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This article is a clarion call for the rehabilitation of works on intelligence in what Christopher Andrew once referred to as the ‘airport bookstall’ genre. It argues that a more fitting epitaph for the literature from intelligence history's earliest days is better designated as the ‘Muckraker Era’, rather than the ‘airport bookstall’. My argument proceeds on three fronts. First, these writers from the latter half of the twentieth century – rather than being cast out as pariahs – should be thought of as trailblazers, as many of the techniques they pioneered have formed the methodological backbone of historical research into intelligence. Second, the literature from this period, triangulated with recent scholarship, should be re‐examined, as precious practical contributions can be identified. Lastly, throughout the article I will attempt to recast the literature from this period, offering a new more constructive perspective that is in keeping with the ethos of today's professional historian. My argument focuses on the works of three authors – Rebecca West, Gordon Brook‐Shepherd and John Bulloch – as emblematic authors of the Muckraker Era, in methods, contribution and the indifference of subsequent intelligence scholars to their work.

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The CIA is increasingly symbolic of major controversies in American foreign policy. It also presents the academic researcher with a fascinating paradox – since it is simultaneously secret and yet high-profile. In part, this is due to the CIA's willingness to allow former operatives to write memoirs. We argue that the memoir literature, authored by CIA personnel both high and low, together with others who worked alongside them, is now so dense that this allows us a degree of triangulation. Yet these memoirs are increasingly collective productions, involving censors, ghostwriters and teams of researchers, introducing conflicting voices into the text, and adding layers of separation between author and reader. We suggest that these ghosted memoirs, therefore, operate on several levels. For good or ill, these books shape the American public's perception of the CIA and should be studied closely, especially by those interested in the subjectivities of image management. This essay seeks to explore these issues by comparing four memoirs by CIA directors and acting directors who have served since 9/11.