When one of the world's most secretive and far-reaching organizations offers to share how it sees the world, it's worth taking a peek. That's the thought I had when I dove into the CIA World Factbook ...

Author's note -- pt. 1. In the beginning, we knew nothing : the CIA under Truman, 1945-1953 -- 1. Intelligence must be global and totalitarian -- 2. The logic of force -- 3. Fight fire with fire -- 4.

The CIA has officially closed its World Factbook, ending a publication that for more than 60 years served as one of the most widely used reference tools on countries, territories, and global regions.

The Factbook survived the Cold War and became a hit online. It mixed quirky cultural notes and trivia with maps, data, and photos taken by CIA... When one of the world's most secretive and ...