In his review of The Intelligence Intellectuals, Michael Auslin examines Peter C. Grace’s account of how elite social scientists helped reshape the CIA in the early Cold War. After major intelligence failures in 1949–50, figures like Sherman Kent, William Langer, and Max Millikan were brought in to professionalize strategic intelligence and develop rigorous National Intelligence Estimates, shifting the agency from reactive reporting to predictive analysis.
Auslin finds Grace’s institutional history thoughtful and illuminating, particularly in its exploration of how social-science methods were applied to intelligence work. However, he notes that the book largely avoids evaluating the long-term success of this model, sidestepping later intelligence failures such as the Iranian Revolution, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and 9/11.
More broadly, Auslin argues that the book unintentionally sheds light on today’s cultural and political divides. The rise of a professionalized, Ivy League–trained expert class within the CIA reflects a broader “managerial revolution,” echoing James Burnham’s thesis about elite administrators consolidating authority across government and society. For Auslin, the story of the CIA’s “intelligence intellectuals” is not just about Cold War reform but about the emergence of a self-reinforcing professional elite—one that may contribute to groupthink, institutional insularity, and the widening gap between populist and elitist visions of governance. Source: The Wall Street Journal
One of America’s leading historians, Michael Auslin stands at the forefront of the national conversation surrounding America’s 250th anniversary as the author of the forthcoming history National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America. Through his deeply researched and timely work, Auslin examines how the principles enshrined in the Declaration shaped not only the United States, but the modern world itself. Drawing on his work at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, Yale, and decades of historical analysis, he illuminates how America’s founding ideas continue to influence global politics, economics, and democratic movements.
For event planners seeking a speaker who can authoritatively explain how America’s past forged today’s geopolitical realities—and why understanding that past is essential to navigating the nation’s future—Auslin offers unmatched perspective. His presentations provide audiences with both historical depth and strategic clarity at a pivotal moment in the American story.
