IWA English-Speaking World and the International Press Club of Chicago Present:
Stephen Kinzer on his latest book, "Poisoner in Chief"
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
11:45 Zoom Doors Open
12 p.m. Program (Q&A to follow)
This book is the stunning story of CIA mind-control projects. Sidney Gottlieb made pills, powders, and potions that could kill or maim without a trace―including some intended for Fidel Castro and other foreign leaders. He paid prostitutes to lure clients to CIA-run bordellos, where they were dosed with mind-altering drugs. His experiments spread LSD across the United States, making him a hidden godfather of the 1960s counterculture. During his twenty-two years at the CIA, Gottlieb worked in the deepest secrecy. Poisoner in Chief reveals him as a clandestine conjurer on an epic scale.
Kinzer’s previous appearances at IWA have been extremely popular. When they lived in Chicago his wife was an IWA member. He is an award-winning foreign correspondent who has covered more than 50 countries on five continents. His articles and books have led the Washington Post to place him “among the best in popular foreign policy storytelling.”
Kinzer spent more than 20 years reporting for the New York Times, most of it as a foreign correspondent. In 1983 he became the first Times bureau chief in Nicaragua. Later he headed Times bureaus in Germany and Istanbul.
He is the author of ten books, of which "Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control” is the most recent. It can be found in hard cover and paperback, and you might want to read it before the program. Available at bookstores and online. ESW co-chair Sel Yackley says it is a real page turner!! Further information will be provided soon on how to obtain signed copies at a special discount for IWA and IPCC members. Stay tuned!
Kinzer presently writes a world affairs column for the Boston Globe and is a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University.
IWA has partnered before with IPCC. More information about this organization can be found at www.ipcc.us.
