A Brotherhood of Spies: The U-2 and the CIA's Secret War Hardcover – Import, 8 May 2018

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This is a superb book for what is, unfortunately, probably a relatively small audience. An interest in Cold War history, aeronautics, and the intelligence community are requisite to really enjoy this mid-20th Century history. But it's a history that can be appreciated by anyone. The book deserves a wide audience. It is very well written and faced paced.The book traces the accomplishments of Edwin Land, Richard Bissell, Kelly Johnson, and Frank Powers. Together they pioneered the concept of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and the concept's embodiment in the U-2 aircraft. How the U-2 came to be and the engineering (and security!) challenges to deliver it are fascinating as is the story of how the aircraft became an important element in US intelligence gathering in the Soviet Union and Cuba. Highly recommended for those interested in US history, the IC, and aircraft engineering. Recommended for everyone else.

Monte Reel's A Brotherhood of Spies is a captivating tale of the intense American effort that brought US intelligence into the modern age of information technology and data analysis.The author sets the stage in his prologue that takes the reader back to what was happening in America when on May 1, 1960 Francis Gary (Frank) Power's CIA-sponsored photographic-intelligence-gathering mission’s U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union.Reel then proceeds to tell the stories of a remarkably small group of four men who were vital to the success of a mission that would, over the years provide the US intelligence of immeasurable value. He investigates the most important milestones of the Cold War with a novelist’s eye for detail that brings each of the stories to life---getting into the minds and personalities of the masterminds of the top-secret U-2 spy plane program, Polaroid's Edwin Land, Lockheed's Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, CIA's Richard Bissell, and CIA's Frank Powers.At the book’s core is Powers, the man who against all odds survived the Soviet S-75 Dvina missile attack on his U-2, was captured, tried, found guilty, imprisoned then released by the Soviets, and how he and his wife, Barbara coped in an international political chess game. Steven Spielberg’s movie "Bridge of Spies" tells the story of his dramatic release.Of particular interest to some could very well be the author's account of the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. For those who viewed President Kennedy's October 22, Oval Office address outlining the crisis, these were worrisome days with Saturday, October 27, later described as "the most dangerous moment in human history."The steady and patient leadership of Presidents Eisenhower, during the development of the U-2, and Kennedy, during the Cuban missile crisis, stands in sharp contrast to today's presidential chaos and scare-mongering with a patently made-up immigration crisis.On a personal note, Reel's incredibly engaging story of the U-2 and the CIA's secret war brought back vivid memories of experience with high-pressure classified R&D programs for US Air Force Development and Intelligence Agencies in the overlapping 1956-1967 timeframe. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my (second) cousin, Andrew Goodpaster was involved with the U-2 program in his capacity as President Eisenhower’s Staff Secretary and Liaison to the Department of Defense. He went on to become NATO’s Supreme Commander and the Superintendent of West Point.This book is a must read for anyone interested in real non-military American heroes as well as the leadership and critical ingredients required for urgent large-scale product development.

Interesting, credible and readable, although perhaps the author tries to stretch too far. Essentially, it's a history of the U2 project. However, understandably enough, it ventures into many related fields: the workings of the CIA, the Bay of Pigs fiasco, the Cuban crisis. These are monumentally important fields and the author has to treat them too superficially. I've read Powers's version of his U2 role. I shall look for biographies of Edwin Land - of whose CIA role I was wholly ignorant - and Curtis LeMay who has been painted in the last two books I have reviewed as an unhinged warmonger who could easily have triggered WW3.

What a writer; what a book.Very much enjoyed A Brotherhood of Spies because not only was it entertaining and well-written, it changed my worldview on the Cold War... and as a consequence, on America itself. Looking back on the 1950s, it's important to remind ourselves not only of the bad--the racism, sexism, etc.--but the good. And most importantly, the in-between. A Brotherhood brings us back in time, and reminds us that, no matter what time it is, the world only exists in scales of grey.

Great read