Errand into the Wilderness of Mirrors

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This book reveals the previously underexplored influence of religious thought in shaping the CIA's foundations. Michael Graziano merges insights from two significant works: Perry Miller’s exploration of the religious worldview of early Massachusetts colonists and David Martin’s examination of the CIA's inherent dangers and delusions. Graziano's study investigates how the religious perspectives of key figures like “Wild” Bill Donovan and Edward Lansdale played a crucial yet overlooked role in defining the agency's concerns, methods, and worldview. The Roman Catholic Church's established global networks provided American agents with strategic advantages. However, Graziano highlights a troubling tendency among American intelligence officers to interpret powerful religions and figures through a Catholic lens. These misconceptions frequently resulted in tragic and disastrous outcomes on an international scale. By intertwining the evolution of modern intelligence with the narrative of postwar American religion, this work offers a provocative new perspective on a hidden influence driving a major force of American power.