A Brotherhood of Spies: The U-2 and the CIA's Secret War

When the Soviets shot down a U-2 spy plane on May 1, 1960, the Cold War had a turning point. Thawing relations suddenly got icy. Journalist Reel (Between Man and Beast) documents the story of the U-2 with a narrative that keeps readers intrigued. He focuses on four men—Edwin Land, Kelly Johnson, Richard Bissell, and Francis Gary Powers—who were central in the development of the U-2 program. Reel describes how each man was bound by duty to serve his country, which is often forgotten when viewed by later cynicism. Further, Reel does an excellent job of revealing how the program was viewed with skepticism within military and intelligence circles. This program was a first for the CIA because it used technology as the primary way for information gathering. This work will become a standard along with Michael R. Beschloss's Mayday and Trumbull Higgins's The Perfect Failure about the CIA's operations during this time period.