I am having trouble finding a good book on the history of the CIA, because of how secretive, but more importantly, how controversial an organization it is. And, as a rule, the more controversial something is, I've found it's harder to find good readable history on it. Can anyone suggest a book about them that's well respected by historians?
I suggest you take a look at Weiner's *Legacy of Ashes,* but not before doing a little pre-reading first. The "history of the CIA" is a fraught topic, and I'd highly recommend you read a sampling of discussions on this book before actually reading the book itself. From them you can get references to older, now rather dated works (like Andrew, *For the President's Eyes Only* 1995).
In support of Weiner's book is, of course, the NYT, as he is a NYT journalist (here). The Washington Post also looks upon Weiner's work positively (here). You should also, however, read a few of the dissenting views, like from the CIA's own book review arm (here) and this short discussion from a former Foreign Services officer and current editor of *American Diplomacy.*