AS I READ The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government, a new book by Salon founder David Talbot, I couldn't help thinking of an obscure corner of 1970s history: the Safari Club.

Dulles — the Princeton man and white shoe corporate lawyer who served as CIA director from 1953 to 1961, still the longest tenure in agency history — died in 1969 before the Safari Club was conceived. And nothing about it appears in The Devil's Chessboard. But to understand the Safari Club is to understand Allen Dulles and his milieu.

Any normal person would likely hear the Safari Club saga as a frightening story of totally unaccountable power. But if there's one thing to take away from The Devil's Chessboard, it's this: Allen Dulles would have seen it differently — as an inspiring tale of hope and redemption.