Why is the story of two men, two brothers, born in the late 1800's and serving in government in the first half of the 20th century important? It is important because what they did in their years of service has set the table for the world we live in today. A clear piece of evidence is dropped into the story right at the start, on page 11, when Kinder tells us that their grandfather John Watson Foster, Secretary of State for Benjamin Harrison, was the first American Secretary of State to take part in the overthrowing of a government but not the last. Many years later John Foster would follow in the footsteps of his grandfather as Secretary of State involved in the overthrowing of a government.
At times this reads like a novel, there are covert operations to overthrow governments, mind control experiments with drugs like LSD, and enhanced interrogation in secret locations, except they are all true and some continued well after the Dulles brothers left the State Department and CSI.
The history, some of which the details didn't come to light until decades after the fact, isn't told to crucify the Dulles brothers, though it some cases their part in some of the ongoing foreign policy problems we still face is undeniable, it is told to teach a lesson that we are all capable of being them. We are all at risk for becoming blinded by our own ideas, preconceived perceptions, and surrounding ourselves only with people who echo our thoughts rather than challenge us to think more open mindedly and objectively.
(Finished June 23, 2016)
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