"This masterful new history should be required reading. . . . Astonishing. . . . A singular triumph." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"In this triumphant follow-up to Legacy of Ashes, National Book Award winner Weiner continues his history of the CIA. . . . Chilling. . . . A crucial document of the present times." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A riveting, must-read, deeply reported continuation of Weiner’s prize winner, Legacy of Ashes." — "Esquire, "The Best Books of Summer 2025"
“The Mission is an outstanding book. The most important CIA intelligence activities of this century are examined here, fairly and in lively prose.” — Loch K. Johnson, SpyTalk
“An absorbing, informative portrait of an embattled organization that is facing formidable challenges abroad and at home.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune
"In 2007, Weiner, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, rankled U.S. spy organizations with Legacy of Ashes, a chronicle of the C.I.A.’s 20th-century failings that won a National Book Award. He’s back with the story of the agency’s evolution since Sept. 11 — a period when American covert services took an increasingly militaristic role in the Middle East and, Weiner contends, pushed the business of war deeper into the dark." — New York Times, Editors' Choice
"No one has opened up the CIA to us like Weiner has, and The Mission deserves to win Weiner a second Pulitzer." — John Simpson, The Guardian
“Riveting. . . . How Weiner persuaded so many people to talk on the record is a journalistic feat that should make The Mission impossible to dismiss.” — Associated Press
"Weiner has made tracking the fluctuating fortunes of the American intelligence community his life's work. His masterly Legacy of Ashes, detailing the C.I.A.'s first half-century, won a National Book Award in 2007. The Mission picks up where that book left off, narrating the agency's history well beyond the fall of communism. It is exhaustive and prodigiously researched." — Scott Anderson, New York Times Book Review
“A remarkable piece of journalism and history, based on scores of on-the-record interviews with CIA veterans. Weiner takes us deep into that covert world, exposing its scandals and chronicling the agency’s little-known successes. . . . I marvel at Weiner’s accomplishment.” — David Corn, Mother Jones
“The Mission reads like a thriller. . . . a remarkable collection of information we never had before and wouldn’t have without Weiner.” — Rachel Maddow
"Readers of The Mission may wonder whether spy fiction and political dramas have a future. The author certainly provides rich background for aspiring thriller writers. But he suggests that reality, in the US at any rate, is intriguing enough, and scary. . . . Weiner brings a sharpness and added value mainly through his interviews with many of the players involved, along with his cutting and perceptive observations." — Times Literary Supplement (London)
"The Mission is a fantastic read. . . . reminds us of the importance of the human element when it comes to high-stakes diplomacy, and the life-and-death decisions on which our national security depends." — The Observer (London)
“Weiner meticulously documents a level of chaos, deception and politicization in the upper echelons of the CIA that put in perspective current debates over Donald Trump’s own efforts to reshape and purge the agencies.”
— The Economist
