Book picks similar to
KGB Against the Main Enemy by Herbert Romerstein
espionage
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Scotland (Kindle Single)
Gary Greenberg - 2014
Two registered sex offenders had come to live in the small town Greenberg had called home for thirty years, and his fellow citizens, terrified and enraged, had come out to pin the blame on him. In this riveting memoir about a modern-day witch hunt, Greenberg recounts with his trademark acerbic humor what it is like to be the target of an entire town's wrath. As he describes his Hawthornian moment, he vividly sketches the characters and landscapes that make up a classic New England village and reflects on sex, panic, betrayal, and the sometimes beautiful, sometimes terrible ties that bind communities together.Gary Greenberg is the author of four books, most recently The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry, which will be out in paperback this fall. His features and essays have appeared in many publications, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and Harper's, where he is a contributing editor. He is the recipient of the Erik Erikson Institute Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media. A practicing psychotherapist, he lives with his family in Connecticut.Cover design by Kristen Radtke.
Verses for the Dead, Free Preview: The First Four Chapters (Agent Pendergast #18)
Douglas Preston - 2018
X. L. Pendergast is abruptly forced to accept an unthinkable condition of continued employment: the famously rogue agent must now work with a partner.
Pendergast and his new colleague, junior agent Coldmoon, are assigned to investigate a rash of killings in Miami Beach, where a bloodthirsty psychopath is cutting out the hearts of his victims and leaving them with cryptic handwritten letters at local gravestones. The graves are unconnected save in one bizarre way: all belong to women who committed suicide.
But the seeming lack of connection between the old suicides and the new murders is soon the least of Pendergast's worries. Because as he digs deeper, he realizes the brutal new crimes may be just the tip of the iceberg: a conspiracy of death that reaches back decades.
Death Comes to Happy Valley: Penn State and the Tragic Legacy of Joe Paterno
Jonathan Mahler - 2012
The winningest coach ever in college football, crafter of The Grand Experiment that put honor and academics above all else, finished his days under the dark cloud of shame and unspeakable child abuse. How? Why? What mix of fandom, ego, and unfettered power brought Penn State and its beloved coach to this? Just days after Paterno’s death comes this insightful look at the rise of Penn State under the 46-year reign of the man affectionately known as Joe Pa. Acclaimed writer Jonathan Mahler, author of the bestseller "Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning", has been immersed in reporting the Paterno saga since the scandal broke last fall. His penetrating narrative traces the arc of Paterno’s career from dogged Ivy League quarterback to visionary coach to unassailable icon. Over the years, as his fame and reputation grew, Happy Valley (as State College, Pennsylvania, was often called) morphed into the realm of Paterno; the chant “We Are Penn State” could just as easily have been “We Are Coach Paterno.” It was perhaps inevitable that what Mahler calls “a slow rot” began to pervade Joe Pa’s football program, culminating with the horrific scandal that rocked Penn State and forever altered the Paterno story. "As it all unraveled," Mahler writes, "he seemed to resemble less his hero Aeneas, building a new nation—Penn State Nation—in Happy Valley, than King Lear, clinging stubbornly to the throne when he no longer had the judgment required to remain in it, then succumbing to the grief and anguish that accompanied the collapse of everything he had so painstakingly built."Mahler’s admiring yet honest assessment shows what can happen when a school, and an entire community, falls under a cult of personality. Part eulogy, part post-mortem, part wise appraisal, "Death Comes to Happy Valley" is a thoughtful farewell to the larger-than-life man who was, in fact, merely mortal.***"An elegant book with a perfect ratio of reportage, biography and criticism. It gently pulls Joe Pa off the pedestal upon which he has long stood." — Dwight Garner, The New York Times***Jonathan Mahler is a contributing writer to the "New York Times Magazine" and the author of the bestselling "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City" (the basis for the ESPN mini-series “The Bronx Is Burning”) and "The Challenge: How a Maverick Navy Officer and a Young Law Professor Risked Their Careers to Defend the Constitution—and Won."
