It was an exciting book, while presenting info i was already mostly familiar with, it was presented in a way that. Hoffman chronicles the six year relationship between the central intelligence agency cia and engineer, adolf tolkachev, who spied on the soviet union for the united states. Apart from that he has published a couple of other popular books. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal by hoffman, david e isbn. I picked up this book after reading hoffmans billion dollar spy. Hoffman david emanuel hoffman is an american journalist and writer who was awarded the pulitzer prize in 2010 for the dead hand, a book about the nuclear arms race. The first portion of the book is about the history of the americans spying on the russians starting after world war 2.
It is a very solid, well written and a well researched work. Hoffmans outstanding tale about one extraordinary russian spy for the us. He covered the white house during the presidencies of ronald reagan and george h. He won a pulitzer prize in 2010 for a book about the. The winner of the pulitzer prize for his previous book, the dead hand. The first edition of the novel was published in july 7th 2015, and was written by david e. He won the annual pulitzer prize for general nonfiction in 2010 for his second book, the dead hand. David emanuel hoffman is an american writer and journalist, a contributing editor to the washington post. If you dont know what blogtober is, it is a series i am conducting that starts from the first of october where in i post on my blog eveyday until halloween. Continue reading the billion dollar spy by david e. On january 12, 1977 around 6 pm, an averagelooking soviet man leaned into the car that the cia station chief, robert fulton, was.
Did the cia, with all its billions of dollars spent, have one good spy near the top of the soviet tree. Hoffman is an unforgettable journey into cold war espionage. From the pulitzer prizewinning author of the dead hand comes the riveting story of the cias most valuable spy in the soviet union and an evocative portrait of the agencys moscow station, an outpost of. Drawing on previously secret documents obtained from the cia and on interviews with participants, david hoffman has created an unprecedented and poignant portrait of tolkachev, a man motivated by the depredations of the soviet state. Hoffman tells the story of adolf tolkachev, a next to superior technology, better tactics and pilot training, there was another reason. The prize citation termed it a well documented narrative that examines the terrifying doomsday competition between two superpowers and how weapons of mass destruction still imperil humankind. This is a breakthrough book in intelligence writing, drawing on cia operational cablesthe holy grail of the spy worldto narrate each astonishing move. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
Hoffmans billion dollar spy traces the efforts in moscow of adolf g. This is not a academic treatment of the subject, not a comprehensive account from the end of world war ii through 1991. The billion dollar spy by david e hoffman paperback. Hoffman is an author with videos in the cspan video library. David hoffman talked about his book, the billion dollar spy. Keith melton and the melton archivefrom the book the billion dollar spy t he spy had vanished. David hoffman, the author of our nonfiction book of the month for august the billion dollar spy, considers why espionage remains vital today and recommends some of. A scrupulously researched work of history that is also a gripping thriller, the billion dollar spy by david e. Hoffmans book particularly shines in cinematic accounts of their anxious encounters. 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. The billion dollar spy by david hoffman curtis brown. On january 12, 1977 around 6 pm, an averagelooking soviet man leaned into the car that the cia station chief, robert fulton, was filling at a gas station. It goes into detail on the mindset of several different directors of the cia on espionage.
By way of introduction hoffman gives us a synopsis of the disasters that befell the cia russian agents. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal, as well as of the stories of the american spies and diplomats that worked with him, is thoroughly engrossing, describing in detail the meetings, plans, and efforts made to. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal by david e. In his third book, he recreates the secret cold war career of adolf tolkachev, a soviet engineer who became one of the cias most valuable.
Tolkachev, who was among the cias most important cold war. The billion dollar spy audiobook, written by david e. Hoffmans book particularly shines in cinematic accounts of. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal pdf epub book. The untold story of the cold war arms race and its dangerous legacy 2009, washington post contributing editor hoffman has strong. 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. In the dead hand, david hoffman has uncovered some of the cold wars most persistent and consequential secrets plans and systems designed to wage war with weapons of mass destruction, and even to place the prospective end of civilization on a kind of automatic pilot.
Bush, and was subsequently diplomatic correspondent and jerusalem correspondent. In a tale that reads more like a novel than a piece of nonfiction, hoffman takes his audience through the moment that adolf tolkachev, a soviet designer and engineer, first approaches moscows cia station chief to defect to the united. Hoffman recalls a cold war spy in an era of suicide bombers and isis beheadings, the spy dramas of the cold war can seem tame, almost polite affairs. The billion dollar spy central intelligence agency. Hoffmans scrupulously reported the billion dollar spy, a truelife tale so gripping at times it reads like spy fictionhoffman interviewed key players and gained access to more than nine hundred pages of longsecret cia files and operational cables to fill in a crucial gap in the cold war espionage canon. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal ebook written by david e. Hoffman is a contributing editor at the washington post. David hoffman s account of adolf tolkachev is as gripping as any spy novel i can think of. Free download or read online the billion dollar spy. How the cia ran a billion dollar spy in moscow the. This book, which won the pulitzer prize, is an extrememly gripping account of the of the cold war during the reagan administration and the gorbachev years. It tells a story that i never knew about and tells it very well indeed.
Hoffman is a distinguished journalist and winner of the pulitzer prize. Currently a pbs correspondent and a contributing editor at the washington post, hoffman is the posts former moscow bureau chief and white house correspondent, and won the pulitzer for the dead. That adolf tolkachevs story ends in tragedy and betrayal only accentuates david hoffmans telling of tolkachevs story in the billion dollar spy. 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. This book is mostly about a russian spy for the united states in the late 1970s and 1980s.
A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal, by david hoffman, was an excellent book on spies in the cold war. David hoffman has written one of the best reallife spy stories ever told. Reallife billion dollar spy reads like a cold war fiction. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal, about adolf tolkachev, a russian engineer who worked for the soviet military and. Hoffmans the billion dollar spy and not the original book. The good the billion dollar spy was my first cold war espionage book and it has directed me to an entirely new genre of books to explore. The title of david hoffmans excellent new book, the billion dollar spy, unintentionally i think evokes a famous item from studies in intelligence many years ago, the million dollar photograph. This is a breakthrough in intelligence writing, drawing on cia operational cablesthe holy grail of the sky worldto narrate each astonishing move. Contact all american speakers bureau to inquire about speaking fees and availability, and book the best keynote speaker for your next event. 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. The untold story of the cold war arms race and its dangerous legacy doubleday, 2009. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the billion dollar spy.
The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 336 pages and is available in hardcover format. David hoffman, author of the billion dollar spy initially, the cia was suspicious of soviet aviation expert adolf tolkachev. It is rare that a nonfiction work is so totally unputdownable. Hoffmans new book adds more details about how and why the soviet radar expert adolf tolkachev secretly sided with the c. A true story of cold war espionage and betrayal this is a production by the national history center in cooperation with the woodrow wilson center. The soviet asked if fulton was american and then said that he wanted to. Hoffman immerses his readers in the deception of cold war espionage in his book, the billion dollar spy.
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