Who Paid the Piper?

Who Paid the Piper?
AuthorFrances Stonor Saunders
LanguageEnglish
Publication date
1999

Who Paid the Piper? The CIA and the Cultural Cold War (U.S. title The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters) is a 1999 book by Frances Stonor Saunders. The book discusses the mid-20th century Central Intelligence Agency efforts to infiltrate and co-opt artistic movements using funds that were mostly channelled through the Congress for Cultural Freedom and the Ford Foundation. The aim of these efforts was to combat the political influence of the Soviet Union and expand American political influence.[1][2] Saunders concluded that by entangling the state in "free" artistic expression, the CIA undermined America's moral position in comparison to the Soviet Union.[3] In Dissent Jeffrey C. Isaac wrote that the book is a "widely discussed retrospective on post-Second World War liberalism that raises important questions about the relationships between intellectuals and political power."[4]

The British edition, titled Who Paid the Piper? The CIA and the Cultural Cold War, was published in 1999 by Granta Books (London).[5] The American edition, titled The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters, was published in 2000 by The New Press.[6] Josef Joffe, in a book review written for The New York Times, described the American title as being "more neutral".[2] Paul Roazen, in The Sewanee Review, described the British title as being "more provocative".[7]

Saunders concluded that the activities of the U.S. were similar to those of the Soviet Union.[8][3]

  1. ^ Petras, James. "The CIA and the Cultural Cold War Revisited" (Archive). Monthly Review. November 1, 1999. Retrieved on April 18, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Joffe, Josef. "America's Secret Weapon" (Archive). The New York Times. April 23, 2000. Retrieved on April 18, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Draper, p. 17. "Stonor Saunders herself argues that in funding the Congress, the United States government put itself into a position very similar to that of its Soviet counterpart."
  4. ^ Isaac, p. 29.
  5. ^ Gow, p. 848.
  6. ^ Troy Jr., Thomas M. (2002). "The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters". Studies in Intelligence. 46 (1). Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency: Center for the Study of Intelligence. Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  7. ^ Roazen, p. cxii.
  8. ^ Saunders, p. 129. "With this kind of commitment, the CIA was effectively acting as America's Ministry of Culture."