A Spy's Guide to Santa Fe and Albuquerque

by E.B. Held

When thinking of New Mexico, few Americans think spy-vs.-spy intrigue, but in fact, to many international intelligence operatives, the state's name is nearly synonymous with espionage, and Santa Fe is a sacred site. The KGB's single greatest intelligence and counterintelligence coups, and the planning of the organization's most infamous assassination, all took place within one mile of Bishop Lamy's statue in front of Saint Francis Cathedral in central Santa Fe. In this fascinating guide, former CIA agent E. B. Held uses declassified documents from both the CIA and KGB, as well as secondary sources, to trace some of the most notorious spying events in United States history. His work guides modern visitors through the history of such events as the plot to assassinate Leon Trotsky, Ted Hall's delivery of technical details of the atom bomb to the KGB, and the controversial allegations regarding Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Dr. Wen Ho Lee's contacts with China. Held provides background material as well as modern site locations to allow Cold War enthusiasts the opportunity to explore in a whole new way the settings for these historical events.

Genres: History, True Crime, Nonfiction

124 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2011

About the author

E B Held is a storyteller. As a retired CIA operations officer, he has been invited to speak at many venues, from Stanford and the University of New Mexico Law School to high schools and grade schools, from meetings of retiree groups to youth groups, and to countless business groups including conferences sponsored by Fortune 100 corporations and breakfasts sponsored by small business civic associations. His popular presentations at the unclassified level include: - The Real James Bond: Sidney Reilly and the Origins of Modern Espionage- The Perfect Tragedy: A Spy's Guide to the Kennedy Assassination- The Cuban Missile Crisis: A Secret Intelligence Perspective- Center Stage: New Mexico's Surprising Place in Modern Espionage- Some Guilty, Some Not: Julius Rosenberg, Ted Hall, and J. Robert Oppenheimer. Held served as Director of Intelligence and Counterintelligence for the Department of Energy and the DOE-owned national laboratories from February 2010 through December 2012.Held's second book is A Spy's Guide to the Kennedy Assassination (2013). The 1963 assassination of President Kennedy was a genuine tragedy in the Greek definition of that word, "a serious play having a disastrous ending brought about by the central characters impelled by fate." Held's book brings that tragedy to life including photos of where central characters lived and important events occurred as well as guided walking tours of Georgetown, New Orleans and, of course, Dallas.

Reviews

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this one up on a whim, and it's a winner: well-written accounts of (mostly) the very successful Soviet efforts to steal the A-bomb designs from Los Alamos.

Tidbits: the Rosenbergs were guilty of spying, all right, but the serious spy was Ted Hall, code-named MLLAD, recruited by the KGB as a teenager. Hall passed on the first good information the Soviets got from Los Alamos -- though the "meat" had to wait for Klaus Fuchs' theft of detailed plans. The Rosenbergs, minor players, were executed, Fuchs went to prison in England -- while Ted Hall went scot-free.

The Rosenbergs were caught from a tradecraft violation in 1945. Their supervisor protested, but his bosses were (literally) under the gun from Stalin. As author Held dryly notes, "Given Stalin's simple managerial philosophy -- obey or die", the bosses ignored his protests.

Held notes that from the spectacular Fuchs thefts, and other KGB spies' information, Stalin was able to move fast in the Far East, in the waning days of WW2. The Soviets declared war against Japan two days after Hiroshima, grabbed Manchuria and North Korea, captured two million Japanese troops, used them as forced labor, and killed 300,000 of them in the gulags. "How different their fate might have been but for KGB atomic espionage."

Highly recommended.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read that fills in a lot of blanks around nuclear espionage in the US. A series of events are described, much as you might get in a letter from someone, reviewing the significant espionage cases around Los Alamos national lab. Very interesting read, but a bit light on developing the stories.

[Rick B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent synopsis of spying and counter espionage that has taken place in New Mexico. My only wish is that the book was longer and went into more detail.

[Vanessa Dargain · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a graduate of the University of New Mexico , Albuquerque I hadn't a clue I was repeatedly
traipsing over cold war spy contact routes while pursuing my degree until I read this book .
It's a quick read . Only 85 pages . But also a good read , with informative end of chapter notes
and bibliography for readers with the hots for more .
I visited the Zook's pharmacy in Santa Fe (pp5-9 ) during summer 2000 and had no idea I was standing on textbook sacred ground . So very cool !
Nowadays everything is recyclable , even coldwar espionage routes and homely librarians ,
stolen bicycles ( figure 5B ) and miner's hammers , power station accidents, jello boxes , street names and take-over-the-world plans .
All of which make this book a worthwhile read for those still piecing the past-is-key-to-present
puzzle for the American Semiquincentennial .

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick overview for the general reader of key locations in WWII and Cold War espionage. Good background for sightseeing in Los Alamos and Santa Fe, NM. Extensive bibliography of other books that go more in depth on the subject.

[Tim Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little book crammed with facts about spying that's occurred in NM.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was nice to learn about the spy stories in New Mexico, but he wrote in a confusing way by continuously using the code names instead of the spy's real names.

[E A · Rating 4 out of 5]

new mexico the great revealer

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating story of New Mexico sites that have an espionage related story. Bruce is a great storyteller.

[David Blaylock · Rating 4 out of 5]

True spy craft is much more interesting that what is shown in 007 movies. Watch Oppenheimer first and this listen to this book for a peek into the shadow world of espionage.

[Paul Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy reading this. The book includes street maps showing where the events occurred, a timeline of the events, a "glossary" of people, a chapter summarizing the events, then a chapter for each event. Each chapter lists three or four books for more in-depth accounts each with Held's comment on them. He also explains "spycraft", the intelligence "game", and counterintelligence. It's not James Bond or Jason Bourne, but real humans doing what they think best for their cause.

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few tales of espionage, mostly Cold War, in northern New Mexico. Although the underlying events are interesting, I can't recommend this presentation. Most stories are obfuscated by frequent switches between real name and code name for the same person. Worse, the author inserts his own opinions in matters that don't pertain to the stories. He feels the need to share his belief that Vietnam and the invasion of Iraq were good ideas. He dismisses concerns over the quality of the evidence used to convict the Rosenbergs by reference to communications which were not declassified until long after their execution, and thus not presented in court. Finally, he seems awfully hard on Wen Ho Lee, in ways that do not match what I've read about the case elsewhere. I disagree with him on these issues, but would mind far less if he stuck to the stories at hand and presented a solid case for his opinions there.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very quick read and fairly interesting look at some of the known espionage that has taken place in New Mexico. He gives just enough story to know who was involved, where the operations occurred and an overview of the story. Each chapter ends with a list of suggested reading if one is interested in more detail.

[Pam Christison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really brief overview of espionage occurring in the Santa Fe and Albuquerque area. I didn't think it was brilliantly written, but it did leave me wanting to do more research and learn more. Definitely interesting, and I appreciated the pictures in the middle.

[Darth JarJar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has some pretty cool stories. An easy read.