Sunday, March 6, 2016

Operation Solo : The FBI's Man In The Kremlin
by John Barron 

According to the back flap of Operation Solo, it is considered America's greatest spy story. Perhaps. I certainly have never heard of it prior to reading about it. I have read plenty of books about people spying on the Soviet Union and vice versa, but never about a man working for the FBI and gathering secrets on Russia. Morris Childs made fifty-two trips to the Soviet Union over a period of twenty-seven years. The Russians considered him a friend and often asked for his advice. They never knew who he was actually working for. Sound like a good story? I certainly thought so but it was, at times, tedious to read, dry, and plodding. There's a wealth of fascinating information here. I think it could have been much better with a different author. This is probably why he had trouble finding a publisher. If you're interested in reading about spies, go for it.