An Agent in Place

by Thomas Whiteside

Depicts the espionage activities of the Swedish diplomat, Colonel Stig Wennerstrom, and examines his motives for becoming a spy for the Soviet Union

160 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 28, 1966

About the author

Thomas Whiteside was a distinguished American journalist and author whose investigative reporting for The New Yorker frequently spurred major legislative reform. After studying at the University of Chicago and serving in the Office of War Propaganda, he became a formidable voice in advocacy journalism. He is perhaps best known for his instrumental role in exposing the ecological and human devastation caused by Agent Orange; his meticulous reporting served as the primary catalyst for Congressional hearings and subsequent federal restrictions on the chemical.
Whiteside’s diverse body of work often challenged corporate and political power, from revealing the use of ethylene gas in industrial tomato farming to documenting police violence against journalists at the 1968 Democratic Convention. A prolific author, his books explored topics ranging from cigarette advertising and computer crime to the "blockbuster complex" of the publishing industry. In recognition of his enduring impact, he was named a MacArthur Fellow in 1986.

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swedish Colonel Stig Wennerstrom served as Sweden’s Air Attache in Moscow and Washington shortly after the end of the Second World War when the Cold War was heating up. For fifteen years, he served as an agent of the Soviet Union, passing NATO secrets to his handlers controlled by Moscow. Eventually uncovered and arrested by the Swedish authorities, the first part of the book is his recollection of the events of his spying.
What comes across very clear is how easy it was for him to gain access to secrets, copy them via photos and then pass them to his Soviet handlers. While there were many hints of his being a Soviet agent and there were suspicions within the Swedish security services, it took years before they were able to gather enough evidence to arrest him.
The second and shorter section of the book is an analysis of Wennerstrom’s statements by an espionage specialist. In this section, some of the statements by Wennerstrom are debunked. Several questions regarding the stated tactics given by Wennerstrom as well as some of what he was told by the Soviets are questioned. While they sound true, they also often come across as an attempt to belittle Wennerstrom and cover up what was a level of incompetence by the Swedish and NATO counter espionage agents.
Despite these questions, it is clear that this is a generally accurate rendition of the acts of one of the major agents that the Soviets were able to plant in the Western European militaries.