Poisoner in Chief
Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control
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Poisoner in Chief
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Narrated by:
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James Linkin
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By:
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Stephen Kinzer
About this listen
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...
What listeners say about Poisoner in Chief
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- John Cowan
- 10-03-23
A great contribution
A good piece telling this important history, which must have been a struggle to research to this degree. I imagine what is presented here is likely the extent of all we'll ever find out for sure about this significant programme, and those in charge of it. I had the feeling the author had impressive self-discipline not to write anything not backed by the facts from his research. Since he's obviously been emersed in this topic for years, I would've been interested in some of his thoughts and speculations but it's probably best he omitted them for the credibility of his work – you won't find information here that directly supports anything in CIA Rogues by Patrick Nolan or Chaos by Tom O'Neill etc., both books which I also enjoyed. Now, the narration is a little balling and yelling at times but it's not as bad as many of the other reviews make out, it seems to me at least. Bare with it. You might have to listen at a slightly lower volume than normal, but I still found myself quickly absorbed in the book.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kelly
- 30-08-20
Fascinating interesting and informative
I really enjoyed it. The information is disturbing and heavy but If u like lots of detail and information on the world's worst humans you will easily overlook the poor narration and enjoy this audio book. It's an excellent look into the inception of mk ultra & characters behind it as well as lots of their other historic evil deeds.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- 123
- 10-02-23
Hard to tell
Hard to tell if it’s well written as the schlock doc narration make it almost impossible to listen to this fascinating story.
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