I read this in 2000 when it came out after seeing the author give a talk on C-Span BookTV about it. The CIA and the US government funded artists and intellectuals as an ideological campaign against the Soviets during the cold war. NYC artworld types like Pollock and Rothko were funded and touted by clandestine services to fight a charm offensive on behalf of the US and the west. Even intellectuals I admire like Bertrand Russell were unwitting recipients of CIA funding through laundered sources. It is an oddball and admittedly lighter side of the cold war.

https://youtu.be/-6791U1W7A4

Such an important book, so well researched and clear, and so devastating. I thought I was knowledgeable about the CIA's covert activities, but had no idea how it extended into the cultural realms, especially literature, but also music, art, and dance. How bizarre and unsettling to discover that the CIA was funding so many widely read literary magazines around the world, authors, orchestras (the Boston Pops world tours!), musicians, painters, as part of its "Psychological Warfare Division" among other entities, which were part of its cold war efforts.

A truly fascinating look at the United States and it's propaganda both at home and abroad during the Cold War. A disturbing look at how those who would defend "democracy"(read:capitalism even though they aren't remotely close to being the same thing) became as bad as those the were waging "war" against, subverting popular will and feeding misinformation and disinformation enemies and allies alike, not mention the home country too.
Note: if you are a political conservative you probably won't like this book as it's full of those pesky "facts".

Honestly I was so excited to learn about this book's existence, since I thought it would be a deep dive into the *rhetoric* of US propaganda during the Cold War, especially in the Third World. Instead, yeah, I just ended up disappointed because it's really sort of a documentation of the various people and institutions who "steered" US artists and writers towards (e.g.) performing in Europe to show the dynamism and creativity that capitalism brings about... So, it's interesting, just not what I was looking for (like, I already knew that they set up all these funds and conferences and institutes, so now I want to dive into *what* the discussions and texts and stuff that they produced were like)