He brings a veteran journalist's sense of character, moment and detail. Kinzer, a former foreign correspondent for the New York Times, displays a commanding grasp of the vast documentary record, taking the reader deep inside the first decades of the Cold War. ' is a bracing, disturbing and serious study of the exercise of American global power. A riveting chronicle.' - The New York Times Book Review 'Anyone wanting to know why the United States is hated across much of the world need look no farther than this book. Gossip nips at the heels of history on nearly every page.' - The Wall Street Journal Kinzer has brightened his dark tale with an abundance of racy stories. ' fluently written, ingeniously researched, thrillerish work of popular history. Publisher: Times Books ISBN: 9780805094978 Number of pages: 352 Weight: 617 g Dimensions: 235 x 156 x 28 mm MEDIA REVIEWS It illuminates and helps explain the modern history of the United States and the world. The story of the Dulles brothers is the story of America. These campaigns helped push countries from Guatemala to the Congo into long spirals of violence, led the United States into the Vietnam War, and laid the foundation for decades of hostility between the United States and countries from Cuba to Iran.

Propelled by a quintessentially American set of fears and delusions, the Dulles brothers launched violent campaigns against foreign leaders they saw as threats to the United States. This is how the Dulles brothers saw themselves, and how many Americans still see their country's role in the world. He uses the framework of biography to ask: Why does the United States behave as it does in the world? The Brothers explores hidden forces that shape the national psyche, from religious piety to Western movies-many of which are about a noble gunman who cleans up a lawless town by killing bad guys.

In this book, Stephen Kinzer places their extraordinary lives against the background of American culture and history.

John Foster Dulles was secretary of state while his brother, Allen Dulles, was director of the Central Intelligence Agency. During the 1950s, when the Cold War was at its peak, two immensely powerful brothers led the United States into a series of foreign adventures whose effects are still shaking the world.

The brothers kinzer