well, of course, allen dulles was on the warren commission. e people thought it should have been called the dulles commission because he dominated it so much. so, you know, it's way too cozy, the relationship between washington power and the media. and -- amy: what was the relationship between arthur hays sulzberger, the publisher of "the new york times" and allen dulles, the head of the cia? >> well, they were social friends, not just him, but other members of the sulzberger family. i found, you know, cozy correspondence between them, congratulating him when he was inaugurated, dulles, as cia director. they called him "ally," one of the sulzberger families, in one letter. they would get together, you know, every year. dulles would hold these media sort of drink fests for new year's. and these were, you know, top reporters, top editors, would get together with the cia guys and rub elbows and get a little drunk. and, you know, when allen dulles didn't want a reporter, because he felt he was being overly aggressive, covering, say, guatemala -- sy

biographer david talbot writes -- "the allen dulles story continues to haunt the country. e practices that still provoke bouts of american soul-searching originated during dulles's formative rule at the cia. he goes on to write -- " mind control experimentation, torture, political assassination, extraordinary rendition, mass surveillance of u.s. citizens and foreign allies -- these were all widely used tools of the dulles reign." david talbot joins us now to talk about his new book, "the devil's chessboard: allen dulles, the cia, and the rise of america's secret government." he is the founder and former ceo and editor-in-chief of salon. he is also author of the bestseller, "brothers: the hidden history of the kennedy years." it is great to have you with us. what an astounding book. snowdenmanning, edward -- how do they relate to allen dulles, the longest reigning cia director? >> as i write in the book and as you just pointed out, all the practices that we are wrestling with as a country now, the intelligence, security measures, including, i might add, the legacy of killing

booktv is in attendance for salon.com founder david talbot's discussion on the life and career of allen dulles the longest director of the cia. green arcade bookstores in san francisco. thursday night we will be taking an event at town hall seattle, the former wall street journal reporter roger loeowenstein will talk about the federal reserve. next saturday recovery events from the louisiana book festival in baton rouge. it includes doctor talks on african-american history, hurricane katrina, the deep water horizon oil spill and much more. look for our coverage of the louisiana book festival to air the weekend of november 14th and fifteenth. that is look at the other programs booktv will be covering this coming week, many of these events are open to the public. look for them to air in the near future on booktv on c-span2. >> one thing that struck me when i was researching the book was that the north has a very complicated racial history that has been in some places almost completely buried. there is little willingness to engage with the history of slavery for example, one of the places they ta

new most allen dulles everything important, he did not have the expertise that would impress kennedy or his staff. there was one briefing, however, was an exception. and that is the allen dulles took richard bissell, the director of operations to palm beach, where they sat on the patio of the kenne home and briefed john kennedy. this was just after the election , on the array of covert action the cia had underway. most important of which was planning for what became ultimately the bay of pigs operation. but at that stage, was an array of medical and propaganda activities, not the military conception. kennedy, according to bissell and dulles, listened attentively to the briefing on the cuban subject alone went on for almost an hour. kennedy asked a number of sensible questions, but studiously avoided tipping his hand as to what he thought of the plans underway. the issue for the community, of course, is one must reflect carefully on when and in what way you briefed the president-elect on covert actions or sensitive nsa operations, or sensitive military operations. we have pretty much

and so, allen dulles did the briefings of kennedy. while he was a candidate and while he was president-elect. and frankly, although they worked reasonly well together, there was never a warm bond primarily i believe because they were men of different generations and temperments and personalities and while alan dell us knew most everything important, he did not have the expertise that impressed, would impress kennedy or his staff. there was one briefing however, that was an exception. and that is that allen dulles took richard bissle, the director of operations, to palm beach, and briefed john kennedy. on the array of actions the cia had underway, the most important which became the bay of pigs operation, but at that stage, was an array of political and propaganda activities, not the military conception. kennedy, according to bissle and dulles, listened attentively, the briefing on the cuban subject alone went on for almost an hour. kennedy asked a number of sensible questions, but studiously avoided tipping his hand as to what he thou

and that is that allen dulles took richard bissle, the director of operations, to palm beach, and briefed john kennedy. this was just after the election. on the array of actions the cia had underway, the most important which became the bay of pigs operation, but at that stage, was an array of political and propaganda activities, not the military conception. kennedy, according to bissle and dulles, listened attentively, the briefing on the cuban subject alone went on for almost an hour. kennedy asked a number of sensible questions, but studiously avoided tipping his hand as to what he thought of the plans underway. the issue for the community of course is one must reflect carefully on when and in what way you brief a president-elect on covert actions or sensitive military operations. we have pretty much mastered that over the years. but in its formative stages, it was worked out here with kennedy. the other thing a little more timely, it's a lesson from that 1960 transition, was the presidential debates. 1960 were the first televised debates and as we all know, kennedy benefitted immensely