Book Review: Stephen Kinzer's The Brothers

Stephen Kinzer, The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles and their secret world war (New York: Times Books 2013).

In the 1950s, three men dominated US foreign Policy: President Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers. John Foster was Secretary of State from 1953 to 1939, Allen was Director of the CIA from 1953 to the Bay of Bigs fiasco in 1961. Stephen Kinzer provides an extremely detailed portrayal of the lives and worldview of the two brothers. 'Their worldviews...were identical,' he writes. Both had strong connections with US businesses, both saw communism as a mortal threat for the US and for US interests. At the helm of US foreign policy they conducted a shadow war against a series of countries, most famously Iran and Guatemala. Kinzer's account of these and other US interventions is precise. It shows the two brothers in all their arrogance and aggressiveness. Arrogance in their conviction that they could (re)make countries. Aggressiveness in the means they used to achieve these goals. From assassination of foreign leaders to regime change, the Dulles Brothers were, for more than a decade the masters of shadow war. The book is well-written and Kinzer's journalistic background makes the cast of characters vibrant. Kinzer's warning about the resilience of the Dulles brothers' approach to foreign policy should not go unheeded.