Rating: 
Summary: An Amazing Addition to American Literature
Review: This is, by far, one of the best books I have ever read. Vise clearly uses his excellent writing skills to reveal fascinating facts about Robert Hanssen. Although a non-fiction book, this wonderful piece of writing reads like a novel, making it enjoyable for everyone. The necessary pornography information is tastefully displayed in the book, appearing in an appendix, rather than in the main section of the well-written book. I strongly reccommend this intriguing portrayal of the greatest double agent in FBI history to all. Happy reading!
Rating: 
Summary: not worth the read
Review: Sloppy write-up of a really interesting man. Didn't seem thoroughly enough researched.
Rating:
Summary: The Bureau and the Mole
Review: I am not well versed in the world of spies and government conspiracy (and I don't pretend to be) so my objective was to read this book to learn more about this interesting and important high profile news headline. I found it to be a good non-fiction book that did not read like a boring biography (as most other non-fiction works do), it read like a fictional work with interesting facts and anecdotes. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others. ...(and after reading this book I now believe that anything is possible!), but we are all entitled to our opinions. I say give the book a fair chance.
Rating:
Summary: I bought the wrong book!
Review: After buying David Vise's book, The Bureau and the Mole, I just discovered a new and better book on the same topic: The Spy Next Door by Ann Blackman and Elaine Shannon. Vise's book does a poor job of camouflaging his mad scramble to get into print with something--anything--about Robert Hanssen, the turncoat FBI agent. It's full of dimestore psychoanalysis and sensationalist pretense. Vise wants us to believe he got inside Hanssen's head, although there is no evidence or indication he ever even met or talked to the spy himself. The author also takes a deep bow to Louis Freeh, as if the defamed FBI director were somehow responsible for catching Hanssen. In fact, Freeh was as clueless as the rest of the bureau before Hanssen was delivered to them on a platter. The Blackman/Shannon book, on the other hand, is rich in detail about Hanssen's life, his growing up and lots of examples of how he not only betrayed his country but everything dear to him, including his wife and children. It reads like the great spy book it is and shows how the FBI was so caught up in its own past that it missed Hanssen the same way it missed the Sept. 11 attackers. Don't make the same mistake I did. Get The Spy Next Door instead.
Rating: 
Summary: A fascinating subject--a disappointing book
Review: There are two mysteries described in this book. One begins on October 1, 1985, the other ends on February 18, 2001. The first date marks the beginning of Robert Hanssen's career as a mole in the FBI, the second marks the end of that career. The mysteries are why Hanssen-devout Catholic, flag waver, ardent denouncer of Communists-turned to spying for the Soviets and later the Russians, and why it took so long to unearth this mole.David Vise faced a tough assignment when he attempted to resolve these mysteries, and his effort to do so is only partially successful. Ferreting out material from government sources is never an easy task. In such a sensitive matter as this one, the problems are bound to be much greater. Even so, the author should have done more with what he had. Despite interesting asides, as in the description of the Opus Dei cult, too much of the material is "on background," and too much of what is left is inept padding-unnecessary appendices, long descriptions of William Freeh's career-which has little bearing on the core issues. For someone who knows little about the Hannsen debacle, these pages will be an eye-opener, even though the story should have been condensed into a brief New Yorker article. For those familiar with the broad outline of what happened, this will turn out to be a disappointing book about a fascinating and still unexplained subject-what made Robert Hanssen tick, and why it took the FBI fifteen years to discover the ticking.
