Jones provides an account of President Eisenhower's disastrous attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro. He examines the train of missteps and self-deceptions that led to the invasion of the Bay of Pigs by U.S.-trained exiles.

The commanders of the invasion forces break their silence to reveal the whole truth aboutThe CIASecret plans to countermand White House decisionsFatally poor intelligenceSuperb dedication and training but inadequate planning and executionThe Joint Chiefs of StaffApproval of a suicidal battle plan, disastrous in detailThe Invasion of CubaAn operation that was a combination of individual and unit heroism, of hardship, betrayal, and SNAFU.

Revised and updated: the definitive primary-source history of US involvement in General Pinochet’s Chilean coup—“the evidence is overwhelming” (The New Yorker). Published to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of General Augusto Pinochet’s infamous September 11, 1973, military coup in Chile, this updated edition of The Pinochet File reveals the shocking, formerly secret record of the US government’s complicity with atrocity in a foreign country. The book now completes the file on Pinochet’s story, detailing his multiple indictments between 2004 and his death on December 10, 2006, including the Riggs Bank scandal that revealed how the dictator had illegally squirreled away over $26 million in ill-begotten wealth in secret American bank accounts. When it was first released in hardcover, The Pinochet File contributed to the international campaign to hold Pinochet accountable for murder, torture, and terrorism. A new afterword tells the extraordinary story of Henry Kissinger’s attempt to undercut the book’s reception—efforts that generated a major scandal that led to a high-level resignation at the Council on Foreign Relations, illustrating the continued ability of the book to speak truth to power. “The Pinochet File should be considered the long awaited book of record on U.S. intervention in Chile . . . A crisp compelling narrative, almost a political thriller.” —Los Angeles Times

Classified as top secret for more than thirty-five years, the full text of the CIA's scathing internal report on its disastrous 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion is accompanied by an introduction, an interview with the invasion's directors, and more. Original.

Grayston Lynch presents an exceptional portrayal of actual events that led to the betrayal of extraordinary, patriotic, and courageous men. Lynch's unmasking of "Kennedy's Camelot" reveals heart-wrenching facts that continue to stir emotions among Brigade 2506 veterans.

An account of the American attempt to overthrow the Castro government in Cuba through an invasion of the island in 1961.

This account of the disastrous invasion of Cuba funded and directed by the United States is “a readable, accessible introduction to the topic” (H-Net). Perhaps not in casualties but as far as prestige and standing in the world were concerned, the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961 was the worst disaster to befall the USA since the War of 1812 when British forces burned the White House. Badly planned, badly organized, the affair was littered with mistakes from start to finish, not least with an inept performance by John F. Kennedy and his new administration. Supposedly an attempt by Cuban exiles to regain their homeland, the whole operation was funded and equipped by the USA. When things began to go wrong with the landings at Playa Larga and Playa Giron on the southern coast of Cuba, President Kennedy and his advisers began overruling military decisions with the result that the invading Brigade 2506, made up of Cuban exiles, was left with little or no air cover, limited ammunition, and no easy escape. Fidel Castro made great play of his success and American failure at the Bay of Pigs. He, like Nikita Khrushchev, thought Kennedy was weak—and the Cuban Missile Crisis of the following year was almost an inevitable consequence of the disaster. This account tells the dramatic story of this pivotal Cold War event.

In fewer than 72 hours of combat in April 1961, Cuba's revolutionary armed forces defeated a U.S.-organized invasion by 1,500 mercenaries. In the process, the Cuban people set an example for workers, farmers, and youth the world over that with political consciousness, class solidarity, courage, and revolutionary leadership, one can stand up to enormous might and seemingly insurmountable odds-and win. "Includes translations of a dozen Cuban primary source documents on the U.S.-backed invasion at the Bay of Pigs…. The documents … tell a familiar story, but they tell it well. Also contains José Ramón Fernández Alvarez's 1999 testimony about his role leading Cuban troops against the invaders at Playa Girón. Photographs, maps, and charts throughout the book provide a useful supplement to the text."-Hispanic American Historical Review "A varied collection of speeches, communiqués and testimonies from the time, by those such as Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, are presented. These well catch the knife-edged political tension and subsequent triumph of the momentous days in April 1961. Using fascinating military maps, photographs and a full chronology of the time, the book provides previously unpublished details surrounding the CIA-backed invasion and the subsequent defeat of the 1,500 US mercenaries at the Bay of Pigs.… [Gives] a real feel for the bravery and conviction of the revolutionary Cuban forces, and their willingness to defend the socialist principles of the Revolution at any cost.… Provides invaluable inspiration."-An Phoblacht/Republican News Foreword by Jack Barnes, 20-page photo section and other photos, maps, charts, chronology, glossary, further reading, index.

The Bay of Pigs, on the south coast of Cuba, was the scene in 1961 of an unsuccessful attempt by an armed force of exiled Cubans which had been organized, supplied and trained by the United States government. Investigative journalists and chroniclers characterized this event as, variously, the CIA out of control, a new and inexperienced president (Kennedy) victimized by bad advice, an outcome not preventable. This account, by a participant, proves much of the accepted information about this controversial event to be seriously flawed. In sharp and dramatic prose, Albert C. "Buck" Persons relates his involvement in the Bay of Pigs--from being approached to do a "temporary, confidential" job to receiving training by the "Company" in Florida, then on to a camp in Central America and the invasion attempt, in which two of his friends were killed. This is exciting history, unavailable until now to correct the record.