David Wise (May 10, 1930 – October 8, 2018) was an American journalist and author who worked for the ''
New York Herald-Tribune'' in the 1950s and 1960s, and published a series of non-fiction books on espionage and US politics as well as several spy novels. His book ''The Politics of Lying: Government Deception, Secrecy, and Power'' (1973) won the
George Polk Award (Book category, 1973), and the
George Orwell Award (1975).
Early life
Wise was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York.
Education
In 1951, Wise graduated from
Columbia University, where he was editor-in-chief of the ''
Columbia Daily Spectator
The ''Columbia Daily Spectator'' (known colloquially as the ''Spec'') is the student newspaper of Columbia University. Founded in 1877, it is the oldest continuously operating college news daily in the nation after ''The Harvard Crimson'', and has ...
''.
Career
In 1951, Wise joined the ''
New York Herald-Tribune'' and became the paper's
White House correspondent in 1960. He was chief of the paper's
Washington, D.C. bureau from 1963 to 1966.
[''SoHo Journal'']
Author David Wise To Discusses New Book At AFIO Luncheon
In 1970–71 he was a Fellow of the
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and in 1977–79, he lectured in political science at the
University of California, Santa Barbara.
He was later a commentator on intelligence issues for
CNN for six years.
Beginning in 1962 with an examination of the
Lockheed U-2, Wise published a series of non-fiction books, the first three with Thomas B. Ross. Their book ''Invisible Government'' (1964), exposed the role of the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in foreign policy. This included CIA coups in
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
(
Operation PBSuccess) and
Iran (
Operation Ajax) and the
Bay of Pigs Invasion. It also revealed the CIA's attempts to overthrow President
Sukarno
Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967.
Sukarno was the leader of ...
in
Indonesia and the covert operations taking place in
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
and
Vietnam. Wise and Ross claimed that the CIA considered buying up the entire printing of ''Invisible Government'', but this idea was rejected when
Random House pointed out that if this happened they would have to print a second edition.
confidential CIA review of ''Invisible Government'' declassified in 1995, declared that "In Great Britain, which is second to none in its devotion to liberty, there exists an Official Secrets Act under which the authors would have been tried and sentenced to prison. … That much of this material has been printed before does not reduce the value to the Soviets of having it gathered in one volume under such genuine American auspices." ''Invisible Government'' also revealed the name and existence of the
National Security Council
A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...
covert operations sub-committee known as the 303 Group, prompting its renaming to the 40 Committee.
Wise's book ''The Politics of Lying: Government Deception, Secrecy, and Power'' (1973) won the
George Polk Award (Book category, 1973), and the
George Orwell Award (1975). Later works include ''Cassidy's Run: The Secret Spy War Over Nerve Gas'' (2000) on
Operation Shocker Operation Shocker was a 23-year counterintelligence operation run by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation against the Soviet Union. The operation involved the fake defection in place of a US Army sergeant based in Washington, D.C. who, in return f ...
, and ''Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America'', (2002), on
Robert Hanssen.
Wise also published several novels, including ''Spectrum'' (1981), based on the 1965
The Apollo Affair
__NOTOC__
The Apollo Affair was a 1965 incident in which a US company, Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC), in the Pittsburgh suburbs of Apollo and Parks Township, Pennsylvania was investigated for losing of highly enriched uraniu ...
.
Personal life
On October 8, 2018, Wise died from
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
in
Washington, D.C. He was 88 years old.
Books
* ''The U-2 Affair'' (with Thomas B. Ross),
Random House, 1962
* ''
The Invisible Government
''The Invisible Government'' is a 1964 non-fiction book by David Wise and Thomas B. Ross, published by Random House. The book described the operations and activities of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) at the time.
Christopher Wright of Colu ...
'' (with
Thomas B. Ross),
Random House, 1964
''The Espionage Establishment''(with Thomas B. Ross),
Random House, 1967
''The Politics of Lying: Government Deception, Secrecy, and Power'' Random House, 1973
''The American Police State: The Government Against the People'' Random House, 1976
''Spectrum'' Viking Press, 1981 (novel)
''The Children's Game'' Doubleday, 1983 (novel)
''The Samarkand Dimension'' St. Martin's/Marek, 1987 (novel)
''The Spy Who Got Away'' Random House, 1988
''Molehunt: The Secret Search for Traitors that Shattered the CIA'' Random House, 1992
''Nightmover: How Aldrich Ames Sold The CIA To The KGB For $4.6m'' 1995
''Cassidy's Run: The Secret Spy War Over Nerve Gas'' Random House, 2000
* ''
Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI's Robert Hanssen Betrayed America,''
Random House, 2002
''Democracy Under Pressure: An Introduction to the American Political System''(with Milton C. Cummings, Jr.), 2004
* ''Tiger Trap: America's Secret Spy War with China'',
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Financial Dist ...
, 2011
Awards
* 1973
George Polk Award (Book category), for ''The Politics of Lying''
* 1975
Orwell Award, for ''The Politics of Lying''
References
External links
*
David Wise at goodreads.comLiterary agent Sterling Lord discusses his representation of ''Invisible Government''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, David
1930 births
2018 deaths
People from Manhattan
American reporters and correspondents
New York Herald Tribune people
American spy fiction writers
American non-fiction writers
University of California, Santa Barbara faculty
George Polk Award recipients
American male novelists
Novelists from New York (state)
Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C.
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
American male non-fiction writers
Historians of the Central Intelligence Agency
Columbia College (New York) alumni