The highest-ranking Soviet official ever to defect tells an extraordinary story of the inner workings of the Kremlin, of his own conflicted life as a diplomat, and of the frightening world of espionage into which he was drawn.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the Best of the Type,
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This review is from: Breaking with Moscow (Mass Market Paperback)
This is a good book that has some very interesting points that just keep coming back to haunt the American Presidents. Substitute the USSR with Islamic Fundamentalists. There are a good deal of tradecraft details in the book and a number of reviews of operations run against the US. This book reads well, and if you are a fan of cold war personalities then you should find a copy of this book. It is one of the better books to come from the group of defectors that all seem to get a book deal roughly 25 minutes after they enter the states.
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Most Important, Highest-Ranking Soviet Defector Ever,
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This review is from: Breaking with Moscow (Mass Market Paperback)
Arkady N. Shevchenko was the highest-ranking Soviet defector ever: he was Under Secretary-General of the United Nations at the time. Moreover, his book was a sensational number one best seller, highly acclaimed throughout the media, and even serialized in Time Magazine.Sadly, the same liberals who were praising Shevchenko didn't seem to be reading what he'd written. Shevchenko wrote a real-life spy thriller, as good as any fiction available; but he also delivered an extremely timely warning. The Soviet Union was dangerous, he said, bent on world conquest, sooner rather than later. It was fully willing to fight a nuclear war, or a conventional war, or any kind of war that would advance its "inevitable" victory. It was corrupt, its economy was failing, its leaders were desperate. A West which was not both resolute and strong would be annihilated, sooner or later, probably sooner. In 1984 and 1985, conservatives believed those things already, while liberals believed that even the mention of such was at best mindless palaver, at worst reckless war-mongering. Five years later, as glasnost and the fall of the Soviet Union opened the "evil empire's" archives, it became clear that everything Shevchenko (and Reagan) had said was true (or even less severe in some cases than might have been warranted). Yet though the Left refused to hear the message, they could not ignore the stature of the messenger, and Shevchenko had his day in the sun, as well as his reward for his service to the cause of freedom: freedom not merely for our people, but for his own. While this book may be hard to find, it is well worth the hunt. Shevchenko's testimony is vital to a solid understanding of the latter years of the Cold War, and his story-telling is riveting. Don't miss either.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A view from the inner circle,
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This review is from: Breaking with Moscow (Hardcover)
This book gives a fascinating look into the ideas and the functioning of the ruling class (Nomenklatura, KGB) and into Soviet daily life during the Brezhnev era in the USSR.
Foreign policy of the Nomenklatura was based on a long view: the idea of expanding Soviet power to the point of world domination. The author doesn't agree with the German politician Helmut Schmidt who considered that the goals of the Soviet leaders were a mere continuation of historical Russian imperialist designs. On the contrary, they were deeply ideological. The rulers believed in the inevitable victory of Soviet-style socialism. The author gives also an excellent analysis of the evolution of the Sino-Russian relations as well as an in depth portrait of the diplomat Andrei Gromyko. Concerning home policy, the author agrees with B. Souvarine that the fall of Khrushchev was provoked by his plan to reshuffle the senior party apparatus, in other words 'the sanctum of the ruling class'. He didn't have the power to liquidate them like Stalin and was himself liquidated. In Soviet daily life 'watergates' were permanent features from top to bottom. 'Bugging, taping, intimidation, bribery, lying, cover-ups were all standard measures taken by the KGB with the leadership's blessing.' At the top, medical assassinations could not be excluded (Maxim Gorky, Zhdanov and others). This book contains also excellent information on some important historical events like the murder of the Egyptian president Sadat or of UN secretary Dag Hammarskjold. It is not a secret anymore that foreign leaders who wanted to meet Brezhnev had to formulate their questions in advance. During the meeting, Brezhnev read his answers from a paper prepared by his administration. A popular joke about him is mentioned in this book: 'A Soviet citizen shouted 'Brezhnev is an idiot'. He was promptly sentenced to 15 days in jail for insulting Brezhnev, and to 15 years at hard labor for divulging a state secret.' Shevchenko's book gives a magisterial look into the workings of a totalitarian state dominated by a small ruling class. A must for historians and all people interested in 20th century history.
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