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Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer - The True Story of the Man Who Recruited Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames Paperback – Illustrated, 1 Nov. 2005
Purchase options and add-ons
- Print length369 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication date1 Nov. 2005
- Dimensions15.6 x 2.36 x 23.39 cm
- ISBN-100465009697
- ISBN-13978-0465009695
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About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Basic Books; Illustrated edition (1 Nov. 2005)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 369 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0465009697
- ISBN-13 : 978-0465009695
- Dimensions : 15.6 x 2.36 x 23.39 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 670,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 576 in Russian Historical Biographies
- 1,456 in Espionage Biographies
- 5,799 in Political Biographies
- Customer reviews:
About the authors
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 October 2008I found this to be a very credible account of a wise cold war warrior
- speaking of his former job and former adversaries he maintains very mature attitude of understanding and respect as opposed to the bitterness and vulgarity towards the west evident in Putin, who at the time of leaving KGB in early 90s was in a much less senior position than Cherkashin.
- when speaking of his own entity- KGB, Cherkashin picks up on themes that were veru true to the state and the 'state within the state'- e.g. immense pressure from the system on its even most privileged citizens as well as lack of trust in people.
- his credibility is enhanced by modest portrayal of his own role in recruting the top moles. He stresses that the the effective traitors approached KGB themselves and managed the entity much more than were managed by it.
- unlike the book by Litvinenko that I commented on (see my other reviews, this books reads well
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 January 2017GOOD.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 September 2020i found this to be a very good book
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 March 2020Good read. Seemed like the account of an ex KGB director wanting to clear his name of some allegations. Said through a nice story.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 September 2015Great read
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 July 2009If you lived through all the fuss and hoo-ha of the Cold war and want to know what was going on behind the scenes, this is the book. Cherkashin was at the very top of the KGB and his insights are gripping. On the surface, Spy Handler is a quick read, but pause to think as you do so and your own real world experiences of the time suddenly attain a new perspective. Well written, well translated and consistently eye-opening. Great stuff.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 March 2009Reading about Russian moles in CIA and FBI directly from a KGB agent was a terrific experience. The page where Viktor Cherkashin asks "Are you Aldrich Ames?" gave me a chill down my spine. His description of communist ideology, Russian KGB politics and handling of Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen was terrific. It is a worthy buy and an interesting read.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 March 2005In the words of Victor Cherkashin, "Aldrich Ames (CIA) was worth every penny of the $2.7 million he was paid." Moreover, Ames was indeed the "deadliest" KGB spy because he unmasked the CIA's intelligence network in the Soviet Union. However, Robert Hanssen (FBI) "was much more important (to the KGB) because he allowed the KGB to penetrate U.S. intelligence to such a degree that the KGB came to regard him as the greatest asset, surpassing Aldrich Ames," according to the author. Ironically, both Americans were "walk-ins," and were never actively recruited to betray the United States.
"Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer," by Victor Cherkashin is an outstanding narrative of how former CIA agent Ames and how former FBI agent Hanssen gave the KGB the "mother lode" of information on the United States intelligence efforts against the former Soviet Union. To America, Ames and Hanssen were monsters...but the author demonstrates how in the eyes of the KGB both men were heroes. Interestingly enough, Ames declares he cooperated with the KGB because, "he worked for an agency that deliberately overestimated Soviet Union capabilities to wrangle more money for its own operations." Hanssen basically cooperated with the KGB because he loved the danger of it and truly thought he was much too smart to get caught.
This book covers much territory. The author reports the unmasking of Soviet spies Ronald Pelton, the NSA cryptologist, former Navy sailor John Walker, and CIA drop-out Edward Lee Howard. Cherkashin makes mention of Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard but only in his description of 1985 as the "year of the spy." In conclusion, the author does an excellent job of describing how a series of lucky breaks dramatically altered the landscape of U.S. - Soviet espionage. He also does a professional job of explaining the Soviet spy strategy of observation, orientation, decision and action. Highly recommended.
Bert Ruiz
Top reviews from other countries
- Stan NordReviewed in Canada on 17 March 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book with first hand account of events
A must read for people interested in Cold War history. Very candid and honest book.
- TTFNReviewed in Spain on 13 November 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Excellent
- NareshReviewed in India on 29 November 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars good
very good book, worth reading
-
KundeReviewed in Germany on 17 April 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Alles gut gelaufen
Alles super
- Client d'AmazonReviewed in France on 5 June 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars good
good. nice book. incredible. thanks you. I am so happy. really, i recommand it to all of you. cheers f