The Spy Who Saved the World: How a Soviet Colonel Changed the Course of the Cold War

I'd read plenty of books about the Cuban Missile Crisis before getting a hold of this one... but know I understand. Penkovsky's espionage story is interesting as a standalone... but to know he was the one who gave SS-4 fire-times and reload operations, with diagrams of how the sites were setup, is just amazing. This information allowed the US Intelligence Community to accurate identify sites during Operation Anadyr - US analysts missed so many clues beforehand, any attempted invasion without this information would have been suicidal and foolhardy. Col Penkovsky is a perfect example of a HUMINT source - a knowledgeable insider with technical knowledge. When first being debriefed he gave detailed technical specifications on Soviet Systems. This is not the type of spy romanticized in novels today. Penkovsky's story is an overwhelming success story for Western intelligence services, not just the United States. Definitely a book and story worth looking into.