George Crile

George Crile was an American journalist and author that was best known for working for CBS News and as the author of “Charlie Wilson’s War.” He made his name as a television news producer that tackled controversial and difficult subjects. Crile was born in 1945 San Diego, the son of distinguished surgeon George Crile. His step mother was the daughter of Carl Sandburg the poet and this perhaps played a huge role in inspiring him to go into creative writing. As a teenager, he went to Connecticut’s Trinity College and after graduating went on to serve in the Marine reserves. He worked under Jack Anderson and Drew Pearson who were renowned columnists before he found a job reporting for “The Gary Post – Register.” He also worked as Pentagon Reporter for “Knight – Ridder” and edited “Harper’s Magazine” between 1973 and 1976. He would later join CBS and was instrumental in the production of “The CIA’s Secret Army.” It was a documentary about the CIA’s activities trying to overthrow the Cuban government after the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion. For his efforts, he won the Blue Ribbon at the American Film Festival. He would later go on to win Edward R Murrow, a Peabody and an Emmy Award.