Breaking the Ring: The Rise and Fall of the Walker Family Spy Network

by John Daniel Barron

An account of the activities of the Walker family spy ring, this book reveals how the seemingly small espionage operation became the KGB's most important project and the United States' greatest loss

Genres: History, Espionage, Nonfiction, True Crime

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Ryan Nary · Rating 3 out of 5]

About what you'd expect from a former Washington Times columnist

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barron does an outstanding job of reconstructing the investigations that cracked the Walker spy ring open and revealed the horrific damage done to American interests by the compromise of encrypted communications. Written in the 1980s, this book reflects its times - non-whites are identified by race while everyone not so labeled is assumed to be white. Having an office near a gay bar is a sign of disrepute. Etc.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some months ago I read Howard Blum's 'I Pledge Allegiance' about the Walker spy ring. Looking for a quick read, I noticed Barron's book on the same subject besides Blum's on the bookshelf and decided to give it a try. It turned out to be a good choice. While Blum handles the story basically as a biography of Walker and his associates, most of whom were family members, Barron approaches the story from the perspective of the governmental investigators of the conspiracy. Also, while Blum is, judging from his other books, a bit of a liberal, Barron, a long-time editor of the 'Readers Digest', is a virulently anti-communist right-winger. The cited facts of the case are compatible, but the approaches are very different.

Barron is a pretty good writer, not in any stylistic sense, but in that he carries the narrative along quickly, allowing the reader to become absorbed, forgetful of the act of reading.