Secrets, Lies, Spies and Those Who Were Left Behind


Book Description

When Ms. Macko watched the news about thousands of illegal immigrants entering the US from Mexico, she suddenly remembered something she had not thought about in over seventy years. After World War II, millions of people just walked into the country. Many were from Russia, Serbia, Croatia, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and dozens of small countries that made up the East Bloc. The German government faced a huge "housing shortage." And what was the "resolution?" Every German citizen had to report how many unused or vacant bedrooms they had. My playroom was assigned to an elderly lady from Hungary, my bedroom to an eighteen year old boy from Poland. The lady stayed until she died. She never made an effort to move out. She said, "I like it here." I was fourteen before I got to my bedroom back, my playroom¬¬--never. How would all these people who live here, the ones that oppose President Trump and the border wall, if they had to give up their bedrooms, vacant vacation homes, etc.? How many vacant bedrooms does Nancy Pelosi have? Let her put her bedrooms and money where her mouth is. She also discovered at the age of three how her family did their "grocery shopping" in the "black market." As a teenager, she also discovered some hidden "secrets."




The Spy Who Was Left Behind


Book Description

The shocking true story of international intrigue —“a highly detailed, engrossing work” (Kirkus Reviews)—involving the 1993 murder of CIA officer Freddie Woodruff by KGB agents and the extensive cover-up that followed in Washington and in Moscow. “In a post-truth era, we need a lot more fearless writers like Michael Pullara” (Robert Baer, author of See No Evil). On August 8, 1993, a single bullet to the head killed Freddie Woodruff, the Central Intelligence Agency’s station chief in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Within hours, police had a suspect—a vodka-soaked village bumpkin named Anzor Sharmaidze. A tidy explanation quickly followed: It was a tragic accident. US diplomats hailed Georgia’s swift work, and both countries breathed a sigh of relief. Yet the bullet that killed Woodruff was never found and key witnesses have since retracted their testimony, saying they were beaten and forced to identify Sharmaidze. But if he didn’t do it, who did? Those who don’t buy the official explanation think the answer lies in the spy games that played out on Russia’s frontier following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Woodruff was an early actor in a dangerous drama. American spies were moving into newborn nations previously dominated by Soviet intelligence. Russia’s security apparatus, resentful and demoralized, was in turmoil, its nominal loyalty to a pro-Western course set by President Boris Yeltsin, shredded by hardline spooks and generals who viewed the Americans as a menace. At the time when Woodruff was stationed there, Georgia was a den of intrigue. It had a big Russian military base and was awash with former and not-so-former Soviet agents. Shortly before Woodruff was shot, veteran CIA officer Aldrich Ames—who would soon be unmasked as a KGB mole—visited him on agency business. In short order, Woodruff would be dead and Ames, in prison for life. Buckle up, because The Spy Who Was Left Behind reveals the full-throttle, little-known thrilling tale.




Spies, Lies, and Exile


Book Description

“Fascinating, rich, and probing . . . a beguiling and endlessly interesting portrait”—The Wall Street Journal For fans of John le Carré and Ben Macintyre, an exclusive first-person account of one of the Cold War’s most notorious spies “Kuper provides a different and valuable perspective, humane and informative. If the definition of a psychopath is someone who refuses to accept the consequences of his actions, does George fit the definition? There he sits, admitting it was all for nothing, but has no regrets. Or does he?” —John le Carré Few Cold War spy stories approach the sheer daring and treachery of George Blake’s. After fighting in the Dutch resistance during World War II, Blake joined the British spy agency MI6 and was stationed in Seoul. Taken prisoner after the North Korean army overran his post in 1950, Blake later returned to England to a hero’s welcome, carrying a dark secret: while in a communist prison camp in North Korea, he had secretly switched sides to the KGB after reading Karl Marx’s Das Kapital. As a Soviet double agent, Blake betrayed uncounted western spying operations—including the storied Berlin Tunnel, the most expensive covert project ever undertaken by the CIA and MI6. Blake exposed hundreds of western agents, forty of whom were likely executed. After his unmasking and arrest, he received, for that time, the longest sentence in modern British history—only to make a dramatic escape to the Soviet Union in 1966, five years into his forty-two-year sentence. He left his wife, three children, and a stunned country behind. Much of Blake’s career existed inside the hall of mirrors that was the Cold War, especially following his sensational escape from Wormwood Scrubs prison. Veteran journalist Simon Kuper tracked Blake to his dacha outside Moscow, where the aging spy agreed to be interviewed for this unprecedented account of Cold War espionage. Following the master spy’s death in Moscow at age ninety-eight on December 26, 2020, Kuper is finally able to set the record straight.




