The Hidden Cost of Freedom

“Brad Fisher’s deeply researched and cogently written study of the origins and development of the CIA’s clandestine financial system fills an important gap in the field of intelligence literature. As in politics, money is the key factor in intelligence operations, and Fisher ably describes how the founders of the US intelligence establishment devised workable funding mechanisms for their worldwide operations in a complex and often hostile global environment. This book should be a part of any intelligence library.”—David F. Rudgers, author of Creating the Secret State: The Origins of the Central Intelligence Agency, 1943–1947

“Fisher’s Hidden Cost of Freedom uniquely lays out, as best as it can be done, the funding mechanisms that enabled the CIA to carry out its highly secret activities. Fisher’s thorough research convinced me that he knows more about this topic than anyone, anywhere. Those who really want to understand the CIA of the early-to-middle-Cold War era will want to read this book.”—David Barrett, author of The CIA and Congress: The Untold Story from Truman to Kennedy

“What started as a labor of love—researching the history of a grandfather—has morphed into a methodically detailed history of the Byzantine funding arrangements for the US intelligence community from World War II through the formative years of the Central Intelligence Agency. This volume fills a gap nobody has yet tackled: chronicling the financial system that keeps the cogs of the CIA discreetly running. Highly recommended.”—Kenneth Conboy, author of Spies and Commandos: How America Lost the Secret War in North Vietnam