Register of the Wilbur Eveland papers
Finding aid prepared by Beth Goder and Hoover Institution Library and Archives Staff
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2012
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Wilbur Eveland papers
Date (inclusive): 1941-1983
Collection Number: 80118
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
14 manuscript boxes, 1 sound cassette
(5.6 Linear Feet)
Abstract: The papers contain drafts and galleys of the book by Wilbur C. Eveland,
Ropes of Sand: America's Failure in the Middle East (New York, 1980), relating to the role of the Central Intelligence Agency in American diplomacy in the Middle East, and photocopies
of personnel records and correspondence with Central Intelligence Agency officials and others, relating to publication of
the book. Digital copies of select records also available at
https://digitalcollections.hoover.org.
Creator:
Eveland, Wilbur
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1980.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Wilbur Eveland papers, 1941-1983, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Alternative Forms of Material Available
Biographical Note
Wilbur Crane Eveland was an intelligence agent known for his work with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the Middle
East. He was born on July 1, 1918, in Spokane, Washington. At 17, Eveland lied about his age so that he could join a Marine
Corps Reserve battalion at Puget Sound Navy Yard but failed the West Point written test when he took the examination the next
year. Eveland then took classes at the University of California, Berkeley, and Harvard University. In 1940, Eveland joined
the United States Army, where in January 1941 he was recruited as an agent for the Corps of Intelligent Police, later known
as the Counter Intelligence Corps. He was put in charge of the Counter Intelligence Corps field offices in Panama and held
several other intelligence positions until 1948, when he decided to become a military attaché.
As preparation for work as a military attaché, Eveland took a one-year course in Arabic at the Army Language School, after
which he was stationed at the American embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, from 1950 to 1952. Upon returning to the United States, Eveland
was appointed as the Near East intelligence specialist for the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff of the Department of
the Army.
Throughout the 1950s, Eveland worked for several United States government agencies. From 1953 to 1954, he organized and headed
the Near East and African Branch of the Office of Foreign Military Affairs within the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
While in this position, Eveland was one of two officers to meet with Gamal Abdel Nasser to discuss aid to Egypt. In 1955,
Eveland became a consultant to the Operations Coordinating Board, an entity responsible for monitoring implementation of National
Security Council policies, reviewing proposals for clandestine political actions abroad, and reviewing covert CIA expenditures
(
Ropes of Sand, p. 110).
Although not technically a CIA agent at this point in his career, Eveland was sent on a mission to Syria for the agency in
1955, where he was tasked with working with conservative groups in the country. Upon returning from this assignment, Eveland
was recruited into the CIA, where he worked closely with Allen Dulles. From 1955 to 1959, Eveland was assigned to the American
embassies in Damascus, Syria, and Beirut, Lebanon, as a CIA agent using Department of State cover. During this time, Eveland
completed several missions in Syria, some involving coup attempts, including a mission to deliver half a million pounds to
Syrian politician Mikhail Ilyan that Eveland completed shortly before the beginning of the Suez Crisis. Eveland participated
in joint United States and United Kingdom planning sessions and also served as the contact person for Camille Chamoun, President
of Lebanon.
From 1959 to 1961, Eveland was on CIA assignment to Rome, Italy, under cover as a Vinnell Corporation engineering company
executive in charge of petroleum related construction, maintenance, and training projects in the Middle East and Africa. In
1962, he resigned from the CIA to become the vice president of Vinnell, although he was retained as an unpaid consultant to
the CIA to maintain his security clearance. In the 1970s, Eveland worked as a consultant for various companies in the petroleum
industry.
Eveland decided to write a book documenting American policy in the Middle East while watching the port of Beirut burn at the
start of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975. The contract for
Ropes of Sand: America's Failure in the Middle East was signed in 1977. Publication was delayed when the CIA requested a prepublication review of the work, but when the agency
later chose not to examine the book, Eveland published the work in 1980. Eveland died in 1990.
Sources:
Eveland, Wilbur Crane.
Ropes of Sand: America's Failure in the Middle East. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1980.
Graham, Robert. "The Middle Eastern Muddle." Review of
Ropes of Sand.
New York Review of Books. 23 October 1980. Accessed through http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1980/oct/23/the-middle-eastern-muddle/
Scope and Content of Collection
The Wilbur Eveland papers contain material related to his book
Ropes of Sand: America's Failure in the Middle East, an autobiographical work that discusses the role of the Central Intelligence Agency in American diplomacy in the Middle
East. Published in 1980, the book describes Eveland's intelligence missions to countries such as Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, and
Iraq, and his interactions with Allen Dulles and John Foster Dulles. Included are descriptions of a meeting with Gamal Abdel
Nasser in 1954, various missions in Syria, the Suez Crisis, the Eisenhower Doctrine, and other events of significance in the
Middle East. Because Eveland served as a consultant within the petroleum industry after resigning from the CIA in 1962, the
book also describes the petroleum industry's role in diplomacy and policy in the Middle East.