Spies, Lies, and Allies: A Love Story


Book Description

Summers are supposed to be fun, right? Not mine. I’ve got a job at my dad’s company, which is sponsoring a college scholarship competition. I just found out that, in addition to my job assisting the competing interns, I’m supposed to vote for the winner. Totally not what I signed up for. My boss is running the competition like it’s an episode of Survivor. Then there’s Carlos, who is, well, very distracting––in a good way. But I can’t even think about him like that because fraternizing on the job means instant disqualification for the intern involved. As if that’s not enough, an anonymous informant with insider intel is trying to sabotage my dad’s company on social media...and I’m afraid it's working. Much as I’d love to quit, I can’t. Kristoffs Never Quit is our family motto. I just hope there’s more than one survivor by the end of this summer.




Spies


Book Description

An illustrated guide to the deadly world of espionage. Agents, double agents and multiple agents are vital to waging war successfully and they often help nations avoid war altogether. Spies have affected the outcomes of wars and crucial battles throughout history. Spies exposes the secret successes and public failures of intelligence gathering and operations from ancient times to the current war on terrorism. Using easy-to-follow illustrated case studies and sidebar features, Spies reveals the behind-the-scenes stories of famous spies, international secrets, betrayals and bravery in the long history of spying. The book describes in exciting detail: The art of spy tradecraft Techniques spies use to gather and send secrets Devices used to steal state secrets How agents survive in hostile environments Whether or not spies like James Bond really exist. Today, sophisticated digital and space-based technology gathers untold amounts of raw data. Yet far from rendering the spy on the ground obsolete, human intelligence is more vital than ever to separate the truth from the deception. Spies is a factual and fascinating look into a dangerous world where nothing is what it appears to be.




Spies


Book Description

A thrilling, critically-acclaimed account of the Cold War spies and spycraft that changed the course of history, perfect for readers of Bomb and The Boys Who Challenged Hitler. The Cold War spanned five decades as America and the USSR engaged in a battle of ideologies with global ramifications. Over the course of the war, with the threat of mutually assured nuclear destruction looming, billions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives were devoted to the art and practice of spying, ensuring that the world would never be the same. Rife with intrigue and filled with fascinating historical figures whose actions shine light on both the past and present, this timely work of narrative nonfiction explores the turbulence of the Cold War through the lens of the men and women who waged it behind closed doors, and helps explain the role secret and clandestine operations have played in America's history and its national security.




City Spies


Book Description

A New York Times bestseller! A GMA3 Summer Reading Squad Selection! “Ingeniously plotted, and a grin-inducing delight.” —People “Will keep young readers glued to the page…So when do I get the sequel?” —Beth McMullen, author of Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls In this thrilling new series that Stuart Gibbs called “a must-read,” Edgar Award winner James Ponti brings together five kids from all over the world and transforms them into real-life spies—perfect for fans of Spy School and Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls. Sara Martinez is a hacker. She recently broke into the New York City foster care system to expose her foster parents as cheats and lawbreakers. However, instead of being hailed as a hero, Sara finds herself facing years in a juvenile detention facility and banned from using computers for the same stretch of time. Enter Mother, a British spy who not only gets Sara released from jail but also offers her a chance to make a home for herself within a secret MI6 agency. Operating out of a base in Scotland, the City Spies are five kids from various parts of the world. When they’re not attending the local boarding school, they’re honing their unique skills, such as sleight of hand, breaking and entering, observation, and explosives. All of these allow them to go places in the world of espionage where adults can’t. Before she knows what she’s doing, Sara is heading to Paris for an international youth summit, hacking into a rival school’s computer to prevent them from winning a million euros, dangling thirty feet off the side of a building, and trying to stop a villain…all while navigating the complex dynamics of her new team. No one said saving the world was easy…




