
Poisoner in Chief
Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control
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Narrated by:
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James Linkin
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By:
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Stephen Kinzer
2019 Amazon.com Best Books of the Year
The best-selling author of All the Shah’s Men and The Brothers tells the astonishing story of the man who oversaw the CIA’s secret drug and mind-control experiments of the 1950s and ’60s.
The visionary chemist Sidney Gottlieb was the CIA’s master magician and gentlehearted torturer - the agency’s “poisoner in chief.” As head of the MK-ULTRA mind control project, he directed brutal experiments at secret prisons on three continents. He made pills, powders, and potions that could kill or maim without a trace - including some intended for Fidel Castro and other foreign leaders. He paid prostitutes to lure clients to CIA-run bordellos, where they were secretly dosed with mind-altering drugs. His experiments spread LSD across the United States, making him a hidden godfather of the 1960s counterculture. For years he was the chief supplier of spy tools used by CIA officers around the world.
Stephen Kinzer, author of groundbreaking books about US clandestine operations, draws on new documentary research and original interviews to bring to life one of the most powerful unknown Americans of the 20th century. Gottlieb’s reckless experiments on “expendable” human subjects destroyed many lives, yet he considered himself deeply spiritual. He lived in a remote cabin without running water, meditated, and rose before dawn to milk his goats.
During his 22 years at the CIA, Gottlieb worked in the deepest secrecy. Only since his death has it become possible to piece together his astonishing career at the intersection of extreme science and covert action. Poisoner in Chief reveals him as a clandestine conjurer on an epic scale.
©2019 Stephen Kinzer (P)2019 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















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Absolutely Essential History
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Wonderful!!
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Atrocious Delivery
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I did not care for the reading of this book, however. The narrator’s tone, tempo and voice inflection were a struggle to endure. We’re the story not so compelling, I would have put it down shortly after starting. Sorry, but it has to be said.
Amazing trove of information on MK Ultra
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So enlightening!!!
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Great read- I don’t understand gripes about the narration
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Reading Performance is not as bad as they say.
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Amidst the historical underpinnings are details about the personal lives of the players involved in these programs and some of the justifications they used to continue their work over many years.
My only critique has nothing to do the writing itself but of the delivery. In his attempt to add some dramatic flair - Mr. Linkin tries (somewhat unsuccessfully) to mimic a speech impediment of one of the central characters and on occasion (oddly) mis-pronounces some words. However, these slight flaws pale in comparison to the positives.
Would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a deeper dive into history as well as those who enjoy trying to understand the psychological composition of people who are able to justify human atrocities in service of what they believe is the greater good.
A fascinating tale of a dark time.
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Wow
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good book
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