Q&A w/ Hugh Wilford
Hugh Wilford, Professor of History at Cal State Long Beach, joins us for a brief exchange. He authored America's Great Game: The CIA's Secret Arabists and the Shaping of the Modern Middle East (Book of the Month: June 2021).
Are there one or two authors that have had an outsized influence on your work overall?
Odd Arne Westad’s The Global Cold War revolutionized the field of Cold War history when it was published back in 2005 and I’ve found myself constantly referring back to it ever since. As for more popular history, I think of Evan Thomas as the gold standard. His The Very Best Men remains for me the best book about the early CIA.
Do you have a favorite novel or novelist or fiction genre?
I can’t wait to read Viet Thanh Nguyen’s latest novel, The Committed. His first, The Sympathizer, about a communist mole in the South Vietnamese community in California, was so smart but an absolute romp as well. It pairs really well with Graham Greene’s Vietnam classic The Quiet American.
Can we expect more books from you in the future?
Yes, I’m writing a new history of the CIA influenced by all the authors I’ve just mentioned. I’ll be exploring how earlier western imperial spies like Lawrence of Arabia shaped the Agency, also asking how and why a foreign intelligence outfit has had such a big impact on domestic American history. Should be out in 2022 with Basic Books.
