Swap: A Secret History of the New Cold War

by Drew Hinshaw, Joe Parkinson

From the Wall Street Journal's award-winning international investigations team comes a spellbinding account of a spy war between the U.S. and Russia that transformed into a ruthless game of hostage-taking, in which Putin held all the cards.

Narrated with the propulsive drive of a spy thriller and packed with revelatory reporting, Swap takes you deep inside a shadow war that will upend how you think about global politics. It is the first full account of the Kremlin’s game of human poker—and the extraordinary lengths the U.S. had to go to to retrieve its citizens, including Brittney Griner, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, and numerous others whose arrests were unseen collateral damage in a hidden conflict.

Swap unspools the history behind the series of prisoner trades that returned Moscow and Washington to the crude transactional logic of the Cold War, culminating in the two rivals’ largest and most complex swap ever. On August 1, 2024, twenty-four people jailed in seven nations were exchanged, including eight Russian spies, smugglers, hackers, and a professional hit man. But that headline moment was only the climax of a secret war two decades in the making.

Investigative reporters Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson were Pulitzer finalists for their work with Gershkovich to uncover the Russian officials responsible for resurrecting a brutal tactic once wielded by the KGB. Now they reveal the story of how the Russian government planted deep-cover agents in the West, how the CIA tracked them down, and how Russia responded by snatching American citizens—imprisoning them under false or jacked-up charges—forcing the U.S. government to play Putin’s game.

Swap takes you inside the Oval Office, the Kremlin, the headquarters of the CIA and MI6, and the living rooms of ordinary families forced to become activists in order to bring their loved ones home. You’ll meet the Gulf royals, billionaire tech moguls, and unlikely Hollywood intermediaries navigating back channels to save lives. You’ll visit remote Arctic prison camps and cordoned-off Middle Eastern airstrips. And you’ll discover how the CIA and MI6 waged a quiet, high-stakes campaign against a Kremlin that was abducting Americans to build leverage.

Tracking each move and countermove in a multilayered Rubik’s Cube of negotiations, Swap unscrambles and decodes the spy craft really going on between the U.S. and Russia, offering a chilling diagnosis for how power works in the twenty-first century.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Russia, Politics, Audiobook, Espionage

304 pages, Hardcover

Published August 19, 2025

Reviews

[Marta Kwapińska]

Takie 4.5. Bardzo wciągające i znakomicie napisane.

[Thijs Van Dam]

Wow! The Book Swap reads with the intensity of a thriller, pulling you into the world of global hostage warfare with surprising depth and showing loads of perspective.

I’ve learned so much more about a story I had only seen in the news, but in the book it unfolded with so much needed back- and side story, without ever getting dull.

What struck me most was the delicacy behind every move, the careful balance of power and humanity that shapes each decision. It is both gripping and enlightening, it left me thinking long after I turned the final page!

[Canyon Hohenstein]

This is of the most fascinating books I’ve read about espionage, not just because of the operations themselves, but because of the people behind them. What really stayed with me was how many of these spies were obsessed with spy fiction culture. The book makes it clear that the mythology of espionage shaped real intelligence officers just as much as ideology did. Vladimir Putin is probably the clearest modern example: he has openly talked about being inspired by Soviet spy stories and films as a teenager, especially Seventeen Moments of Spring, the hugely influential Soviet TV series about an undercover intelligence officer operating inside Nazi Germany.

One of the most fascinating sections involves the Russian couple living in Argentina and Slovenia, whose lives felt almost unbelievable because of how carefully constructed and theatrical they were. They weren’t just gathering intelligence. They were also performing identities throughout most of their lives, to the point where even their kids didn’t know they were Russian. They were arrested by the Slovenian government then returned to Russia with a hero’s welcome by Putin—something straight out of a movie.

The writing is sharp, immersive, and packed with incredible detail without ever feeling dry. Even if you think you already know Cold War history, this book constantly finds ways to surprise you. It’s not just a history of intelligence operations. It’s a study of the stories spies tell themselves, and how those stories shape politics and history in the real world.

You will be hooked from the very first scene until the final word. An easy 5 stars.

[Grandpa Anthony]

I read this on the heels of finishing Brett Forrest's "Lost Son," and in hindsight that was both helpful and yet somewhat unfair to this title. Helpful in that I was in a "Russia frame of mind" from reading "Lost Son," and that supplied me with context about Putin and spying that enhanced the scenes here and that I otherwise wouldn't have had in mind. Unfair in that Forrest's writing is so lyrical and his dive into the subject of an FBI source missing in Russia so detailed that transitioning to the prose in "Swap" was a noticeable shift. That doesn't make this a bad title by any means, just different—more newsy than poetic. This is a 3.5 for me, only because of personal preference toward more poetic writing.

