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Richard Bissell, Jr, was a high-ranking member of the CIA. Under him the U-2
and SR-71 spyplanes and the Corona camera satellite were developed to be used
during the Cold War. Those years from 1954 to 1964 were nail-biting, potentially
catastrophic times. In Reflections of a Cold Warrior (Yale University Press,
£20/$30, ISBN 0 300 06430 6), Bissell writes about them in a style
that comes straight from a “what I did on my holidays” school essay. As a reward
for tolerating this flatness, Bissell gives you a place on Washington’s inside
track. Perhaps his even keel was essential during the nerve-racking Cold War
days.