The First Counterspy: Larry Haas, Bell Aircraft, and the FBI's Attempt to Capture a Soviet Mole

by Kay Haas

The First Counterspy is the pulse-quickening and traumatic story of spy, counterspy, and an American family unwittingly caught in its web. Until this case, the FBI had never recruited civilian counterspies to catch a Soviet agent. The first two were Larry Haas, a leading aviation engineer at Bell Aviation, and Leona Franey, head librarian at Bell's technical library. The FBI pitted them against a Soviet agent, Andrei Ivanovich Schevchenko, operating legally as one of the highest Soviet officials in the United States during WWII, and illegally as the secret head of a wide-ranging spy network hidden within the American aviation industry.

The First Counterspy lays out this exciting story and, later, the consequences of Schevchenko's deadly threat of vengeance against Haas, the counterspy who betrayed him. The threat was uttered in a mere fourteen seconds but generated lethal consequences that long outlived Schevchenko, tormented Larry Haas, killed his wife, and subjected his daughter, Kay (the coauthor of this book), to decades of nearly fatal harassment.

And thereby hangs a tale of spy vs. spy intrigue against the backdrop of the home front during World War II.

Genres: World War II

1 pages, Audio CD

First published May 1, 2022

Reviews

[BookTrib.com]

THE FIRST COUNTERSPY by Kay Haas and Walter W. Pickut is a propulsive history of America’s first civilian counterspy and his family’s experience living in a world where “secret agents play by deadly rules.”

Read the full review on BookTrib.com

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book about the Cold War. It has everything to make a good espionage novel and is true. It was written by the protagonist's daughter. The book chronicles the rise of Larry Hass as a researcher in the field of turbine engines, the efforts of Soviet agents to co-opt him and the rise of counter-espionage efforts by the FBI. The story is fairly detailed to the point of Soviet agent Shevchenko's departure from the United States. After that the story of Haas's life is a bit more vague with hints of activities both above board and below board. I would guess they are still classified. The attempts by the Soviets to kidnap the author at a young age and 6 more times as an adult make fascinating reading.

If you like espionage thrillers, this is a book to read. It is better than fiction because it is true.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging and informative look into one of the myriad unknown stories from the early Cold War. Painstaking work by the author/researcher(s) to locate facts and FOIA documentation to support the overall narrative, flesh out the major personalities, and draw attention both to the character of Larry Haas as well as the inpetness of early FBI counterintelligence efforts. Though there was a portion of this recounting which was rather - fantastical - if true, it represents one of the wilder stories I've heard regarding US counterintelligence response to Soviet espionage efforts. Well worth a read if interested in the history of the subject of espionage.

[Brian Bratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

It always amazes me how much is going on in the world outside the knowledge of common citizens like me, and this book reinforces how little most of us know. I highly recommend reading this book.