The Big Breach: From Top Secret To Maximum Security
Richard Tomlinson - 2001
He was relied on to smuggle nuclear secrets out of Moscow, to run an undercover operation in Sarajevo while the city was under siege, and was immersed in the underbelly of contemporary espionage. Four years after joining M16, tomlinson's career was abruptly terminated for reasons that are still not clear. When he tried to fight for unjust dismissal tomlinson was arrested and imprisoned for breaking the Official Secrets Act. Since then he has been hounded by smear campaigns and dogged by international bullying. Former attempts to publish this book were thwarted by M16's legal manoeuvring but now it's tomlinson's turn to have his say........
The CIA's Greatest Hits
Mark Zepezauer - 1994
The day before General David Petraeus took over as the twentieth CIA director, federal prosecutors announced that they were dropping 99 investigations into the deaths of people in CIA custody, leaving just two active cases they’re willing to pursue.The first edition of The CIA’s Greatest Hits sold more than 38,000 copies. This fully revised and updated second edition contains six completely new chapters.
None Died in Vain: The Saga of the American Civil War
Robert Leckie - 1990
A fast-paced, compulsively readable one-volume narrative of the American Civil War, by the author of the acclaimed saga of World War II, "Delivered from Evil."
Beneath Sunless Waves
Stephen Makk - 2014
At the height of the Cold War, he fell for the enemy: Irina, a Soviet naval officer. The streets of Moscow are a world of subterfuge, but they must keep their secret from the KGB.When war erupts in the South Atlantic, Tom is forced to abandon Irina. With the Soviets on his tail, he leads his dive team into the most dangerous place on Earth: a shipwreck with live nuclear weapons. The task is illegal and deniable, but failure is not an option; millions of lives are at stake.With the British submarine HMS Sultan and the Soviet submarine Arkhangelsk facing each other down like gunfighters, Tom’s confronted with a harsh realisation: Irina’s on the other side, playing for the opposition. How can he choose? Will saving Irina lead to the failure of his mission? Can he lead his team to success against the odds?If you like the sound of ‘Jason Bourne meets The Hunt for Red October’, join Tom now in the most dangerous place on Earth.
Eric Sloane's An Age of Barns
Eric Sloane - 1980
"Eric Sloane's An Age of Barns" is filled with fabulous black-and-white illustrations from this great American artist. Covering all types of American and Canadian barns and everything associated with them-implements and tools, hex signs, silos, out buildings, hinges, barn raising, and more-"Eric Sloane's An Age of Barns" is a spectacular album tribute to this important facet of our architecture and agriculture. This book is sure to once again become a collector's item.
The Rapture: Christianity's Most Preposterous Belief
Chuck Missler - 2002
Where does this strange view come from? Is the term "rapture" even in the Bible? Clearly, the idea of the Rapture can be considered the most preposterous belief in Biblical Christianity. The situation regarding the doctrine of the Rapture is painfully similar to the famous quote by Dr. Richard Feynman, speaking of quantum physics: I think it is safe to say that no one understands quantum mechanics... in fact, it is often stated of all the theories proposed in this century, the silliest is quantum theory. Some say that the only thing that quantum theory has going for it, in fact, is that it is unquestionably correct.
Love Letter to America
Tomas Schuman - 1984
I am what you may call a "defector" from the USSR, and I have a message for you: I love you very much. I love all of you-- liberals and conservatives, "decadent capitalists" and "oppressed masses," blacks and whites and browns and yellows, rednecks and intellectuals. For me you are the people who created a unique nation, country and society in the history of mankind,-- by no means a perfect one, but, let's face it-- the most free, affluent and just in today's world.I am not alone in this love. People all over the Earth, whether they praise America or bitterly criticize her, look upon you as the only hope for mankind's survival and the last stronghold of freedom. Some may not think in these idealistic terms, but they certainly enjoy the fruits of your civilization, often forgetting to be grateful for them. Millions of people in the so-called "socialist camp" or in the "Third World" literally owe their lives to America.
