Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold War [Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged] [MP3 CD]

Pete Earley (Author), Michael Prichard (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 2008

Spymaster, defector, double agent-the remarkable true story of the man who ran Russia's post–cold war spy program in America.In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed, the cold war ended, and a new world order began. We thought everything had changed. But one thing never changed: the spies.From 1995 to 2000, a man known as "Comrade J" was the highest-ranking operative in the SVR-the successor agency to the KGB-in the United States. He directed all Russian spy action in New York City and personally oversaw every covert operation against the United States and its allies in the United Nations. He recruited spies, planted agents, penetrated security, manipulated intelligence, and influenced American policy, all under the direct leadership of Boris Yeltsin and then Vladimir Putin. He was a legend in the SVR, the man who kept the secrets.Then, in 2000, he defected-and it turned out he had one more secret. For the previous two years, he had also been a double agent for the FBI: "By far the most important Russian spy that our side has had in decades." He has never granted a public interview. The FBI and CIA have refused to answer all media questions about him. He has remained in hiding. He has never revealed his secrets.Until now.Comrade J, written by the bestselling author of Family of Spies and The Hot House, is his story, a direct account of what he did in the United States after we all assumed the spying was over and of what Putin and Russia continue to do today. The revelations are stunning. It is also the story of growing up in a family of agents dating back to the revolution; of how Russia molded him into one of its most high-flying operatives; of the day-to-day perils of living a double, then triple, life; and finally, of how his growing disquiet with the corruption and ambitions of the "new Russia" led him to take the most perilous step of all.Many spies have told their stories. None has the astonishing immediacy, relevance, and cautionary warnings of Comrade J.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Delivers the spy-versus-spy frisson that espionage readers expect."
-Booklist

"Splendid...a five-cloak read."
-Washington Times

"A fascinating account of Tretyakov's activities."
-Library Journal --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Pete Earley, a former reporter for The Washington Post, is the author of eight works of nonfiction, including the bestsellers The Hot House and Family of Spies and the multi-award-winning Circumstantial Evidence. According to Washingtonian magazine, he is one of ten journalist/authors in America "who have the power to introduce new ideas and give them currency." Earley is also the author of three New York Times bestsellers and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Michael Prichard has played several thousand characters during his career. While he has been seen performing over one hundred of them in theater and film, Michael is primarily heard, having recorded well over five hundred full-length books. During his career as a one-man repertory company, he has recorded many series with running characters---including the complete Travis McGee adventures by John D. MacDonald and the complete Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout---as well as series by such masters as Mark Twain, John Cheever, and John Updike. His numerous awards and accolades include an Audie Award for Tears in the Darkness by Michael Norman and Elizabeth M. Norman and several AudioFile Earphones Awards, including for At All Costs by Sam Moses and In Nixon's Web by L. Patrick Gray III. Named a Top Ten Golden Voice by SmartMoney magazine, he holds an M.F.A. in theater from the University of Southern California. Michael appears regularly on the professional stage, including as a member of Ray Bradbury's Pandemonium Theatre Company, performing such great roles as Captain Beatty in Fahrenheit 451, which became the second-longest-running production in the Los Angeles area. Bradbury himself dubbed Michael "the finest Beatty in history."

Product Details

• MP3 CD
• Publisher: Tantor Media; Unabridged,MP3 - Unabridged CD edition (February 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400155525
• ISBN-13: 978-1400155521
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,436,003 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pete Earley is a former Washington Post reporter and a New York Times bestselling author. His book Circumstantial Evidence helped release an unfairly sentenced man and won the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Social Justice and an Edgar(r) Award.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wake-Up Call---Russian Espionage in America!, July 5, 2010

By 

Helen E. Faria (Macon, Ga) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold War (Paperback)

This is the second time I have read and perused this magnificent book---and what a momentous and timely book it is! The book reads much like a cliffhanger spy novel, though its nonfiction and its information is true and disturbing. The message is as timely today as it was in 2007 when it was first published.

After World War II, it took the valiant efforts of the Russian defector, code clerk Igor Gozenko, to awaken America and her allies to the fact that Uncle Joe, the greatest mass murderer in history, and our Russian communist friends were conducting serious, devastating espionage against the United States (e.g., atomic secrets among others) at the same time that we were providing the Soviets with vital economic and military aid during "The Great Patriotic War" against the Nazis.

The Berlin Wall comes crashing down in 1989 and the Soviet Union collapses in 1991. Again, the Russians were said to be our friends and allies in the war against (Islamic) terrorism. Even a professor wrote enthusiastically that we had reached the end of history, so humanity has to become reconciled to live peacefully under a soft blend of global socialism and capitalism. Now enters Russian master spy defector Sergei Tretyakov of the New York Rezidentura of the SVR ( the former First Chief Directorate of the KGB) to rain on this optimistically dystopic parade.

And Tretyakov is no ordinary spy of the Communist era. He is the first KGB/SVR officer, who was actively spying for the new Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, to defect to the USA. According to a senior FBI agent involved in the case, Sergei Tretyakov "has been by far the most important Russian Spy that our side has had in decades...I can tell you this man saved American lives."

It has taken again a courageous Russian defector, who risked his life for many years for the benefit of freedom, to reawaken America to the fact that in addition to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the world remains a dangerous place. We learn painfully that the New Russia has not shed entirely its expansionist and authoritarian tendencies. The new subtle threats to former Soviet Republics, such as the Ukraine and Azerbaijan over natural resources and "privileges in the area," not to mention the recent War on Georgia, remain serious threats to peace and world security.(See also, Death of a Dissident by Alex Goldfarb.Death of a Dissident, the Poising of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB)

I will not divulge here what specific intelligence Tretyakov provided to the United States, but will let the reader enjoy thoroughly the suspense packed in this book. And yet, the discerning reader will learn that the perceptive and resourceful Comrade J (Jean) Sergei Tretyakov has additionally provided nuggets of intelligence and geopolitical insights into some of the countries in this very volatile part of the world, where natural resources abound. Even on Turkey, an old friend of America, but now a country that is drifting away from the West by the inadequate diplomacy of short-sighted politicians, Tretyakov provides information about attitudes that are worth studying by Western diplomats.

In short, this is without reservation a thumbs up review for a very powerful book. Pete Early's book is highly recommended, not only for avid readers of Russian espionage, but also for the informed public in general, not to mention American and Western policymakers---who need to study this book the most!

Miguel A. Faria, Jr., M.D.
Former Editor-in-Chief of the Medical Sentinel (1996-2002), Editor Emeritus, the
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) Author, Cuba in Revolution: Escape From a Lost Paradise (2002).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, November 15, 2011

By 

Cathleen Ortolani "cmortolani" (NorthEast Pennsylvania, United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold War (Paperback)

This is a terrific read for the Espionage-ColdWar-Junky, I was fascinated the entire way through and surprised in discovering the "inside minutiae" of the KGB bureaucracy.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Boring, sanitized and not so interesting, December 29, 2011

By 

F. Carol Sabin (Bucharest, Romania) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold War (Paperback)

It is difficult to rate this book with more than 3 stars. I could not find really any interesting things. It is the sanitized story of a SVR colonel who defected in October 2000, for some reasons that could not be explained in a satisfactory manner.
I think the conclusions are the best part of the book. The photos are also nice.
I felt that Tretiakov wanted some recongnition for what he did on FBI&CIA payroll. He felt very important and he stressed his importance as chief of PR line. He won almost every discussion, he was unbeatable, elite officer etc etc. Even the book seems truncated, with small chapters detailing some aspects of a intel officer life.
Perhaps he did a good job as spy but as co-writer he felt very short.