THE C.I.A. AS BOOK REVIEWER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01350R000200300047-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 4, 2004
• Sequence Number: 47
• Publication Date: September 3, 1973
• Content Type: MAGAZINE

THE NEW YORK TIMES BOUK 1ttsv.ttaw~s a C .. .. 1.
3 September. 1972
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In any case, it is 'rot. t
practice in* publishing to let the C.I.A.
By TtXCiTli R. I.ITTGI:T:IAH review every book about it before
cation. According to Robert Bernstein,
n
i
`
y
s compa
president of Radom house, h
the Central Irntelli-
e was when twice refused such requests.
Ti
m
gence Agency was accused of some par- That there ,are circumstances under
reply arty dirty blandly, trick by the press it would Last iOr which the C.I.A. wants to play the role
con-
r , of pre-censor is show,, by the Marchetti
? repl "The C.I.A. nrither con
firms nor denies the charge." tecently case. Mr. Itifarchetti, who' had already
however, the agency has departted from
written .au unimpressive novel about a
ustomary izl theUility; it has doffed C.I.A. man, signed a contract with Alfred
its c a
he _cloal,,, drawn n the dagtier and inter- glad A. Knal7f for a nonfiction work about red the
vencd openly in the bized publishing - wrote a boot, on drug abuse and wgees lad agency. In April nonfiction
t.twor k out to
process. The most publicized of these to accede to the publisher's su .ir?tion
interventions has been its demand to that all expert read it over for possible court and rot an injunction against. the
the mane- errors. And, of course, Harper & Row -book on the grounds that as a former
[
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examine, prior to publication, employe of C.I.A. , I+4r. MaMIOLLr la
C'
script of "The " b Politics of Ilcr^in in ~which read. "bytinependent Politics of authori Htieseroi"n" be was.
fore's;gncd a secrecy oath and must obtain
east Asia," by Alfred W. McCoy,
as the review in this issue points out, the C.I.A. entered the picture. C.I.A. permission before the book is pui>-
lisped. The case raises seN,eral iinterestinq-
rdakes some serious allegations about the But the case of McCoy y. the C.I.A. questions: Can a man contract away his
el IA's inadvertent inVolveilent in the distinguishable, as the lawyers would sa First Arnendineilt rights? Are ern-
hly secretive nature of
f the hi
g
ized Because o
.heroin traffic. In another less public io es ua blanket p'
ase,? the agency enjoined a book by a the C.LA s operations, the. information p y ? under d hirr_ about t:ohibiton fro h
ormer agent named Victor Marchetti uncovered by Mr. McCoy could only have writing yt t
tracted for but not ? been obtained by independent investiga- what of the public's r ;ht to l..now more
1 r t" nS I A ih?,+n tl,e do now'' Must
n
or
t
C
V
cLa f
.. 4. Y
, aDOUL the
which had pet' co
lion. Further, ri2r. Iv1c( oy s a
yet written. the C.L'A. as D archetti confine himself to ariony-
The background of the y1cCo .affa.ir is, were taken by embarrassing that highly Y jarred bar-. mous tips to Jack confine himself
At any rate,
briefly, this. After Mr. McCoy's hJrges the S I ency into >abandonints they
the case is now on appeal, with the -so had becciz er public knowledge in June, Y ibertics Union actin- in
Cord Meyer Ji?, a C.I.A. official, called -low profile. I,c.tters from hig h C.L o Mr. American Marchetti' Civil s behalf.
questions arner & Row and reportedly accuracy, Star and cHarper's magazi e, which ingthad ? As for tti behaly's book, clearly-11
libel and the regarding nationnal the book's s On July 5, published some of ?Idir. McCoy's material, and the C.L.A. are in all adversary rely
tionshi the only se.e an place for Cher
the C.I.A. formally asked to see the attempting to impeach-hiss veracity. The.
manuscript, saying that "Mr. .P's battle lines were clearly drawn. deas,fight not it in out is in th of the ptplaceea
chains . . . are totally false and without It should be made clear at this point office. No thprivy
could be served r''
azor having the interest t#o Duerr tile manual b,
foundation"; not and tic-national inter- that. Mr. McCoy's
classified s does
eat were not mentioned. On co 19, problems a C.I.A hahavi to publication; ti,o; it is like puttin
molt
inout
Harper & Row, tlagreed to its make, the national security. reportedly lthou. rep- prior ad in a nion; it ni like
under certain e the the n resentative l interest at onmentioned point, and to verify if he is hungry. re-review -b
B. Brooks Thomas, agreed
their official a governmental agency, where the line
manuscript ado co fini) despite the didanot conic-tip O one
tiefi (il1ClUdiirng confide"Mr. McCoy's letter of July 5-probably because there of difference are as clearly drawn as the
shecholarsh arshisip is s beyond belief that thar reproach." In ad- were grounds for Urging them. It is are here, is next door to prior restrain
so arper & Row may r;ue that it staine
"We e do not curious, , then, that in ?a letter to The h
dition Mr. Thomas wrote,
the the 'caved in final and acted throughout, under a but in principle fact b
summoned Harper
say mean to imply that we will make charities Village M. defending
&u.po`vthe
in the work because you request them - action,
or even because you believe the state- spectre of possible'legal action. "One of which'any governmental'agency criticize
merits made to be harmful to some, the reasons for volunteering the book," by a book could demand to. see it, ca:
of our government." ? he wrote, "was in the hope.of avoiding doubts on the author's integrity with it
"facts" (this at a tint
agency
The C.A. critique of the manuscript 4, thehC.I.A. ln thaofth eyrrhladbnoconvincing own version of the "
for when publishers' memories of the Irvin
was sent o on July to its reply of Aug. hoax are still fresh) and perhaps eve
Harper & Row, after eonsultation with the court action." cause its Drill publisher
author, made a rather devastating point- And yet Cord Meyer told the yimes s cause tppr ssionif z the p i
would by-point refutation announced it time thoul thought we h had any right to suppress 'changes. Governmental agencies, inclue
would d publish the book unchanged. the book." Certainly there is no threat of ing the C.I.A.., are not by definition liar
legal a tion in the Harper & Row-C.I.A. but in some cases a plausible version (
So what is the problem? After all, sub-
in the books to othin review it is experts. correspondence; if avoidance of a court the truth that differs from plausible version
scholars s new who s. seend, done early battle was one of its motives, Harper & will surface; it should be protected, rathl
fr tu field, end by is nothing
frequently .+ :.? Cold for Row was being super cautious, to say than submitted to bureaucratic bullying.
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drafts to, colleagues o. I the least.
criticism. To inject a personal note,
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