Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold War

by Pete Earley

Book Overview

The bestselling author of Family of Spies and The Hot House offers the account of Comrade J, a Russian spy who had turned out to be a double agent for the CIA, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. He has never revealed his secrets--until now.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399154396
• ISBN13: 9780399154393
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Length: 340 Pages
• Weight: 1.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Wake-Up Call---Russian Espionage in America!

This is the second time I have read and perused this magnificent book---and what a momentous and timely book it is! The book reads much like a cliffhanger spy novel, though its nonfiction and its information is true and disturbing. The message is as timely today as it was in 2007 when it was first published. After World War II, it took the valiant efforts of the Russian defector, code clerk Igor Gozenko, to awaken America and her allies to the fact that Uncle Joe, the greatest mass murderer in history, and our Russian communist friends were conducting serious, devastating espionage against the United States (e.g., atomic secrets among others) at the same time that we were providing the Soviets with vital economic and military aid during "The Great Patriotic War" against the Nazis. The Berlin Wall comes crashing down in 1989 and the Soviet Union collapses in 1991. Again, the Russians were said to be our friends and allies in the war against (Islamic) terrorism. Even a professor wrote enthusiastically that we had reached the end of history, so humanity has to become reconciled to live peacefully under a soft blend of global socialism and capitalism. Now enters Russian master spy defector Sergei Tretyakov of the New York Rezidentura of the SVR ( the former First Chief Directorate of the KGB) to rain on this optimistically dystopic parade. And Tretyakov is no ordinary spy of the Communist era. He is the first KGB/SVR officer, who was actively spying for the new Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, to defect to the USA. According to a senior FBI agent involved in the case, Sergei Tretyakov "has been by far the most important Russian Spy that our side has had in decades...I can tell you this man saved American lives." It has taken again a courageous Russian defector, who risked his life for many years for the benefit of freedom, to reawaken America to the fact that in addition to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the world remains a dangerous place. We learn painfully that the New Russia has not shed entirely its expansionist and authoritarian tendencies. The new subtle threats to former Soviet Republics, such as the Ukraine and Azerbaijan over natural resources and "privileges in the area," not to mention the recent War on Georgia, remain serious threats to peace and world security.(See also, Death of a Dissident by Alex Goldfarb.Death of a Dissident, the Poising of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB) I will not divulge here what specific intelligence Tretyakov provided to the United States, but will let the reader enjoy thoroughly the suspense packed in this book. And yet, the discerning reader will learn that the perceptive and resourceful Comrade J (Jean) Sergei Tretyakov has additionally provided nuggets of intelligence and geopolitical insights into some of the countries in this very volatile part of the world, where natural resources abound. Even on Turkey, an old friend of America, but now a country that is drift

interesting to read, but don't expect adventure or many spy-secrets

The book is a very interesting read, however, it's just the story of one man, how much of it is true? you don't know, and i do have the impression he is boasting himself quite alot. If you expect some tricks, spying secrets, James Bond stories and excitement, you'll be disappointed. It shows however a very interesting political view, it tells you how boring it vcan all be. It talks about how to trust nobody and how the russians are 'everywhere'. It tells you how the Russian Intelligence works as a 'bussines' and what the ideaology and mentality of the russians is. It talks about corruption, the place of intelligence in politics and incomatence. How the UN and ambacies are stuffed with spies and how the personaal life of a spie is run. The most interesting part of the book is when the writer tells about the secret background and work behind famous historical events. I would definatly recommend it, for the politics, the views, the way russian politics and intelligence works. But not if you expect an exciting James Bond adventure and 'how to become a spie' secrets.

Comrade J

The book is very good... It's exactly what you imagine when you read the synopse. It's a real tale of an ex-KGB secret agent (or so it seems), and it shows how a spy life may be, somtimes, hard to conciliate with personal lfe. It's much worth what it costs.

A good, true spy yarn

Just about any average adult in the United States now knows that the only time politicians lie is when their lips are moving. The average adult also knows that a large portion of both private business and government, particularly those who speak to the press, often give, shall we say, misleading, incomplete, or not quite true summaries of whatever it is on the news that particular day. At best, it's their side of the story, told how they want to tell it, and relating how much they're willing to give you. In many cases, they're giving you disinformation. Disinformation is what ordinary people call lies. All that said, I -- having spent many years working for various U.S. Government intelligence agencies, including NSA, both overseas and in the U.S. -- found Pete Earley's Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold War to be very informative and revealing. In some cases, irritating and exasperating. Not with the facts as presented, not with the author, and not with the subject of the book -- Russian spymaster, defector, and double agent Sergei Tretyakov -- but with what the author and Tretyakov, code-named Comrade J, tell us about the sorry state of affairs within our own government. Now for some specifics. First, an example of sorting out the truth. Early in the book, Tretyakov says, according to the author, "... Russian intelligence targeted President Clinton's deputy secretary of state, Strobe Talbott, and ran a carefully calculated campaign designed to manipulate him." Talbott, in a written reply, said, "... he knew that Mamedov was relaying all of their conversations ..." back to Russian intelligence. The following paragraph says, "Just the same, the FBI took the accusations about Talbott seriously ... In 1999, FBI officials asked Secretary (of State) Albright not to share information with Talbott ..." Talbott, as then described, was tagged by the SVR, Russia's new name for the KGB, "... as a `specific unofficial contact' - a specific term that the SVR used to identify its most secret, highly placed intelligence sources." "Specific unofficial contact" also means a person who's passing classified, or inside, or both, information. See what I mean? Obviously, there's a little more to the story in Untold Secrets, but nothing that would unmuddy the waters. An example of self-serving words is this, when Earley was introduced by his "FBI contact" to Tretyakov: " `Our only purpose here today is to introduce you. We are not encouraging him to tell his story, nor are we discouraging him (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). He wanted to meet you and we agreed to facilitate it. We will have no part in your talks.' " All this verbiage in diplospeak means is, "He can spill his guts because we think it will serve our purposes." Think back. When has the FBI or CIA or any of the alphabet soup agencies ever set up a meeting between a defector and a reporter, or writer, before they had their case built? Let me save you

Necessary Reminder of Post-Soviet Espionage

John Barron's Operation Solo (1996) provided an excellent account of a Cold War era Soviet who became an informant for the U.S.; this is a more modern example, concerning a senior KGB officer whose exploits continued into the Yeltsin and Putin eras. The extent of Russian post-Soviet espionage on the U.S. is underappreciated and this is a sell-written corrective.