KGB: The Secret Work of Soviet Secret Agents

by John Daniel Barron

A wide ranging investigation into the workings of the KGB, covering the manipulation of Egyptian President Nasser; the attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro; the campaign to intimidate journalists and silence dissent within the Soviet Union: the assistance given to IRA Provisionals; the wide scale infiltration of American Installations to steal hundreds of secret documents; the attempt to take over Ghana; sexual entrapment of Western diplomats; and the plans to paralyzed nations in the event of future international crises.

Genres: History, Espionage, Nonfiction, Russia, Politics, War, Military Fiction

462 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Max]

Reading this book is sort of like engaging in espionage yourself—on every page I found myself questioning the author's agenda, the extent to which the stories he was feeding me were verifiable through other sources, how he was trying to inculcate me in his world view, and what I could learn from the *way* the story was being told, since I couldn't trust its content.

It's kind of great in that way. Should you read it as an unbiased source? Lord, no. (My personal favorite bit is the author's assertion that Pablo Neruda was a KGB agent (!!!!).) Should you read it to understand the world conservative Americans thought they occupied in 1970, complete with its odd mixture of awe of and contempt for the USSR? Perhaps. Your milage may vary, but I found the provably true information here fascinating, and the rhetoric a fun puzzle box.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contains several captivating short stories about the failures and triumphs of spies and KGB operatives during the mid 20th century.

There’s also plenty of Russo-phobic opinions (as can be expected of Cold War era American writings) but it’s blatant and easy to spot.

A surprisingly large amount of this was like an introductory course in outdated intelligence and manipulation tactics. If George Orwell’s or Huxley’s dreams come true, could be useful one day? Idk, but at least it was well-written and some of the spy stories were pretty crazy.

Not my favorite book but it certainly expanded my worldview.

**AND VOCABULARY … I made a lengthy list of all the new words I encountered in this book

[Didit Priandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buku ini menjelaskan secara detil tindak tanduk dan kehidupan orang-orang yang terlibat spionase KGB di amerika. Juga List nama secara rinci dari agen=-agen tersebut.

[Patrick Gesnot · Rating 2 out of 5]

NATO propaganda by a Republican.
But it looks like the actual Russian FSB still works the same way, cfr the poisoning and killing of Putin's opposition.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an impressive work of reporting and, just as important, an engrossing read. The Soviet Union was indeed an evil empire, and this book demonstrates just one reason why that was so.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

To paraphrase a well-known line, the past is not dead; it's not even past. The Russian elite shed the Bolshevik economic vision 30 years ago because it never worked well, but most of them never shed the Bolshevik authoritarian vision at all. Now chekism serves ruscism alone instead of ruscism masked under communism, and the fellow travelers in other countries are now the right-wing extremists instead of what they were during the First Cold War, which was the left-wing extremists. In both cases, though, the ruscists did nudge, and still nudge, the fellow travelers' accelerationism in their own lands. And now just as then, most of the fellow travelers deny being such.

[Nanto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Di era awal hingga pertengahan 80-an saya selalu terkesan dengan para agen KGB. Mereka begitu dominan setiap lebaran. Tak lengkap lebaran tanpa KGB di setiap rumah. Belum silaturahmi bila tak ada KGB.

Kini jaman telah berubah. Agen-agen KGB raib entah dimana. Tiap lebaran telah banyak agen lain, menyodorkan pilihan lain yang lebih ciamik ceritanya.

Kini,hanya tinggal nostalgia menggayut.

Saya kangen agen-agen KGB (Khong Guan Biscuit). :D

[Kiyaa Kanjukia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite the fascinating read, albeit repetitive in some bits (perhaps for emphasis?), but that compels a thorough research to prove/disprove its content.

I was startled that Pablo Neruda was a KGB agent? Also, there was a mention of a certain Edward J. Fitzgerald and I almost went berserck thinking of the good old poet. Turns out it wasn't him, phew!

[Maarten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written, interesting account of KGB spies. As it is written in the mid-70s, it is highly recommendable as a document belonging to a past era and giving us a peak in the way in which, probably, many Americans thought about the Soviet Union and in particular the KGB.

[Aaron Shea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as exciting as even one spy thriller. Heavy handed condemnation of the Soviet government, while ignoring the CIA's many activities and blunders over the same time period. There are chapter notes but they aren't referenced in the main part of the book. Almost didn't finish this book.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

woooooooooooooooow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

An eye-opening history of the Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti or KGB. Very interesting although very dated now.

[lita]

satu lagi buku resep bikin kueh :D

[Thamrong]

Old classic 1975 for 3 ringgit at Chowrasta Penang.

[Frederick Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Soviets had some choice words for the left leaning in the US during the cold war.