Spies; The Secret Agents Who Changed the Course of History
New York, N.Y. MFJ Books, 1994. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Includes Introduction, Glossary, and an Alphabetical Listing of the Agencies. Chapters cover The Moles; Defectors: The Storm Petrels; The Legends; The Traitors; The Spymasters; The Infamies; Some Mysteries...; and a Few Curiosities. Also contains an Index,. Among the secret agents covered in this book are Mata Hari, F. W. Winterbotham, "Kim" Philby; Amy Thorpe Pack; Dusko Popov; Eric Erickson; Elsbeth Schragmueller, and Markus Wolf. Espionage probably began around five thousand years ago in ancient Egypt, when King Thutmosis III hit on the idea of concealing men inside flour sacks to spy on the besieged city of Jaffa. Today's intelligence agents may use more sophisticated technology, but they still need that traditional mix of audacity, ingenuity, resourcefulness, and raw courage. In this book, you will meet more than forty of the twentieth century's best. Ernest Volkman (born December 31, 1940 in Huntington, New York) is an American author, investigative reporter, and journalist who writes about war, espionage, and the criminal underworld. Volkman attended Hofstra University and graduated with a B.A. degree in Journalism in 1963. He is a military intelligence specialist and he has written many books in subjects of spies and spying. Derived from a Kirkus review: Profiles of more than two score spies, code- breakers, defectors, moles, and saboteurs who've engaged in the intelligence trade during the 20th century. While the list of men and women in the author's gallery of rogues is somewhat subjective, it affords a representative sampling of those whose covert activities `directly affected the fate of empires, nations, or history itself.' For example, Volkman offers authoritative dossiers on such storied figures as Anthony Blunt, Whittaker Chambers, Eric Erickson (the so-called counterfeit traitor), Klaus Fuchs, Igor Gouzenko, Oleg Penkovsky, H.A.R. (Kim) Philby, Richard Sorge, Herbert Yardley, and Margareta Zelle (better known as Mata Hari). He also reviews the exploits of less familiar operatives, including George Blake (the original Manchurian candidate), Eliyahu Cohen (Israel's short-lived man in Damascus), Leiba Domb (conductor of WW II's Red Orchestra), Rudolf Roessler (aka Lucy, for his Lucerne base), and Wilhelm Wassmuss (the German Lawrence). Covered as well are the cold-blooded organization-men who ran whole services or significant networks—the likes of Lavreati Beria (KGB), Claude Dansey (MI6's Z Ring), Reinhard Heydrich (SD), Gabor Peter (the Stalinist head of Hungary's secret police), K'ang Sheng (Mao's security chief), Gestapo boss Heinrich Mueller, intrepid William Stephenson, and the shadowy Markus Wolf (East German). Last but not least, the author focuses on literary lights who did undercover work at some point in their careers—Ian Fleming, Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway, Somerset Maugham. Volkman's files afford general readers an consistently absorbing and informative introduction to key players in the espionage game. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: Spies, Secret Agents, Espionage, Kim Philby, Penkovsky, Gouzenko, Whittaker Chambers, Ian Fleming, Dusko Popov, Winterbotham, Richard Sorge, Herbert Yardley, Mata Hari, Klaus Fuchs, Markus Wolf, Dzerzhinsky, Beria, Heydrich
ISBN: 1567317405
[Book #82328]
Price: $35.00