NanoStrike
Pete Barber - 2012
First responder, Detective Chief Inspector Quinnborne, defies orders and hunts for the weapon’s unhinged genius creator. The authorities label Quinnborne a traitor, but when the nanotechnology spirals out of control, his grit and bloody-minded determination become humankind’s last thin hope of surviving a weapon of mass destruction that can be deployed at will and against which there is no defense.
The Spy Killer (John Smith Book 1)
Jimmy Sangster - 2019
"An exquisite series launch. A tight and often violent tale of intrigue. Spy fiction fans will revel in this dark, witty story." Publishers Weekly Ex-British spy John Smith is nearly broke, has bad teeth, is lousy in bed, and drinks too much. But he's no fool. He's a man who knows his own limitations and works within them. He blackmailed his way out of the secret service years ago and is barely making a living as a London private eye when his ex-wife comes calling and asks him to follow her philandering husband. But that sleazy, all-too-common job leads to some uncommon trouble...and Smith is thrown like a chunk of raw meat into a lion's den of international espionage, betrayal, and killing. His only hope of surviving is to outwit his clever and brutal adversaries at their own deadly game. "Very astutely plotted, with many surprising twists and a sharp bite" The New York Times "There's nothing ordinary about this adventure. It's big league intrigue." Kirkus Reviews "A deadly, cold, serious drama of counter-espionage." Atlanta Constitution "A witty spy story in the anti-James Bond tradition." The Cedar Falls Courier This novel was originally published under the title private I and was adapted into a feature film The Spy Killer starring Robert Horton, Jill St. John and Sebastian Cabot.
School of Darkness: (Illustrated)
Bella Dodd - 1954
A brilliant and dedicated woman, she graduated from Hunter College and NYU Law School. She became head of the New York State Teachers Union and was a member of the Communist Party's (CPUSA's) National Council until 1949. "School of Darkness" is her autobiography, detailing her life's work with the Communist Party, her disillusionment, her testimony before the Tydings Committee, and her return to the Catholic faith with the assistance of Monsignor Fulton J. Sheen. Warning - this book will be difficult to put down. Have a "Look Inside". This is a "must read".
Come Spy With Me
Max Allan Collins - 2020
Sand’s real-life exploits inspired a very famous series of best-selling novels by a friend in the spy game.On his honeymoon with his new wife, Stacey Boldt – the heiress to a Texas oil fortune – they are interrupted by an unfriendly blast from the past.Now an executive with Boldt Oil in Houston, Sand finds himself, and his bride, pulled back into the world of espionage when JFK himself recruits him for a dangerous job in Cuba.Sand – and Mrs. Sand – will be caught up in everything from a Rat Pack party in Vegas hosted by a mobster to a Caribbean island where a deadly assassin has targeted El Presidente.Come Spy With Me is the first in The John Sand Series, invoking the best of the original James Bond spy thrillers.
The Way the Wind Blew: A History of the Weather Underground
Ron Jacobs - 1997
Mauled in street battles with the Chicago police during the Days of Rage demonstrations, Weather concluded that traditional political protest was insufficient to end the war. They turned instead to underground guerrilla combat.In this highly readable history, Ron Jacobs captures the hair-raising drama of a campaign which planted bombs in banks, military installations and, twice on successive days, in the US Capitol. He describes the group’s formation of clandestine revolutionary cells, its leaders’ disavowal of monogamous relationships, and their use of LSD to strengthen bonds between members. He recounts the operational failures of the group—three members died when a bomb they were building exploded in Greenwich Village—as well as its victories including a successful jailbreak of Timothy Leary. Never short-changing the fierce debates which underpinned the Weather’s strategy, Jacobs argues that the groups eventual demise resulted as much from the contradictions of its politics as from the increasingly repressive FBI attention.