Recently read through "The Search for the Manchurian Candidate", which is the first real thorough narrative exploration of MKUltra, written by a former State Department Employee which is both obviously a thing to be aware of, but also probably one of the only reasons the book was able to be written, as much of the information and thought process behind the program is put together from interviews with former CIA agents as well as contracted scientists and researchers.
Its a very enjoyable read just as a general narrative history, and even if much is left out about certain parts, I think its valuable to read as a leftist to get a general broad understanding of what the goals of MKUltra were outside of the "Manchurian Candidate" idea. Also how the program spread out across NA academia and hospitals, and how a lot of the researchers were already wanting to do those studies and experiments before being contacted by the CIA.
I think it also gives a good idea of what things were successes and what things were failures in the program, and how the CIA would actually judge those things. For example Ive often seen a sentiment online that its absurd to say MKUltra was a failure because "How could the CIA not figure out brainwashing if bumfuck Charlie Manson could figure it out?" but they knew the basic "common sense" brainwashing techniques from the start. The problem was that they wanted to figure out a way to generalize the method, make it as consistent and predictable as possible regardless of subject, and understand it scientifically so they could teach any one CIA operative to do it just as well as another.
Manson can pick and choose who he lets into his cult and who he instinctually feels are good targets, the CIA didn't want to have to just rely on a few agents with a natural intuition like that, they want a formula and a step by step method they can write down.
And at least based on this book, that wasnt really something they figured out properly, but they did find ways to augment those basic caveman methods of interrogation and "brainwashing" or behavioral manipulation, which is a mixed success.
Recently read through "The Search for the Manchurian Candidate", which is the first real thorough narrative exploration of MKUltra, written by a former State Department Employee which is both obviously a thing to be aware of, but also probably one of the only reasons the book was able to be written, as much of the information and thought process behind the program is put together from interviews with former CIA agents as well as contracted scientists and researchers.
Its a very enjoyable read just as a general narrative history, and even if much is left out about certain parts, I think its valuable to read as a leftist to get a general broad understanding of what the goals of MKUltra were outside of the "Manchurian Candidate" idea. Also how the program spread out across NA academia and hospitals, and how a lot of the researchers were already wanting to do those studies and experiments before being contacted by the CIA.
I think it also gives a good idea of what things were successes and what things were failures in the program, and how the CIA would actually judge those things. For example Ive often seen a sentiment online that its absurd to say MKUltra was a failure because "How could the CIA not figure out brainwashing if bumfuck Charlie Manson could figure it out?" but they knew the basic "common sense" brainwashing techniques from the start. The problem was that they wanted to figure out a way to generalize the method, make it as consistent and predictable as possible regardless of subject, and understand it scientifically so they could teach any one CIA operative to do it just as well as another.
Manson can pick and choose who he lets into his cult and who he instinctually feels are good targets, the CIA didn't want to have to just rely on a few agents with a natural intuition like that, they want a formula and a step by step method they can write down.
And at least based on this book, that wasnt really something they figured out properly, but they did find ways to augment those basic caveman methods of interrogation and "brainwashing" or behavioral manipulation, which is a mixed success.