Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer: The True Story of the Man Who Recruited Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames

Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer: The True Story of the Man Who Recruited Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames Features

Additional Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer: The True Story of the Man Who Recruited Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames Information

In his four decades as a KGB officer, Victor Cherkashin was a central player in the shadowy world of Cold War espionage. From his rigorous training in Soviet intelligence in the early 1950s to his prime spot as the KGB's head of counterintelligence at the Soviet embassy in Washington, Cherkashin's career was rich in episode and drama. In a riveting memoir, Cherkashin provides a remarkable insider's view of the KGB's prolonged conflict with the CIA.

Playing a major role in global espionage for most of the Cold War, Cherkashin was posted to stations in the United States, Australia, India, and Lebanon. He tracked down U.S. and British spies around the world. But it was in 1985 that Cherkashin scored two of the KGB's biggest-ever coups. In April of that year, he recruited disgruntled CIA officer Aldrich Ames and became his principal handler. Six months later, FBI special agent Robert Hanssen contacted Cherkashin directly, eventually becoming an even bigger asset than Ames.

In Spy Handler, Cherkashin offers the complete account of how and why both Americans turned against their country, and addresses the rumors of an undiscovered KGB spy-another Hanssen or Ames-still at large in the U.S. intelligence community. Full of vivid detail and dramatic accounts that shed stark new light on the inner workings of the KGB, Spy Handler is a major addition to Cold War history, told by one of its major players.

What Customers Say About Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer: The True Story of the Man Who Recruited Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames:

The author isn't boastful or cynical, just straight forward. I really enjoyed this book. The characters are easy to identify and it isn't just a long list of KGB players during the Cold War (like the Sword & the Shield). If you're accustomed to the fantastic, fluff filled world of fiction and want to grow up then this is a good start. But don't mistake the genre of history with fiction, it's just degrading to history.

This is a fascinating account of day to day operations in the spy game - not a shoot-em-up, but searing reality of the "behind the scenes" in the espionage trade. A great read for anyone interested in Russia, the cold war, and or spies and their trade. Highly recommended.

The shipment came before the date given. It was a great price that I was happy to pay.

Fairly interesting material, but poorly written. As engaging as your local phone book. Heading back to True Crime books.

It's interesting to the casual reader and, to those with a deep interest in these famous Cold War spy cases, quite valuable.There are brief accounts of some mind-boggling programs, some run by the CIA, others by the KGB. You met Kryuchkov and Kirpichenko. He /was/ there. The author also missed several prime opportunities to give us his impression of major historical figures with whom he had personal contact. Lewis.I agree with Amazon reviewer "ashurbanapli" that Cherkashin in SPY HANDLER is primarily interested in clearing his name. GREAT stuff.The memoir could have had more narrative color. What was their personality.

Cherkashin's account of his KGB years reminded me of the bureaucratic paranoid atmosphere of "The Screwtape Letters" by C. He tells what he saw and did as a KGB hander of American informers Ames and Hanssen. Tell us about them.A similar but richer memoir is Oleg Kalugin's "The First Directorate: My 32 Years in Intelligence and Espionage Against the West". "It was a dark and stormy night." "The sun shone brightly that day." That kind of stuff. What did they look like. S. Despite this bias, it's a competent account by someone who was in on lots of interesting stuff.