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Best of Enemies
- The Last Great Spy Story of the Cold War
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
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Publisher's summary
The thrilling story of two Cold War spies, CIA case officer Jack Platt and KGB agent Gennady Vasilenko - improbable friends at a time when they should have been anything but.
In 1978, CIA maverick Jack Platt and KGB agent Gennady Vasilenko were new arrivals on the Washington, D.C., intelligence scene, with Jack working out of the CIA's counterintelligence office and Gennady out of the Soviet Embassy. Both men, already notorious iconoclasts within their respective agencies, were assigned to seduce the other into betraying his country in the urgent final days of the Cold War, but instead the men ended up becoming the best of friends - blood brothers. Theirs is a friendship that never should have happened, and their story is chock full of treachery, darkly comic misunderstandings, bureaucratic inanity, the Russian Mafia, and landmark intelligence breakthroughs of the past half century.
In Best of Enemies, two espionage cowboys reveal how they became key behind-the-scenes players in solving some of the most celebrated spy stories of the 20th century, including the crucial discovery of the Soviet mole Robert Hanssen, the 2010 Spy Swap which freed Gennady from Soviet imprisonment, and how Robert De Niro played a real-life role in helping Gennady stay alive during his incarceration in Russia after being falsely accused of spying for the Americans. Through their eyes, we see the distinctions between the Russian and American methods of conducting espionage and the painful birth of the new Russia, whose leader, Vladimir Putin, dreams he can roll back to the ideals of the old USSR.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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"An informative and exciting history for the general reader and for the espionage expert alike." (Publishers Weekly)
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"Best of Enemies is a knockout thriller about one of the great yarns in international espionage: how an American CIA agent and a Russian KGB agent wound up on the same side. You have to read it to believe it." (Tom Brokaw)
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Story
A landmark collaboration between a thirty-year veteran of the CIA and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, The Main Enemy is the inside story of the CIA-KGB spy wars, told through the actions of the men who fought them. Based on hundreds of interviews with operatives from both sides, The Main Enemy puts us inside the heads of CIA officers as they dodge surveillance and walk into violent ambushes in Moscow. This is the story of the generation of spies who came of age in the shadow of the Cuban missile crisis and rose to run the CIA and KGB in the last days of the Cold War.
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A masterpiece of espionage history
- By kucherv on 08-21-18
By: Milton Bearden, and others
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The Good Spy
- The Life and Death of Robert Ames
- By: Kai Bird
- Narrated by: René Ruiz
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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The Good Spy is Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Kai Bird’s compelling portrait of the remarkable life and death of one of the most important operatives in CIA history - a man who, had he lived, might have helped heal the rift between Arabs and the West. On April 18, 1983, a bomb exploded outside the American Embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people. The attack was a geopolitical turning point. It marked the beginning of Hezbollah as a political force, but even more important, it eliminated America’s most influential and effective intelligence officer in the Middle East - CIA operative Robert Ames.
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Biased but interesting
- By Peggy on 05-09-18
By: Kai Bird
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Death of a Dissident
- The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB
- By: Alex Goldfarb, Marina Litvinenko
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Abridged
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The November 2006 assassination of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander "Sasha" Litvinenko, who was poisoned by the rare radioactive element polonium, caused an international sensation. Within a few short weeks, the fit 43-year-old lay gaunt, bald, and dying in a hospital, the victim of a "tiny nuclear bomb". Suspicions swirled around Russia's FSB, the successor to the KGB, and the Putin regime.
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Very interesting and scary...
- By A. M. on 03-21-15
By: Alex Goldfarb, and others
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The Tangled Web
- The Life and Death of Richard Cain—Chicago Cop and Mafia Hitman
- By: Michael Cain
- Narrated by: Clinton Wade
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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The Tangled Web tells the dramatic story of detective Richard Cain's criminal career as revealed by his half-brother, Michael. Cain led a double-life—one as a well-known cop who led raids that landed on the front pages, and the other as a "made man" in one of Chicago's most notorious mob families.
