The spymasters : how the CIA directors shape history and the future / Chris Whipple.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Only eleven men and one woman are alive today who have made the life-and-death decisions that come with running the world's most powerful and influential intelligence service. With unprecedented, deep access to nearly all these individuals plus several of their predecessors, Chris Whipple tells the story of an agency that answers to the United States president alone, but whose activities--spying, espionage, and covert action--take place on every continent ... [He pulls] back the curtain on the world's elite spy agencies and [shows] how the CIA partners--or clashes--with counterparts in Britain, France, Germany, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Russia. Topics covered in the book include attempts by presidents to use the agency for their own ends, simmering problems in the Middle East and Asia, rogue nuclear threats, and cyberwarfare"--Amazon.com.