The wizards of Langley : inside the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology

In this, the first full-length study of the Directorate of Science and Technology, Jeffrey T. Richelson walks us down the corridors of CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, and through the four decades of science, scientists, and managers that produced the CIA we have today. He tells a story of amazing technological innovation in service of intelligence gathering, of bitter bureaucratic infighting, and sometimes, as in the case of its “mind-control” adventure, of stunning moral failure. Based on original interviews and extensive archival research, __The Wizards of Langley__ turns a piercing lamp on many of the agency’s activities, many never before made public. "In 1956, the CIA dramatically breached the Iron Curtain when its U-2 began overflying Soviet territory to photograph that nation's military installations. Four years later, the Soviets would shoot down pilot Francis Gary Powers and his U-2, thereby ceasing these missions. Within months, however, the CIA had another, and better, technical program in operation - the CORONA satellite. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the CIA's scientific wizards would continue to devise high-tech ways to collect and analyze information about potential adversaries. Their mission was of such importance that a new branch of the CIA was created - the Directorate of Science and Technology.". "In this first full-length study of the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology, author Jeffrey T. Richelson introduces us to key personalities who helped shape the directorate: Edwin Land of Polaroid, Albert Wheelon, Carl Duckett, and others who operated secretly within the directorate such as Antonio Mendez, whose "technical service" skills helped six Americans escape Iran after the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in 1979."--BOOK JACKET. In 1953 Frank Olson, an Army scientist, enjoyed an after dinner Cointreau with colleagues. Ten days later, he leapt to his death. The drink had been spiked with LSD in an early CIA experiment with hallucinogenic drugs. Eventually the CIA's new office for science and technology conducted 182 other such "mind-control" projects, ranging from behavior modification and toxins to brain stimulation and electrode implants Content: 1 Unexpected Missions 1 -- 2 False Start 39 -- 3 A New Beginning 67 -- 4 Space Reconnaissance Wars 102 -- 5 Change of Command 131 -- 6 Empire 161 -- 7 Cracks in the Empire 194 -- 8 Breaking Down Barriers 222 -- 9 A New World 243 -- 10 Agile Intelligence 264 -- 11 Uncertain Future 280 -- Appendix 1 DS & T Components 293 -- Appendix 2 DS & T Leadership 295. Preface Acknowledgments Unexpected Missions False Start A New Beginning Space Reconnaissance Wars Change of Command Empire Cracks in the Empire Breaking Down Barriers A New World Agile Intelligence Uncertain Future Appendix 1: DS&T Components Appendix 2: DS&T Leadership Acronyms and Abbreviations Notes Sources Index Traces the efforts of the Central Intelligence Agency to develop and apply advanced technology for collecting information and other spy purposes, and describes the creation and evolution of the Directorate and its activities. On July 26, 1947, while waiting for Air Force One to fly him to see his dying mother, President Harry S Truman took care of some important government business. Jeffrey T. Richelson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 355-372) And Index.