Spy vs. Spy: Stalking Soviet Spies in America

by ronald-kessler

Reveals details of KBG penetration of the CIA, FBI spy-hunting tactics, the activities of Pollard, Pelton, and Walker, interactions between the CIA and NSA, and security breaches in the two agencies

Genres: Espionage, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Sketchbook · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kessler was clearly given all access; his writing is OK. Many could have done better. The galling thing is that Kessie includes 3 or 4 photos of himself smirking for camera. Very Vomir.

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

My copy is a true 80s copy. Full of dusty pages that make my throat scratchy. I found it at some thrift shop or other. The whole 70s + 80s era spy novel seemed interesting to read. This was before cell phones and technology so intense that deep cover spies were actually more important than an Internet trail.
As jumpy as maybe the story lines of the spies is, I found the Interworking's of it all fascinating as well as scary. Average people, yet doing above average 'trade craft' thru the Cold War. The author is a good writer and has done his research. Reading about the spies and their lifestyles was insane. I was really shocked with the Koecher's 'open marriage' stuff. It's not glamorous at all. But it is interesting all the same.

[Joe Orozco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kessler is a good writer. Yet, the style here threw me off, because you begin to settle into a plot and get yanked away to focus on a different case. I understand the approach to maintain the reader’s interest, but the excellent research feels watered down. Having read some of his more linear reporting, Spy vs. Spy drove me a little nuts.

Pick it up if you’re interested in panoramic reviews of some notorious spies of foreign and domestic stripe. It’ll make for a good introduction to larger, more concentrated works.

Don’t pick it up hoping for exclusive glimpses into tradecraft. As one of the protagonists points out, there’s no need to give away all the secrets. And that is why Kessler is one of the better writers. He does not pretend to know more than what he possesses.

[Rick]

Invaluable background for my novel: Vantage

[Dayl Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book to peruse through, but some parts were more fun than others. Certainly worth a look if you like spy stuff (thank you Capt. Obvious!) or the Cold War.

[Tom Nolan]

paperback

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kessler discusses a series of cases of FBI agents identifying and capturing Soviet spys. While the stories are interesting, in several cases the Soviets, through employing poor tradecraft, did more to ensure their capture than the FBI agents tasked with following them. Their capture does not necessarily reflect anything fascinating that the FBI did, but the KGB's own mistakes. Likewise, several of the Americans who are captured failed to employ any measures to protect themselves, virtually ensuring their capture. Overall, it seems that Kessler was given access to good-news stories that make the FBI look good, and he does not critically examine what they may not be telling him.

Of course, what the FBI does not tell Kessler is that while FBI agents were solving relatively easy cases, Ames and Hansen were doing more damage to America than any spy the FBI captured in the 1980s. That these stories only came out years later highlights the weakness of this book. Kessler should have been more critical of the cases that he was made aware of and more deeply explored the possibility that there were agents, on either side, effectively employing tradecraft.

[Shiv · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives an inside look of the working of intelligence and counterintelligence agencies in the USA. The book gives a considerable amount of information about operations, mostly dealing with Soviet connections. The overarching story is about Karl Koecher, an agent working for the Soviets through the Czech Intelligence Service. The author strings cases together to provide context for the court hearings that evicted (or didn't) the many operatives providing classified information to the KGB and GRU. It also highlights the perspective of the moles and the spies themselves (including a detailed interview with Koecher).

Definitely an interesting read!

[Sara Goldenberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Old book about obscure situations. Did not enjoy.