The
Ropes of Sand
file includes drafts, research materials, and other documents related to the book. Many of the typescripts and galleys include
annotations by Eveland and others. The curriculum vitae of Eveland can be found in box 8, folder 2. This file also includes
Freedom of Information Act requests from Eveland and the resulting documents from various government agencies. Reviews of
Ropes of Sand can be found in the materials for the dust jacket and also within the
Increments.
The papers include
Declassified U.S. government records that relate to the Middle East, the Baghdad Pact, and the Syro-Egyptian Union. Some of these documents have been stored as
PDF files, which can be accessed through the reading room workstations.
Related Materials
Charles Richard Crane memoirs, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
George Lenczowski papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Philip C. McConnell papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Harley C. Stevens papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Alfred M. Lilienthal papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Secret service -- United States
Middle East -- Foreign relations -- United States
United States -- Foreign relations -- Middle East
United States. Central Intelligence Agency
Ropes of Sand file
1941-1980
Scope and Contents note
Includes galleys, typescripts, printed matter, correspondence, diaries, badges, and one sound recording related to the publication
of
Ropes of Sand: America's Failure in the Middle East. Arranged alphabetically by format, with drafts arranged chronologically.
box 1, folder 1
Badges, Corps of Intelligence Police
1941, undated
box 1, folder 4
CIA and Department of Justice, concerning security commitments
1980
box 1, folder 5
Philby, H. A. R. (Kim) letter
undated
box 2, folder 1-3
Typescript
undated (contd.)
box 2, folder 4-6
Typescript,
Innocents Abroad by Eveland and Thomas Faber
circa 1978
Scope and Contents note
Early draft of
Ropes of Sand
box 3, folder 1
Typescript,
Innocents Abroad by Eveland and Thomas Faber
circa 1978 (contd.)
Scope and Contents note
Early draft of
Ropes of Sand
box 3, folder 2-5
Typescript, outline and annotated first draft
1978
box 4, folder 1
Typescript, outline and annotated first draft
1978 (contd.)
box 4, folder 2
Typescript, partial first draft
June 1978
box 4, folder 3-5
Typescript,
Innocents Abroad by Wilbur Eveland and Thomas Faber
August 1978
Scope and Contents note
Early draft of
Ropes of Sand
box 5, folder 1
Partial typescript, outline, revision notes, chapter drafts
1978-1979
box 5, folder 2-15
Typescript, "Norton Book," Prologue-Chapter 13
circa 1979
Scope and Contents note
Includes correspondence
box 6, folder 1-14
Typescript, "Norton Book," Chapter 14-Chapter 27
circa 1979
Scope and Contents note
Includes correspondence
box 7, folder 1-2
Partial typescript
circa 1979
box 7, folder 3-5
Typescript, Star's draft
April 1979
box 8, folder 1
Typescript, Star's draft
April 1979 (contd.)
box 8, folder 2
Partial draft, outline, book proposal, notes
April 1979
Scope and Contents note
Possibly part of Star's draft.
box 9, folder 1-2
Typescript
October 1979 (contd.)
box 10, folder 3-4
Galley with Eveland's corrections
January 1980
box 11, folder 1-2
Galley with Eveland's corrections
February 1980
Scope and Contents note
Includes note about galley's use during a meeting between Eveland, Mark Lynch, and CIA attorneys
box 11, folder 3-5
Galley, "final page proofs before decision to print in light of CIA's refusal to review the book,"
February 1980
box 12, folder 1-3
Galley, master set, second pass
February 1980
box 12, folder 4
Index and front matter
March-April 1980
box 12, folder 5
Dust jacket materials
1980
Scope and Contents note
Includes reviews, photograph of Eveland, clippings on CIA and book release
Freedom of Information Act requests and documents
box 12, folder 6
Central Intelligence Agency
1955-1978
box 13, folder 1-3
Department of State
1953-1978
box 13, folder 4
Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice
1954-1980
box 13, folder 5
Photographs, Middle East
1954, undated
box 14, folder 1
Proposal for
Ropes of Sand
undated
Scope and Contents note
From "Norton Book" typescript
box MC13
Sound recording
1977
Physical Description: 1 compact sound cassette.
Scope and Contents note
Telephone conversations with Thomas Farber, John Marks, Ellen Levine, and Starling Lawrence leading to book contracts.
Increments
1982-1983
Scope and Contents note
Includes clippings of articles written by Eveland, correspondence from Eveland to politicians, and reviews of
Ropes of Sand. Arranged chronologically.
box 14, folder 4
1982
Scope and Contents note
Includes correspondence
box 14, folder 5
1983
Scope and Contents note
Includes
Ropes of Sand reviews, clippings by Eveland, correspondence
Declassified U.S. government records
1955-1958
Scope and Contents note
Consists of formerly security-classified records of the U.S. government, released in full or in part, related to the Middle
East, the Baghdad Pact, and the Syro-Egyptian Union. Includes some interfiled material determined to be unclassified. Formats
include PDF files and paper documents such as correspondence. Arranged chronologically by date of release by Hoover.
box 14, folder 6
2011 July release of records
1955-1956, 1982
Scope and Contents note
Memorandum, letter, and Christmas message, all unclassified, relating to the situation in the Middle East, 1955-1956; unclassified
letter, 1982
online digital
2017 release of records
circa 1955-1958
