Dancing with the Devil: Sex, Espionage and the U.S. Marines: The Clayton Lonetree Story [Hardcover]

Rodney Barker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 12, 1996

An account of one of the most notorious spy operations in U.S. history follows the espionage acts performed by Clayton Lonetree and the witch-hunt that nearly ruined the careers of several innocent officers. 20,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The sentencing of Native American Marine sergeant Clayton Lonetree in 1986 to 30 years' imprisonment for espionage has become one of the nearly forgotten episodes of the Cold War's final stage. In describing Lonetree's recruitment by the KGB while assigned to the U.S. embassy in Moscow, freelance writer Barker (The Broken Circle) makes a strong case that the actual damage of the affair was minimal; in fact, improved security measures introduced in its aftermath may have even represented a defeat for the KGB. Barker is far less convincing in depicting Lonetree as a victim of racial prejudice, a scapegoat for his superiors' errors or a misguided victim of love-even though the Soviet woman who seduced him and began his subornation apparently plans to marry him on his release in 1996. Barker's detailed account of Lonetree's court-martial shows that his protagonist received justice, if not mercy, from the Corps and the country he betrayed.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Mulling the motivations of betrayal, Barker re-creates a marine sentry's entrapment by the KGB. The case was classic honey trap: a femme fatale seduced the naive, vainglorious Lonetree, who was then coerced to give the siren's "Uncle Sasha" info about CIA agents and such. Lonetree realized he was in over his head, contemplated suicide, confessed instead. At the court-martial, Lonetree, instead of copping a plea and getting five years, followed the fight-the-system flamboyance of the late lawyer William Kunstler, whose legal ineffectiveness cost Lonetree an additional 25 years in the brig. (The sentence has since been reduced on appeal.) In revisiting these decade-old events, Barker perceptively replaces the monochrome publicity that washed out Lonetree's personality with the full-hued character traits that led him into such a predicament and further delivers a vibrant inside view of the agency conflicts that complicated a still-mysterious affair with as-yet-unrevealed connections with the infamous Ames case. Solid fare for sedentary spy masters. Gilbert Taylor

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (March 12, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684810999
• ISBN-13: 978-0684810997
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,111,699 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very informative and well told., January 21, 2002

By 

Peter R. S. "oldschoolassassin" (Washington DC, United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Dancing with the Devil (Mass Market Paperback)

As a jarhead myself I had to read this book. I was captivated by the whole intrigue of the spy world and the involvement of the U.S. Marines. This book is a good recommendation for just about anyone, it even has a twist of romance. I strongly recommend it!

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for Marines!, January 2, 2011

By 

Lana J. Swanson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Dancing with the Devil: Sex, Espionage and the U.S. Marines: The Clayton Lonetree Story (Hardcover)

This is required reading for some Marines deployed to Europe. It is about Clayton Lonetree, a Native American U.S. Marine who was on Marine Security Guard duty in Russia and began a romantic relationship with a Russian women. For Marines - this book does not really talk about the MSG program, so don't try to figure out what it is like! Definitely gives us a good idea of why we stand guard abroad at embassies though and overall why we do what we do. Reads like a spy novel and is hard to believe that it all happened!