Traitors Among Us: Inside the Spy Catcher's World

by Stuart A. Herrington

As director of the elite Foreign Counterintelligence Activity, author Stuart Herrington was the U.S. Army's top counterintelligence officer. In this thrilling and informative account he details one of the most damaging and delicate cases of espionage ever committed against the United States. Between 1972 and 1988, thousands of highly classified documents were sold to the Soviet Union and her Warsaw pact surrogates. They were secrets so sensitive that had war broken out in Central Europe, our ability to defend our NATO allies would have been seriously compromised. It was up to Herrington and his team to root out the elusive spy ring responsible for this treachery. An intriguing page-turner with more twists and turns than a spy novel, Traitors Among Us guides us through the intricate spy catcher's world of Cold War Berlin, showing us how the "game" was played when the stakes were as high as national survival.

Genres: History, Espionage, Military Fiction, Nonfiction, Military History, American History

432 pages, Paperback

First published May 4, 1999

Reviews

[Dana Kraft · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read and a good reminder that spies aren’t dashing Bond types, nor are spy hunters. Made the point that counterintelligence is mostly about diligent basic investigative work that often continues well past the initial identification of a spy. I hadn’t thought much about how the fact that spying often occurs on foreign soil complicates the question of how to prosecute a suspected spy. The least interesting parts were the discussion of internal politics within the Army and across agencies in the US.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad summary of several extensive and high-profile espionage cases handled by the Army. The focus and details are a little different from other books, so I definitely learned additional info from this book (and my study on the subject has been thorough). If you are interested in the Cold War, this is an excellent book to add to the reading list.

I wish there had been an index. Also the storytelling is more detailed and less immersive than I prefer, but that did enable the author to recount several cases in one relatable book.

[CASPER HILEMAN · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Head of U.S. Army Counterintelligence Stuart Herrington details the investigation and prosecution of the two more egregious betrayals of the U.S. Military war plans in the history of the Army. It is slow and painstaking work dealing with multiple jurisdictions and agencies in both the United States and Europe. We can only hope that this spirit, dedication, and professionalism still remain.

[Reader Herrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that shouldn’t have been written because it gives an unvarnished first hand account inside the “Spy catchers” world - fortunately for the intelligence community, it was. Americans will never fully understand the depths that the military intelligence community goes to to shield our Nation.
You won’t be able to put it down.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Herrington was in charge of Army foreign counterintelligence efforts against the massive leaking of classified documents to the Russians that took place in the 70s and 80s. His work makes for interesting and often exciting reading.

[Charles Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Espionage has always fascinated me, and it is amazing how many people sold out to the Soviets and other countries. This was a very readable book and has a lot of good information about the motivations and techniques used by spies and the people that catch them.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting read. Extremely disturbing reading about the Major Security sellouts many of which occurred while I was stationed in Germany.

[Stacy Kingsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book. I feel that you have to be somewhat interested in the topic already.

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best book I've ever read about counterintelligence and a richly detailed rendering of the realities of investigative work.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

superb.

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERY good book on the subject. I'm suprised they were allowed to talk this much about it. The book gives very interesting stories about the cold war and the OPS that took place in Germany.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

A no nonsense, detailed read of what the CI field is. A must read for anyone who has an interest in in the IEc.

[Joe Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. I remember having to change our war plans when I was stationed in Germany. Now I know why.

[Katie Eberenz]

Stopped reading at page 86. Not suspenseful or a page-turner at all. Very dry. Lots of names, dates, and places, but little action or anything to hold my interest.

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good look at counterintelligence operations as related to the Clyde Conrad case.