, albeit an agonizing one and one that reveals a singular character in American Cold War history.” —The Boston Globe The Cold War, The Lavender Scare and the Untold Story of Eisenhower's First National Security Advisor. "An extraordinary story of . . . a man who held the nation's most sensitive secrets, who also happened to be gay — at a time when such a thing was supposed to be impossible. . . . . a gripping, moving tale." — Evan Thomas, author of Ike's Bluff, President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World "This is a book that deserves, and is sure to get, a wide audience." — Michael Isikoff, co-author of Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump " A historical treasure unearthed . . . A must-read for all Cold War scholars, it is a great read for everyone else." — Martin J. Sherwin, Pulitzer-Prize-winning co-author of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer President Eisenhower's...