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Reviews
- By G. D. Hoppe on 11-19-20
By: Michael Cain
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The Spy and the Traitor
- The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War
- By: Ben Macintyre
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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If anyone could be considered a Russian counterpart to the infamous British double-agent Kim Philby, it was Oleg Gordievsky. The son of two KGB agents and the product of the best Soviet institutions, the savvy, sophisticated Gordievsky grew to see his nation's communism as both criminal and philistine. He took his first posting for Russian intelligence in 1968 and eventually became the Soviet Union's top man in London, but from 1973 on he was secretly working for MI6.
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John Lee is GREAT!
- By David on 09-21-18
By: Ben Macintyre
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The Secrets of the FBI
- By: Ronald Kessler
- Narrated by: Michael Bybee
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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The Secrets of the FBI by New York Times best-selling author Ronald Kessler reveals the FBIs most closely guarded secrets and the secrets of celebrities, politicians, and movie stars uncovered by agents during their investigations.
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Even-handed; an interesting history of the FBI
- By G-Man on 08-08-11
By: Ronald Kessler
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The Cell
- Inside the 9/11 Plot, and Why the FBI and CIA Failed to Stop It
- By: John Miller, Michael Stone, Chris Mitchell
- Narrated by: John Miller
- Length: 4 hrs and 43 mins
- Abridged
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The Cell provides the first complete treatment to piece together what led to the events of 9/11, ultimately delivering the disturbing answer to the question: why, with all the information the intelligence community had, was no one able to stop the September 11 attacks? It also includes a first-person account of John Miller's face-to-face meeting with Osama bin Laden.
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What led up to 9/11?
- By Richard on 12-31-03
By: John Miller, and others
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In the Enemy's House
- The Secret Saga of the FBI Agent and the Code Breaker Who Caught the Russian Spies
- By: Howard Blum
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1946, genius linguist and codebreaker Meredith Gardner discovered that the KGB was running an extensive network of strategically placed spies inside the United States, whose goal was to infiltrate American intelligence and steal the nation's military and atomic secrets. Over the course of the next decade, he and young FBI supervisor Bob Lamphere worked together on Venona, a top-secret mission to uncover the Soviet agents and protect the Holy Grail of Cold War espionage - the atomic bomb.
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Excellent non-fiction spy story
- By Katherine on 10-13-18
By: Howard Blum
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Kiss the Boys Goodbye
- How the United States Betrayed Its Own POWs in Vietnam
- By: Monica Jensen-Stevenson, William Stevenson
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Kiss the Boys Goodbye convincingly shows that a legacy of shame remains from America’s ill-fated involvement in Vietnam even though that conflict ended over 35 years ago. Until US government policy on POW/MIAs changes, it remains one of the most crucial issues for any American soldier who fights for home and country, particularly when we are engaged with an enemy who doesn't adhere to the international standards for the treatment of prisoners - or any American hostage...
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God Grant Them Peace
- By Gillian on 05-19-15
By: Monica Jensen-Stevenson, and others
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The Spy Who Knew Too Much
- An Ex-CIA Officer’s Quest Through a Legacy of Betrayal
- By: Howard Blum
- Narrated by: Steve Hendrickson
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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On a sunlit morning in September 1978, a sloop drifts aimlessly across the Chesapeake Bay. The cabin reveals signs of a struggle, and “classified” documents, live 9 mm cartridges, and a top-secret “burst” satellite communications transmitter are discovered aboard. But where is the boat’s owner, former CIA officer John Paisley? One man may hold the key to finding out. Tennent “Pete” Bagley was once a rising star in America’s spy aristocracy, and many expected he’d eventually become CIA director.
