Betrayal in Berlin : the true story of the Cold War's most audacious espionage operation / Steve Vogel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Vogel, Steve, 1960- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Operation Stopwatch/Gold, Berlin, Germany, 1955-1956.

Espionage, American--Germany--Berlin--History--20th century.

Espionage, American.

Espionage, British--Germany--Berlin--History--20th century.

Espionage, British.

United States. Central Intelligence Agency.

United States.

Great Britain. MI6.

Great Britain.

Soviet Union. Komitet gosudarstvennoĭ bezopasnosti.

Soviet Union.

Electronic intelligence.

History.

Berlin (Germany)--History--1945-1990.

Berlin (Germany).

Electronic intelligence--Germany--Berlin.

Cold War.

Germany--Berlin.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

x, 530 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Custom House, [2019]

Summary:

The author presents the astonishing true story of the Berlin Tunnel, one of the West's greatest espionage operations of the Cold War--and the dangerous Soviet mole who betrayed it.

The astonishing true story of the Berlin Tunnel, one of the West's greatest espionage operations of the Cold War--and the dangerous Soviet mole who betrayed it. Its code name was "Operation Gold," a wildly audacious CIA plan to construct a clandestine tunnel into East Berlin to tap into critical KGB and Soviet military telecommunication lines. The tunnel, crossing the border between the American and Soviet sectors, would have to be 1,500 feet (the length of the Empire State Building) with state-of-the-art equipment, built and operated literally under the feet of their Cold War adversaries. Success would provide the CIA and the British Secret Intelligence Service access to a vast treasure of intelligence. Exposure might spark a dangerous confrontation with the Soviets. Yet as the Allies were burrowing into the German soil, a traitor, code-named Agent Diamond by his Soviet handlers, was burrowing into the operation itself. Betrayal in Berlin is Steve Vogel's heart pounding account of the operation. He vividly recreates post-war Berlin, a scarred, shadowy snake pit with thousands of spies and innumerable cover stories. It is also the most vivid account of George Blake, perhaps the most damaging mole of the Cold War. Drawing upon years of archival research, secret documents, and rare interviews with Blake himself, Vogel has crafted a true-life spy story as thrilling as the novels of John le Carré and Len Deighton. -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Prelude - Part I. The Sins Inside: Black Friday - To Betray, You First Have to Belong - Bill Harvey, of All People - Ground Zero - A Hero's Return - The Big Prize Was Going to Be Berlin - Agent Diomid - This Was Explosive Material - Part II. The Warehouse: A Special Assignment - It Was Getting So Complicated - The Dig - Part III. The Ace in the Hole: The Baby Was Born - Striking Gold - The Penetration of the CIA Into Our Midst - The One-Man Tunnel - The Hottest Intelligence Operation on the Face of the Planet - Berlin Was on the Top of the World - There's a Fast One Coming - Part IV. A Nest of Spies: A Sensational Story About American Espionage - The Invisible War - Part V. Among Friends: Exit Berlin - Sniper - The Worst That Can Be Envisaged - Our James Bond - Mischief, Thou Art Afoot - A Free Man Again

Epilogue

Notes:

Maps on lining papers.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 475-480) and index.

ISBN:

9780062449627

0062449621

OCLC:

1119554502