Spy Handler: Memoir Of A Kgb Officer

Description: Spy Handler : Memoir of a KGB Officer: The True Story of the Man Who Recruited Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames
A KGB officer reveals for the first time the true story behind some of the Cold War's most important episodes, including the recruitment of two of its most infamous spies Victor Cherkashin's incredible career in the KGB spanned thirty-eight years, from Stalin's death in 1953 to the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. In this riveting memoir, Cherkashin provides a remarkable insider's view of the KGB's prolonged conflict with the United States, spanning his recruitment through his rising career in counter-intelligence to his prime spot as the KGB's number-two man at the Soviet Embassy in Washington. Victor Cherkashin's story sheds a stark new light on the KGB's inner workings over four decades and reveals new details about its major cases. Playing a central role in global espionage through most of the Cold War, Cherkashin's career was rich in episode and drama, and he took part in some of the highest profile cases, including tracking down U.S. and British spies around the world. But it was in 1985, known as 'the Year of the Spy', that Cherkashin scored two of the biggest coups of the Cold War. In April of that year, Cherkashin recruited disgruntled CIA officer Aldrich Ames, and became his principal handler. Refuting and clarifying other published versions, Cherkashin offers the most complete account on how and why Ames turned against his country. He also reveals new details about Robert Hanssen's recruitment and later exposure, and addresses the evidence that suggests that there is an undiscovered KGB spy - another Hanssen or Ames - still at large. 'Spy Handler' is a major addition to Cold War history, told by one of its key participants.

Author Biography:
Victor Cherkashin, a retired KGB colonel, was awarded the prestigious Order of Lenin. Following his retirement, he began a private security company in Russia, which he still runs. He lives in Moscow. Gregory Feifer is a former Radio Free Europe Moscow correspondent, who lived in Russia from 1998 to 2003. He covered Russian politics for a number of publications, including the Moscow Times, World Policy Journal, and Agence France-Presse.