During the 1950s, when the Cold War was at its peak, two immensely powerful brothers led the United States into a series of foreign adventures whose effects are still shaking the world. John Foster Dulles was Secretary of State while his brother, Allen Dulles, was director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In this book, Stephen Kinzer uses the framework of biography to ask: Why does the United States behave as it does in the world? The Brothers explores hidden forces that shape the national psyche, from religious piety to Western movies about noble gunmen who clean up lawless towns by killing bad guys. This is how the Dulles brothers saw themselves, and how many Americans still see their country's role in the world. The Dulles brothers launched violent campaigns against foreign leaders they saw as threats to the United States. These campaigns helped push countries from Guatemala to the Congo into long spirals of violence, led the United States into the Vietnam War, and laid the foundation for decades of hostility between the United States and countries from Cuba to Iran. -- From publisher description.

Part I: Two Brothers : Unmentionable happenings -- The taint of my environment -- Dull, duller, Dulles -- That fella from Wall Street -- Part II: Six monsters : A Whirling dervish with a college education -- The most forthright pro-communist -- A matchless interplay of ruthlessness and guile -- The self-intoxicated president -- The tall, goateed radical -- The bearded strongman -- Part III : One century : A face of God.