Senator Frank Church of Idaho was an unlikely hero. He led congressional opposition to the Vietnam War and had become a scathing, radical critic of what he saw as American imperialism around the world. But he was still politically ambitious, privately yearning for acceptance from the foreign policy establishment that he hated and eager to run for president. Despite his flaws, Church would show historic strength in his greatest moment, when in the wake of Watergate, he was suddenly tasked with investigating abuses of power in the intelligence community. The dark truths that Church exposed--from assassination plots by the CIA, to links between the Kennedy dynasty and the mafia, to the surveillance of civil rights activists by the NSA and FBI--would shake the nation to its core, and forever change the way that Americans thought about not only their government but also their ability to hold it accountable. Drawing upon hundreds of interviews, thousands of pages of recently declassified documents, and reams of unpublished letters, notes, and memoirs, some of which remain sensitive today, James Risen tells the gripping, untold story of truth and integrity standing against unchecked power--and winning--in this book -- adapted from jacket

A note on sources. Prologue: Senator Cathedral. (Part one: If I make no mark elsewhere, 1924-1975): Happier times -- The finest diction in the army -- If you don't run you will never get there -- Persona non grata -- A betrayal -- War prolonged and unending -- We stand up now -- An enormous hue and cry -- As long as the KGB does it -- We have stood watch -- This will cost you the presidency. (Part two: We doubt that any other country would have the courage, 1975): A delicate balance -- The dirty facts -- Like what? Like assassinations. -- I had been asked by my government to solicit his cooperation -- Who will rid me of this man? -- The White House, can I help you? -- We met your man in the Congo -- What the president wanted to happen -- The abyss from which there is no return -- Under a double shadow -- The man who made a police state out of America -- No holds were barred. (Part three: A volcano cannot be capped, 1975-1984): Vindicated and pleased -- As dangerous as any stimulant -- One more service to render -- I see you have a presidential haircut -- And then it was over -- I've got to do it. Epilogue: They did great damage. Acknowledgments -- Illustration credits -- Bibliography -- Notes -- Index.