"Swap" provides quite a bit of information I hadn't known about The Wall Street Journal's efforts to free reporter Evan Gershkovich from Russia's notorious Lefortovo prison—truly a heroic effort that involved all levels of the company, the families, and the U.S. government. It also does a fine job of outlining the back stories of the spies and non-spies caught up in the game of prisoner-swap between nations. In the end, the resolution appears to come together quickly, but the authors make clear that this was a massive game of 3D chess.

[Nick]

Would you believe it took until the year 2021 for Biden’s NSA advisor Jake Sullivan to essentially ask “isn’t it time for us to do something more than vibes-based hostage swaps?” While Sullivan quickly learned that this is easier said than done, this is the story of his relentless effort to create a moral framework and international relations process for political prisoner exchanges.

Also the story of how the (absolutely worthy and important) international focus on the plights of Olympic athlete Brittney Griner and journalist Evan Gershkovich completely overshadowed the case of another innocent American Civilian falsely imprisoned by Russia for a far longer duration.

Absolutely riveting. I listened to it in a day.

[Krzyś Dz]

An interesting book about the story behind the largest prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia since the Second World War.

The book provides a good insight into the people and stories behind the exchange, including the prisoners and hostages themselves, as well as their families and friends who worked to secure their release. It also offers an interesting look at how a dedicated team was established within the US government to handle negotiations for such exchanges.

Well written and well paced, with enough personal stories to keep the narrative engaging. Overall, a solid and interesting read.

[John Miller]

From the weird, dark corners of Putin’s Russia to the raw machinery of U.S. power, SWAP is a geopolitical masterpiece, one of those rare books that tells you how the world *really* works. I’m fascinated (and horrified) by how Putin manages to cling to power; and it’s hard to find reporting that digs deep into his way of thinking and working. Through the prism of the arrest of U.S. citizens (including WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich) traded for Russian spies and assassins, including the Berlin bicycle shooter, this book illuminates boldly and brightly. A must-read.

[Stephen Lyons]

Great Read

Just finished Swap by Drew Hinshaw & Joe Parkinson — incredible read. Feels like a thriller, but it’s all real: prisoner swaps, diplomacy, and the human stories behind the headlines. Highly recommend if you’re into geopolitics or just a page-turning true story. If you liked the Traitor and the Spy, you would love this one!

[Eric Leis]

Gripping from start to finish. The book is overflowing with excitement and intrigue. Like a John le Carre novel except it’s true! Cancel all your plans, clear your schedule, and pickup a copy of this book. Once you do, you won’t want to put it down (or vacation in Russia!)

[Banele Nyamane]

A high level summary of the behind the scenes

This is a high level summary about the behind the scenes events that resulted in one of the big “prisoner” exchange in history.

[Scott Wentworth]

A great read, great story and lessons on those who just roll their sleeves up and get things done vs those trying to be perfect.

[Jessica]

Incredibly well researched, real-life spy novel. I thought this stuff only happened in movies.

[Paul]

Although the authors have right at the beginning of the book included a Who's Who list, you will get lost and I had to give it up after 30 pages. Horrible writing. A wste of time and money.

[Samuel Kohler]

Interesting read, vital read for understanding the underbelly of geopolitics today and a vital lever of power for authoritarian regimes.

[Cuker]

Trochę za długie, rozwleczone na siłę.

[David]

Swap: A Secret History of the New Cold War
by Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson
Harper (HarperCollins), August 19, 2025
★★★★☆ (4/5)
I purchased this book after seeing Drew Hinshaw on C-SPAN's BookTV discussing it. You can see that discussion here if interested: https://www.c-span.org/program/public.... Hinshaw and Parkinson are Wall Street Journal reporters who spent years covering the shadow war between Washington and Moscow, and that reporting shows up on nearly every page. This isn't a dry policy history — it's a spy story that happens to be true.
The book covers how Putin used hostage-taking as leverage against the West — Russian spies planted here, and American citizens jailed on fake charges just so Russia would have something to trade. And it's not just diplomats and spies involved. Government officials, Gulf royals, tech moguls, even Hollywood people all get pulled in trying to make a deal happen. It all builds to the big swap — the crescendo of this exciting story, which I won't spoil for you.
It took me a little while to get into it — the opening chapters are laying a lot of groundwork before the story really takes off. But once it grabs you, it grabs you, and the last couple of chapters are what make the whole book worthwhile. More than once I found myself frustrated reading how our own government fumbled pieces of this — I won't get into the politics of it here.
I'd recommend it, especially if you stick with it past the slow start. By the end it earns its subtitle — this really does feel like the opening chapter of a new Cold War.