Espionage: The Greatest Spy Operations of the Twentieth Century

Ernest Volkman is a former prize-winning investigative reporter for 'Newsday' who is an authority on espionage and intelligence. He has written other books. These 22 chapters are called "The Greatest Spy Operations of the 20th Century", and are classified as "Grand Deceptions", "Spies in the Ether", "The Enemy Within", "A Wilderness of Mirrors", "Disasters", and "Spectaculars". This is an entertaining and very readable book, but it is not the definitive history of any of the operations described here. Most occurred since WW I. There is an 'Index' but no Bibliography for additional information. Some of the operations are well-known, others will be news. Chapter 1 does not mention that none of the Great Powers were prepared to extend WW I and attack Soviet Russia. Elsewhere Volkman tells of the difficulties of operating in a "police state". Chapter 2 tells of another deception operation in Cuba. An operation that aided the Normandy invasion is in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 tells about the Double Cross operation, another "Trust Operation". Dusko Popov's book provides another view (p.45). (Volkman doesn't tell how MI5 rounded up all German spies in 1914.) [Does this chapter echo the difficulties of operating in a "police state"?] Chapter 5 tells about the operation that inspired the movie "The House on 92nd Street". Chapter 6, 7, and 8 tell about codes and ciphers that were broken to provide intelligence about enemy activities. Anwar Sadat aided a German spy (p.85). Chapter 9, 10, 11, and 12 tell about espionage in a country that revealed technical secrets of Nazi Germany, the American atomic bomb, German sabotage during WW I, and Soviet military intelligence. Chapter 13, 14, 15, and 16 tell about "moles", double agents who work for the other side. "The Lady at the Kiosk" has to be the funniest chapter in this book. Chapters 17, 18, and 19 are about "flaps" or disastrous operations. The chapter on Pearl Harbor is incomplete. It does not reference Robert Stinnett's book, Volkman claims there were "no sources in Japan" (p.187), as if there were no US diplomats, military attachés, or tourists there. The US Navy was aware in 1932 of the problem at Pearl Harbor (pp.181-182). E. Phillips Oppenheim told of such an attack in his 1926 novel "The Wrath to Come". The newspapers in 1941 told of heightened tension. Ian Fleming escorted Dusko Popov to tell J. Edgar Hoover of planned espionage there in July 1941! The failure in chapter 18 came from an alliance with the rejected aristocracy (p.198). Volkman misunderstands the law (p.211); divulging intercepts is legal when given to authorized agencies. Chapter 20 and 21 tell about spectacular successes in intelligence gathering that lasted nearly two decades. Chapter 22 tells how a country acquired supplies of uranium oxide despite a ban on its trade. The 'Epilogue' tells of an inherently flawed operation. Was this a make-work operation used for empire building? Volkman doesn't list Truman's other reasons for shutting

This book is basically a series of short stories dealing with major spy operations, mostly involving World War II. The stories are interesting and well written but there is a certain similarity and synergism to the stories that does not come out well in this format. Also, the author gives compelling evidence that Amelia Earhart was on an espionage mission when she disappeared but the story leaves you wanting more. I would use this book as an introduction to this genre and if you are interested there are a number of novels dealing with the individual stories. A number of books have been written about the Walker spy ring as well as other spy operations.

Very well written. The pages fly by. Gives breezy summaries of some of the leading espionage capers in modern times. It was a joy to read.

I have read a number of books dealing with some of the same cases Volkman describes. Volkman is not only easy to read, but also does a great job presenting the facts of the case, the milieu of each case, and how each case affected history. He describes, somewhat, the mindset of espionage officers who sometimes prefer quantity over quality, and tradecraft and history as incidental to the cases. He includes some photographs and a helpful index. He often throws in details I don't remember seeing in other more detailed and lengthy works. Some of the cases Volkman writes about are the "Trust" operation (early Soviet sting of anti-Soviets), Cuban doubling of US agents, British doubling of Nazi agents (Double Cross), code-breaking, atomic bomb secrets, the Wallenbergs in WWII, WWI German sabotage in U.S., the Angleton/Philby mole affair, etc.Volkman is both willing and able to point out each country's successes and failures -- even when success is based on happenstance and failure is based on incredibly poor judgment. Here's one passage: "[in 1978], Hu Simeng worked for the Chinese, who did not know that she also worked for the East Germans, who did not know that she was a Chinese asset, but who did know that she worked for the CIA, which didn't know she also worked for both the Chinese and the East Germans. The material she provided the Chinese was in fact East German and KGB disinformation, but the Chinese knew that, so they provided disinformation for Hu Simeng to give to the East Germans...." Criticisms include that he occasionally reaches too facile a conclusion (Wallenberg was killed by Soviets in 1947 instead of the lengthy imprisonment other sources describe), and at least one minor factual error (the bomb "Fat Man" was dropped on Nagasaki, not Hiroshima). In sum, an excellent book for anyone mildly interested in the topic, or very interested.

From beginning to end a very gripping tale. This book revealsthe story behind the story on many of histories great espionage cases.Mr. Volkman masterfully weaves history into an exciting tale. You will learn things that you didn't know and at the same time read a book that doesn't put you to sleep. I had trouble just putting it down. If all history books were written this well I would have gotten better grades in school. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in espionage, the inner workings of politics, or just looking for a good book to read.