CIA Reading Room cia rdp83 00764r000400010052 1 pdf

CIA Reading Room cia rdp83 00764r000400010052 1

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Approved For Release 2000/09/14: -RDP83-007R000400010052-1 25X1A5a1 25X1A5a1 In February 1949, Dr. -made a study of 088 Archives for OPC/Wisner to determine how historical studies could be prepared for OPC use. Quotations are from his report, dated 16 February 1949: “As to selection of historians for the job, effort should be made to choose people who have had experi- ence in war-history projects (preferably in Washington, I think) and who are not bound by meticulous, graduate school canons that might cause them to bury themselves in minutae. They should be able to see beyond organization charts to essential functions, and to write clearly and concisely, using examples as illus- trations, not as ends in themselves”. “….The job should not require a large organization – perhaps four or five well-qualified men.” “it might be advisable in CIA to have one or two out- standing historians to serve as advisers on the establishment of a historical program and on recruitment of personne Approved For Release 2000/09/14: CIA-RDP83-00764R000400010052-1 Approved For Release 2000/09/14: CIA- DP83-007JR000400010052-1 “.

, , . think that monographs would be more useful than overall history”. “Deadlines for the completion of studies should also be flexible. Historians are notoriously optimistic in their estimation of the amount of time needed to complete a given study. It is best to expect that it will take twice as long as they first anticipate. But a deadline does serve a useful purpose if used as a target date rather than a bludgeon. If a historian constantly runs far behind schedule and does not come up with a study that merits the extensions of time given him, it in best to be hard-hearted and turn him lose . ” Approved For Release 2000/0~1F4~ CGIA-RDP83-00764R000400010052-1

• Creator/s: CIA Reading Room
• Date: 8/29/2000
• Book Topics/Themes: CIA Reading Room

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