Rating: 
Summary: Cold War Fun
Review: This book was an interesting look at the KGB during the first part of the cold war. I think we all have a view of the KGB, which was formed during the years of the cold war, a large, well run organization that many times was one step ahead of the U.S. This author does not go against that view. The author is relating his experiences in the arm of the KGB that was responsible for information gathering, primarily against the U.S. and NATO. There are some interesting bits and you get a good look that this authors insight to "the game". This book details what actually happened in the KGB during this time with an inside account of the methods of the KGB and a run down of some of the missions they took part in. The author does a good job in providing the reader with many of the interesting tradecraft bit about the KGB. Overall this is an interesting book that gives the espionage junky an another look into the KGB. The book is well written and does not drag or stumble. It keeps the readers interest through out. If you are an armchair expert on the topic then this is another of the titles you will undoubtedly already have or will need to pick up. If you are the general reader then this is a good broad description of the KGB that is interesting, but not the definitive one volume work.
Rating: 
Summary: Their Tower of Secrets, our Garden of Freedom...
Review: This exciting book should be required reading in our institutes of learning. We in the west take our freedom for granted, and it is very good for us to see the way of life in countries without freedom, and to witness the extraordinary lengths some people will go to in order to achieve that freedom. Enough of the deadly, depressing books that we are required to read in high school (D.O.A.S. for one)! This is an an excellent book!
Rating:
Summary: Tons of information that is still relevant!
Review: Tower of Secrets is a great book. It is written by a former KGB officer who became disillusioned with communism and defected to the United States with his family. The author is at his best when discussing his area of specialty, which were electronic countermeasures. First published in 1993, it provides the first glimpse I have found in mass-market literature of the technology known as TEMPEST which is the ability to pick up and read transient electro-magnetic emissions from electronic devices. It sheds a lot of light on the subject of secure communications. One of the author's points of emphasis is that Humans are always the weakest link in any security system.
I enjoyed his revelations on the techniques and tactics of the Chinese Intelligence services. Their abilities appear to be underrated by the West. His pointers on surveillance and counter surveillance are outstanding and should be read by anyone concerned with these fields. My only criticisms are in the amount of detail he provided on how he became disillusioned with the communist party. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in intelligence matters.
Rating:
Summary: Tons of information that is still relevant!
Review: Tower of Secrets is a great book. It is written by a former KGB officer who became disillusioned with communism and defected to the United States with his family. The author is at his best when discussing his area of specialty, which were electronic countermeasures. First published in 1993, it provides the first glimpse I have found in mass-market literature of the technology known as TEMPEST which is the ability to pick up and read transient electro-magnetic emissions from electronic devices. It sheds a lot of light on the subject of secure communications. One of the author's points of emphasis is that Humans are always the weakest link in any security system.
I enjoyed his revelations on the techniques and tactics of the Chinese Intelligence services. Their abilities appear to be underrated by the West. His pointers on surveillance and counter surveillance are outstanding and should be read by anyone concerned with these fields. My only criticisms are in the amount of detail he provided on how he became disillusioned with the communist party. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in intelligence matters.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating view by an insider of the 1970s KGB.
Review: Victor Sheymov has written a very interesting account of working in the communications arm of the KGB during the late 1970s. The book discusses his background in engineering, how he joined and rose in the service, his disillusionment, and final escape with his family. Of particular interest was the feeling of what it was like to work at KGB headquarters-- apparently getting things done in an office was no different in the Soviet Union than in the United States. Also fascinating were his field trips to the Warsaw and Beijing embassies. Finally, his efforts to contact the CIA were remarkable; few people in the world could have pulled off what he did to reach them. The book has a few rough spots, particularly when the author gets preachy in his anti-Communist opinions. It is a little hard to believe that he and his wife could have been that unaware of the faults in the system for so long, and that they had no sense of America at all. Surely the occasional sanitized book or film must have been available. Also, while there is no reason to doubt the author, it is unfortunate that there is no way to confirm his information--a follow-up on some of what happened to these people after they arrived in the States would be useful. (And the nagging question remains: if he knew the Pope was going to be shot, was there any attempt made to prevent it?) These minor points aside, this reader would thoroughly recommend the volume. At a minimum it gives a feel for the end of the Brezhnev era. At the most it says a lot about an organization which certainly does not want the publicity.
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