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The, too long, story of an obsession
- By Tony on 10-30-22
By: Howard Blum
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The Corporation
- An Epic Story of the Cuban American Underworld
- By: T. J. English
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 19 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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By the mid 1980s, the criminal underworld in the United States had become an ethnic polyglot; one of the most powerful illicit organizations was none other than the Cuban mob. Known on both sides of the law as "the Corporation", the Cuban mob's power stemmed from a criminal culture embedded in south Florida's exile community - those who had been chased from the island by Castro's revolution and planned to overthrow the Marxist dictator and reclaim their nation.
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uncle joey approved
- By Anonymous User on 04-14-18
By: T. J. English
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Comrade J
- Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America after the End of the Cold War
- By: Pete Earley
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Spymaster, defector, double agent....Here is the remarkable true story of the man who ran Russia's post-cold-war spy program in America. The revelations are stunning. Many spies have told their stories. None has the astonishing immediacy, relevance, and cautionary warnings of Comrade J.
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Some Inaccuracies, but still good
- By Shopaholic on 09-21-08
By: Pete Earley
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Kings of Cocaine
- Inside the Medellin Cartel - An Astonishing True Story of Murder Money and International Corruption
- By: Guy Gugliotta, Jeff Leen
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 14 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the story of the most successful cocaine dealers in the world: Pablo Escobar Gaviria, Jorge Luis Ochoa Vasquez, Carlos Lehder Rivas, and Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha. In the 1980s, they controlled more than 50 percent of the cocaine flowing into the United States. The cocaine trade is capitalism on overdrive - supply meeting demand on exponential levels. Here you'll find the story of how the modern cocaine business started and how it turned a ragtag group of hippies and sociopaths into regal kings.
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Almost Perfect.
- By Nick on 10-31-18
By: Guy Gugliotta, and others
What listeners say about Best of Enemies
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jodie Whipple
- 12-30-19
Awesome read
What a great story! Very riveting, and the narrator really brings life to this interesting yet dark time in Russia/US history. Thank you for writing it. Bravo!
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- joseph
- 12-02-20
thank you both for your service and humanity.
One of best telling of tje cold war and what can happen when real people with integrity believe in each in each other.
"
slowly slowly catchy monkey
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- Alle
- 01-01-23
Friendship against all odds
What a gripping historical narrative, but very much more so, a story of friendship against all odds. This spy caper is unique among all; its message is about the highest of humanity despite the omnipresence of the lowest, too.
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- Terry in Houston
- 12-23-18
Great spy book, I loved it
I could not stop listening to this audio book. It is the most factual and believable history of the CIA and KGB I have ever seen.
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- Vignesh Krishnan
- 11-19-18
Really moving and powerful story
Liked - great story and a good performance.
Disliked - bit more foul (unnecessary) language than I’d like
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3 people found this helpful
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- Lolac
- 02-10-20
Truth is stranger than fiction
This is a well written, fascinating story. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the liberal use of the F word which I found distracting and unnecessary. The story of two intelligence officers from opposing agencies who develop a strong friendship is compelling and poignant. This was a page turner.
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1 person found this helpful
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- D. F. Dehart
- 06-20-19
Fascinating Recap of Cold War Espionage
Factual narrative of a CIA Operative and his friend, a KGB Officer. Very well written and exceptionally read. Highly recommend this novel.
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- Marvin Sandino
- 07-18-22
Spy
You will enjoy it so don’t hesitate to get it. I truly found this audiobook amazing and full of great I formation.
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- Hi
- 12-20-19
great story
awesome friendship story and true great times. mind blowing and interesting to hear it all unfold.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Keith
- 10-04-19
An Expertly Performed Song of the Unsung Heroes
For the unsung heroes acknowledged solemnly by the stars on the wall at Langley, Best of Enemies is a Russo and Dezenhall composition of gritty and glamorous spycraft playing as background to a concert that calmed the Cold War from going nuclear. Few reviews will adequately capture the fascinating lives of this intimate recounting of patriots improvising against personal risks to save the lives of millions.
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