The Sword and the Shield
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Narrated by:
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Robert Whitfield
About this listen
This book reveals the most complete picture ever of the KGB and its operations in the United States and Europe. It is based on an extremely top secret archive, which details the full extent of its worldwide network.
Christopher Andrew is professor of modern and contemporary history and chair of the history department at Cambridge University, a former visiting professor of national security at Harvard, a frequent guest lecturer at other United States universities, and a regular host of BBC radio and TV programs. His books - which include Her Majesty’s Secret Service; KGB: The Inside Story (with Oleg Gordievsky); and For the President’s Eyes Only - have established him as one of the world’s leading authorities on intelligence history.
©1985 Christopher Andrew and Vasilli Mitrokhin (P)1999 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Flawed Superpatriot
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The Secret War
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Spies, codes, and guerrillas played unprecedentedly critical roles in the Second World War, exploited by every nation in the struggle to gain secret knowledge of its foes, and to sow havoc behind the fronts. In The Secret War, Max Hastings presents a worldwide cast of characters and some extraordinary sagas of intelligence and resistance, to create a new perspective on the greatest conflict in history.
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Stalin, Volume I
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Volume One of Stalin begins and ends in January 1928 as Stalin boards a train bound for Siberia, about to embark upon the greatest gamble of his political life. He is now the ruler of the largest country in the world, but a poor and backward one, far behind the great capitalist countries in industrial and military power, encircled on all sides. In Siberia, Stalin conceives of the largest program of social reengineering ever attempted.
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Excellent Book But First Time Listener Beware
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In this gripping narrative history, Seth G. Jones reveals the CIA's involvement in a landmark victory for democracy during the Cold War. In 1983, while Soviet- backed Polish prime minister Wojciech Jaruzelski worked to crush a budding opposition movement through martial law, the CIA launched a sophisticated intelligence campaign supporting dissident groups. With President Ronald Reagan's support, American funds bankrolled clandestine newspapers, broadcasting, and information warfare. This initiative, code-named QRHELPFUL, proved vital in establishing a free and democratic Poland.
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Chain of Command
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Absolutely Fantastic
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The War Conspiracy
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A remarkable analysis linking the assassination of JFK and 9/11, and how both events were used to influence war policy. Peter Dale Scott examines the many ways in which war policy has been driven by “accidents” and other events in the field, in some cases despite moves toward peace that were directed by presidents. This book explores the “deep politics” that exerts a profound but too-little-understood effect on national policy outside the control of traditional democratic processes.
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data dump on every rabbit hole
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One Book EVERY AMERICAN Needs to Read
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The explosive first-hand account of America's secret history in Afghanistan. With the publication of Ghost Wars, Steve Coll became not only a Pulitzer Prize winner, but also the expert on the rise of the Taliban, the emergence of Bin Laden, and the secret efforts by CIA officers and their agents to capture or kill Bin Laden in Afghanistan after 1998.
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An Exceptional Accomplishment
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What listeners say about The Sword and the Shield
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Rockstar
- 08-20-21
Thorough, but TMI
This book was very thorough yet it was very hard to get through. Too much detail and very easy to get lost in all the name dropping. A little less minutiae and more background detail would have made this book more enjoyable. Parts were fascinating, but most droned on for me.
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- Shekar
- 07-21-21
Very Europe/US focused
I got this book thinking it will have global coverage of KGB, but this book keeps repeating the known story of Europe and the US. There are lot of stories that happened in Asia and Africa, but absolutely no mention of it. disappointing.
Also, the story is not well pieced together, to many names and to many incidents, often unrelated.
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- jerome m.
- 03-15-19
A Deep, (to) Deep Dive Into Soviet Spying
Overall interesting story but way to long and far, far to many names. Could have been half the length and been just as interesting. Best to start with part 2 and go back if really interested.
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- Dan
- 12-06-21
Good but lengthy
This book goes into great detail about the KGB's activities and organization throughout the cold war years and then some. The problem I had was the vast amount of information shared got lost, twisted and confused in the 31+ hours that this book runs for. If you can manage the length and all that this book is comprised of, you'll be in for one heck of a story. Frankly, I am surprised the KGB managed to last as long as they did, seemed they were more focused on themselves and less of anyone else.
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- Tdavidii
- 06-25-22
Detailed and thorough
Great account of the KGB and NKVD. Their relationship with other country Ws and their own people.
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- LtTora
- 07-19-20
Eye opening and Scary
This book is a fascinating inside account of the operations of the KGB and in its first chapters the evil and madness of its leader Stalin. For more eye opening and indeed sickening not to mention scary is the revelation of just how many traitors there were and no doubt still are in the USA and England who sold their souls and country to a evil and murderous political theory. Example, did you know that people who were part of the program developing the first Atomic Bomb gave that same information to the KGB, university students, and teachers betrayed their country by spying for the Russians.
This book reads like an encyclopedia of who was who before and during the cold war, the Americans and Brits were who were willingly aiding the USSR against their own people and what information they passed along. It lists the numbers of infiltrators called "residents" some here legally but most illegally and most damning of all it shows just how ignorant and even inept the US Presidents before and during WW2 were in realizing the true depth to which the KGB had the US infiltrated.
If your a freedom loving American this book can be a painful (but informative) read as it shows you just how badly the Commies have corrupted us and the sheer amount of information they had on us. Make no mistake, the Cold war was far more perilous than popular media and even those who lived through it would have you believe.
This is not some riviting spy novel, this is a 'just the facts ma'am' record of KGB activities recorded by a brave man who risked everything to bring the truth to light. (God Bless him!)
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- SPS
- 07-23-17
Fascinating History
To my American ear, the story of the security services of tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union is eye opening. The KGB has a fearsome reputation, but I had always assumed that there was a boogie-man element to that reputation. After listening to the book, I was amazed at the effects of the security services on Soviet internal and foreign policy. I also had not realized the importance of the
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- Mark
- 01-03-18
Full of valuable info.
Great intro and conclusion. Lots of valuable info, but the middle part could have been a little more persuasive. Overall, an important disclosure.
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- Jared
- 08-14-17
Very Informative
This book is a highly detailed analysis of Russian intelligence during the Cold War. I highly recommend it.
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- Bradley
- 01-14-17
a book that gives quite a lot of insight on soviet
A book that gives a lot of insight on soviet foreign policy that has a lot of similarities with the Russia that America and the World faces today
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1 person found this helpful