Intrepid's Last Secrets: Then and Now


Book Description

In this engrossing follow-up to The True Intrepid, author Bill Macdonald explores secrets only hinted at in that book. The WW II Macdonald explores secrets only hinted at in that book. The WW II Canadian spymaster William Stephenson - known widely as "Intrepid" Canadian spymaster William Stephenson - known widely as “Intrepid" was not only tasked to get help for anti-Nazi Europe and assist setting up was not only tasked to get help for anti-Nazi Europe and assist setting up an American intelligence agency.Stephenson faced a secret Anglophile an American intelligence agency.Stephenson faced a secret Anglophile group covertly seeking a quick peace with Adolf Hitler. Often referred to group covertly seeking a quick peace with Adolf Hitler. Often referred to as "The Milner Group;' the organization reportedly swayed major events as "The Milner Group;' the organization reportedly swayed major events of the twentieth century and likely has major influence today. of the twentieth century and likely has major influence today. Intrepid's Last Secrets: Then and Now Intrepid's Last Secrets: Then and Now explores The Milner Group's history explores The Milner Group's history in Canada, from its relationship to in Canada, from its relationship to Canadian prime ministers of the first half Canadian prime ministers of the first half of the twentieth century - to its probable of the twentieth century - to its probable impact on modern cultural policy and impact on modern cultural policy and government. Both British and American government. Both British and American strands of the group are explored with strands of the group are explored with a study of some of the prominent early members, their philosophies, and their members, their philosophies, and their strategic influence on events and our lives. This book includes the final interview with the late Svetlana Gouzenko, who, along with her husband Igor, fled to Canada from the soviet Union in 1945. The information they brought with them revealed massive Soviet espionage in the West and helped trigger the Cold War. A few of Stephenson’s former British Security Coordination (BSC) agents tell their story for the first time and the organization’s major area of accomplishment - World War II communications (the genesis of the so-called "Five Eyes" agreement) - is explained. Meticulously researched and engagingly written, Intrepid's Last Secrets presents a unique, fascinating, and ultimately deeply chilling take on modern history.




Duped


Book Description

Abby Ellin was shocked to learn that her fiancéas leading a secret life. But as she soon discovered, the world is full of people who aren't what they seem. From Abby Ellin's first date with the Commander, she was caught up in a whirlwind. Within six months he'd proposed, and they'd moved in together. But soon, his exotic stories of international espionage began to unravel. Finally, it all became clear: he was lying about who he was. After leaving him and sharing her story, she was floored to find out that her experience was far from unique. People everywhere, many of them otherwise sharp-witted and self-aware, are being deceived by their loved ones every day. In Duped, Abby Ellin studies the art and science of lying, talks to people who've had their worlds upended by duplicitous partners, and writes with great openness about her own mistakes. These remarkable stories reveal how often we encounter people whose lives beneath the surface are more improbable than we ever imagined.




Body of Secrets


Book Description

The National Security Agency is the world’s most powerful, most far-reaching espionage. Now with a new afterword describing the security lapses that preceded the attacks of September 11, 2001, Body of Secrets takes us to the inner sanctum of America’s spy world. In the follow-up to his bestselling Puzzle Palace, James Banford reveals the NSA’s hidden role in the most volatile world events of the past, and its desperate scramble to meet the frightening challenges of today and tomorrow. Here is a scrupulously documented account—much of which is based on unprecedented access to previously undisclosed documents—of the agency’s tireless hunt for intelligence on enemies and allies alike. Body of secrets is a riveting analysis of this most clandestine of agencies, a major work of history and investigative journalism. A New York Times Notable Book