Rating:
Summary: The Bureau and The Mole
Review: The Bureau and The Mole is riveting and fascinating. Once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down. The detail, writing and psychological profile of FBI agent Robert Hanssen are first-rate. From family dynamics to cloak and dagger operations, the book makes you feel like an insider. This is the best book I've read in many, many years. If you are interested in character, spying, religion or a dose of...fantasy and communication with the KGB in Hanssen's own words, this book is must reading.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book! :)
Review: This was an excellent and exciting book. I highly recommend it. :)
Rating: 
Summary: Treason and Pornography
Review: That these two things were the only sources of pleasure in what looks like a life of quiet desperation is clear from the book. Vise writes about Hanssen's professional frustration and inability to enjoy the camaraderie of his coworkers. Although Vise never states it outright, Hanssen's relationship with his wife must have been marked by the same angry ambivalence he felt about the FBI. Why else would he degrade her so? Posting his sexual fantasies is one thing; sharing his marital sexual encounters with a friend via closed circuit TV w/o her knowledge is another. It has to be due to more than the sense of inadequacy Vise claims Hanssen felt. The book included another shocker: Hanssen's brother-in-law suspected him of espionage as long ago as 1990, but nothing came of his report to his superiors. The FBI once again dropped the ball. This is a easy to read account that really pulls you along. The sections on Freeh are good too, but naturally less intriguing than those on Hanssen. One appendix lists the national secrets Hannsen gave away; another reprints his pornographic posts verbatim (which is somehow more of a kick to the stomach). Another reproduces his e-mails to colleagues where he grouses about some political or bureaucratic situations not to his liking. They all add valuable perspective on this complex personality. This book is probably about the best a writer could do at this stage of the Hanssen story. Hanssen is still in the middle of his debriefing which has been extended into spring. We haven't heard from Hanssen himself (aside from the appendices) and won't until his debriefing is over as required by his plea agreement. It's a good question if we ever will, since the FBI must approve media interviews. I have to wonder if this case is so embarrassing to the agency that it will insist on being the sole source of information on the case and silence Hanssen. In any case, a more thorough biography can only be written a few years into the future. Until that time, I'd go with this book.
Rating:
Summary: I wish I hadn't bought it. It's a rush job and it shows.
Review: I think that the espionage case of Robert Hanssen is one of the most fascinating to have ever taken place. I eagerly awaited the publication of "The Bureau and the Mole." Yet despite the fact that the book does add some details about how twisted Hanssen was, I am very disappointed with it for five reasons: 1. It is very short for such an interesting case. It weighs in at 223 pages (setting aside several lengthy appendixes --the inclusion of one I will discuss below). Yet of these 223 pages more than 60 deal with the life and times of Louis Freeh, the former Director of the FBI. I fail to see why the author put what amounts to a miniature biography of someone who had very little to do with Hanssen's life until Hanssen was identified as being a traitor. If you subtract the Freeh material, you're left with a book about Hanssen that is less than 170 pages long. That is way too short for such a long-term and complex case. 2. So far (I am still reading it), I found one factual error in the book which points to a rush job. On page 73, the author states "The Bureau also arrested Edward R. Howard, on charges of selling a litancy of secrets to the Soviet Union." I read an excellent book about "Edward Lee Howard" called "The Spy Who Got Away." If memory serves, Howard never was arrested by the FBI. He was under its surveillance but managed to escape and flee to Moscow. 3. The book is peppered with statements that indicate a knowledge by the author of what Hanssen felt about this or that. Now, I know that the author consulted psychiatrists and psychologists to try to puzzle out Hanssen's complex personality, and he probably used their insights to make these statements. But he doesn't say that. Instead, one is left with the impression that Hanssen talked to the author (which he apparently did not) or that David Vise is some kind of mind-reader (see comment 4) 4. The author boasts of his extensive research. Yet instead of specifying it with footnotes and a bibliography, he just summarizes his souce material in a few pages. Personally, I am a big believer in documentation even if you have to say a source for a particular fact is from an "anonymous FBI agent." 5. The author morally was dead wrong to include as an appendix to the book reproductions of the sexual fantasies that Robert Hanssen posted about his wife on the Internet. I fail to see how this adds to the story of Robert Hanssen and believe it can only hurt the innocent members of his family, specifically his wife. The fact that Hanssen was posting such stories on the Internet is certainly germane to his own story, but we readers do not need to read the full, sordid material to get an impression of what a twisted, hypocritical character Hanssen was. The author could have summarized the postings by including a few excerpts in the text. In my opinion, Bonnie Hanssen (Hanssen's wife and a person who strikes me as being in denial because of her decision to stick with her husband) has every right to hate the author for putting this sexually explicit material --which I refuse to read-- in the book. To sum up, I think we still are waiting for the definitive book on Hanssen and that may take some time to materialize. Unless you are a true espionage buff, I would stay away from this book.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly interesting!
Review: Some books are merely interesting. This book was enlightening. Its rare to find a non fiction work that reads like a novel, but Vise has shown the ability to incorporate the incredible facts of the Hanssen story with a writing style that keeps the reader entertained and informed. I don't mean to go overboard, but I thought this book was great! I recommend this book without hesitation. I know this review sounds like the author is my brother, but I really loved this book.
| 
