In his previous book, The Gatekeepers, Chris Whipple, a former journalist and TV producer and now a documentary filmmaker, explored the role of White House chiefs of staff in defining the presidencies in which they serve. In The Spymasters, he looks at another group of highly influential Washington officials—those who’ve led the Central Intelligence Agency over the years. While drawing on interviews with most of the ex-directors still alive, the book is not meant, as Whipple says at the start, to be a formal history of the CIA. Rather, it’s an examination of how the directors have shaped the agency and world events. Those who’ve led the agency are a varied bunch, ranging from experienced intelligence officers to former politicians, military commanders, and academics. The best, Whipple contends, have been those who got close to the presidents they served but were never partisan.
Leonard Downie Jr. spent 44 years at The Washington Post, rising from summer intern eventually to become executive editor. In All About the Story, he looks back at his long career in journalism, offering lots of fascinating behind-the-scenes accounts that illuminate how the Post pursued major stories, ranging from Watergate to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He also examines key issues that have confronted and continue to confront editors and reporters in American newsrooms—among them, how to handle reporting on the private lives of public figures, and how to decide what stories would endanger national security. And he reflects on the challenging transition that’s still happening at the Post and other newspapers from what was a Golden Age of print journalism to the digital age.
Started in 2007, The Washington Post’s Fact Checker column today leads the ever-growing pack of media watchdogs highlighting false public statements. In the age of Donald Trump, the reporters behind the column have been working overtime. In their book, they make a compelling case for Trump as the most mendacious president in U.S. history. Drawing on a database containing more than 19,000 fallacious statements by Trump since he took office, they examine some of the most frequent distortions and most dangerous deceptions. Their book, like their daily reporting, provides an essential resource for all of us trying to keep our own eyes on the truth and avoid being blinded by Trump’s total disregard for it.
