Stirring, unpredictable, and at times unbearably tense, the billion dollar spy is a brilliant feat of reporting that unfolds like an espionage thriller. Share the billion dollar spy a true story of cold war espionage and betrayal hoffman. Working at the soviet radar design bureau phazotron as one of the chief designers, tolkachev. It is also an evocative portrait of everyday life in the crumbling soviet union and a meticulously researched guide to cia sources and methods. Hoffman i received this book through the goodreads first reads program. In cia headquarters at langley, virginia, hangs a strange painting of an unlikely american martyr. The billion dollar spy uses close study of these documents, plus interviews with former cia agents, to tell. We also learn growing up in the 70s and 80s, the cold war and its concomitant threat of nuclear extinction was constantly in our faces in the form of. The billion dollar spy a true story of cold war espionage and betrayal hoffman. The billion dollar spy a true story of cold war espionage and betrayal. A key part of the book is how a handful of talented cia officers broke down decadesold barriers that. Reallife billion dollar spy reads like a cold war fiction thriller. Summary of the billion dollar spy ebook by instaread summaries. Hoffman chronicles the six year relationship between the.
Image from the book the billion dollar spy by david hoffman. Hoffman includes analysis by instaread summaries available from. Drawing on previously classified cia documents and interviews with firsthand participants, the billion dollar spy is a brilliant feat of. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal by hoffman, david e.
How the cia ran a billion dollar spy in moscow the. On january 12, 1977 around 6 pm, an averagelooking soviet man leaned into the car that the cia station chief, robert fulton, was. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal by david e hoffman americas most successful spy in moscow paid with his. Pulitzer prizewinning author of the dead hand and the billion dollar spy this excitingeven entrancingstory traces the birth of a new science in the early twentieth century. Synopsis from the author of the pulitzer prizewinning history the dead hand comes the riveting story of a spy who cracked open the soviet military research establishment and a penetrating portrait of the cias moscow station, an outpost of daring espionage in the last years of the cold war while driving out of the american embassy in moscow on the evening of february 16. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal by david e. It hits the sweet spot between pageturning thriller and solidly researched history even the footnotes are informative and then becomes something more, a shrewd character study of spies and the spies.
The billion dollar spy, by the journalist and pulitzer prize. The billion dollar spy packs valuable insights into the final decade of the cloakanddagger rivalry between the united states and the former soviet union, which came undone in 1989. Billion dollar spy this is an awesome book, about a great man that dedicated his life and risked his family for the destruction of a system that was all about power, but did not give a hoot for the people. The billion dollar spy is the fascinating true story of adolf tolkachev, a soviet engineer who for personal reasons wanted to pass critical engineering secrets to the united states. Get this book free when you sign up for a 30day trial. Hoffman was born in palo alto, california and grew up in delaware, where he attended the university of delaware. A washington post notable book of the year it was the height of the cold war, and a dangerous time to be stationed in the soviet. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. If no book jacket appears in a few seconds, then we dont have an excerpt of this book or your browser is unable to display it membership advantages. This spellbinding story pulses with the dramatic tension of running an agent in sovietera moscowwhere the kgb is ubiquitous and cia officers and russian assets are prey. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal has 3 available editions to buy at half price books marketplace. He covered the white house during the presidencies of ronald reagan and george h. Hoffmans the billion dollar spy the billion dollar spy is one of the best spy stories to come out of the cold war and all the more riveting. Those rules may actually be a reason that david hoffman s the billion dollar spy, about adolf tolkachev, a soviet radar expert who spied for the c.
It was the height of the cold war, and a dangerous time to be stationed in the soviet union. A washington post notable book of the year it was the height of the cold war, and a dangerous time to be stationed in the soviet union. Working at the soviet radar design bureau phazotron as one of the chief designers, tolkachev gave the cia. It was a handsome payday for shcherbakov, now resettled under protection in this country.
The billion dollar spy by instaread overdrive rakuten overdrive. The billion dollar spy reads like the very best spy fiction yet is meticulously. One evening, while the chief of the cias moscow station was filling his gas tank, a. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal 9780345805973. The title of david hoffmans excellent new book, the billion dollar spy, unintentionally i think.
The billion dollar spy reveals the gripping story of adolf tolkachev, an engineer in a soviet military design bureau who used his highlevel access to leak sensitive information about soviet weapons systems. David hoffman, author of the billion dollar spy initially, the cia was suspicious of soviet aviation expert adolf tolkachev. The mixedrace daughter, dido elizabeth belle gugu mbatharaw, of royal navy captain sir john lindsay matthew goode is raised by aristocratic greatuncle lord william murray, 1st earl of mansfield tom wilkinson in eighteenth century england. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the billion dollar spy. Tolkechev may have done more to destroy evil than any man in history. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal david e. Hoffman covers innovation in operational technology with a passage on. A scrupulously researched work of history that is also a gripping thriller, the billion dollar spy is an unforgettable journey into cold war espionage. As is the style of histories published these days, the billion dollar spy opens not at the beginning of the story but with a dramatic event briefly recountedin this case, a cia officers attempt in december 1982 to recontact. Hoffman while driving out of the american embassy in moscow on the evening of february 16, 1978, the chief of the cias moscow station heard a knock on his car window. Download and keep this book for free with a 30 day trial. Hoffman perhaps the only thing more engrossing than a cold war spy novel is the truth behind the tales.
The billion dollar spy is the true story of an electronics engineer at a secret military aviation institute in moscow who for almost seven years provided the cia with a huge volume of sensitive and valuable intelligence on soviet research and development r%d activities concerning radars, avionics, aa missiles, and other technologies. It hits the sweet spot between pageturning thriller and solidly researched history even the footnotes are informative and then becomes something more, a shrewd character study of spies and the spies who run them, the mixed motives, the risks. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal book online at best prices in india on. The title of david hoffmans excellent new book, the billion dollar spy. The billion dollar spy audiobook, written by david e. Courtesy of david rolphfrom the book the billion dollar spy david rolph, on his first cia tour, took over as tolkachevs case officer in 1980. The result is a blossoming of books about exactly what was going on during the cold war. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal ebook written by david e. The billion dollar spy is one of the best spy stories to come out of the cold war and all the more riveting, and finally dismaying, for being true.
As a member of the washington bureau of the san jose mercury news, he covered ronald reagans 1980 presidential campaign. The billion dollar spy a true story of cold war espionage. Pdf the billion dollar spy a true story of cold war. The story played out over several years, almost entirely on the streets of moscow. Meanwhile, a reallife spy story has climbed onto the hardcover nonfiction list. Who dimed out american traitor and superspy, robert hanssen. The billion dollar spy is an espionage thriller worthy of john le carre but much more than that. Using light and shade we united a pitched roof and a book jacket, with the chimney helping to describe the ridge of the house and the spine of the book. Book discussion on the billion dollar spy internet archive. The best spy novels to read while stuck at home wsj. Tolkachev being seized by kgb officers on june 9, 1985. Reallife billion dollar spy reads like a cold war fiction. Wises book, released only in audio form in midoctober, calls him the seven million dollar spy.
It hits the sweet spot between pageturning thriller and solidly researched history even the footnotes are informative and then becomes something more, a shrewd character study of spies and the. Hoffman is a contributing editor at the washington post. It is a mustread for historians and buffs of that era, as well as aficionados of espionage. Bush, and was subsequently diplomatic correspondent and jerusalem correspondent. From the author of the pulitzer prizewinning history the d. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal duration.
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