A Death in Washington: Walter G. Krivitsky and the Stalin Terror [Hardcover]

Gary Kern (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

This is the first book to recover all original documents released by the British archives in 2002 and by the FBI, completing the author's ten-year study.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Walter G. Krivitsky (nee Samuel Ginsburg) was one of the U.S. government's most valuable weapons in the wars of intelligence and espionage, from his 1938 defection from the Soviet Union during Stalin's reign of terror to his mysterious death in a Washington hotel in 1941. But not until this meticulously researched work has the range and depth of his career as a spy been fully detailed, first for the Soviets and then for England and the U.S.; Kern also carefully considers the three possible scenarios for Krivitsky's unsolved death. An "ascetic and workaholic" who never drank and who remained "on the job 16-18 hours a day," Krivitsky rose through the ranks of the Soviet intelligence agency OGPU (the early version of the KGB), later claiming to have ended up directing Soviet military intelligence through all of Western Europe. Kern details how Krivitsky managed to survive during the peak of Stalin's horrific purges. He also shows how Krivitsky's debriefing by England's famous MI5-in which he supposedly gave the names of almost 100 Soviet agents operating throughout the world, 61 of whom were located in the U.K.-missed some of the clues that could have earlier broken the infamous Cambridge spy ring led by Kim Philby. Most importantly, Kern captures how Krivitsky was representative of the "restless spirit" of the Soviet defectors who came after him, "the first generation of intelligence aces who helped to establish the most far-reaching and successful espionage operation in the world," and who nevertheless worked against that operation after Stalin had betrayed their social idealism.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

This study of Krivitsky, one of the most revelatory defectors of the Stalin period, is long overdue. Kern brings to -- Robert Conquest in on April 2003

Walter Krivitsky was one of the most notable of the Soviet defectors of the 1930s. A high-ranking Russian intelligence officer -- Harvey Kehr in The Weekly Standard on May 19, 2003

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 515 pages
• Publisher: Enigma Books (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929631146
• ISBN-13: 978-1929631148
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,144,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Son of a Washington DC zookeeper, I first studied zoology, then turned to Russian literature and history. My favorite authors and classical composers are Russian, German and Scandinavian. Favorite art is German Expressionism. I live in New Mexico and am married to a beautiful bellydancer.

My works include eight books translated from Russian, about thirty articles--including a large one on torture and intelligence--and a book on atomic espionage co-written with a KGB colonel. Most recent books are A DEATH IN WASHINGTON: WALTER G. KRIVITSKY AND THE STALIN TERROR (Enigma Books, 2004) and THE KRAVCHENKO CASE: ONE MAN'S WAR ON STALIN (Enigma Books, 2007). See my website for photos, translations and opinions:

http://home.earthlink.net/~gwkern/

At present I am collecting materials for a book on torture, and for another on the ultimate extinction of the wild tiger due to the demand for its body parts generated by so-called Traditional Chinese Medicine. The tiger is doomed, and this is a disaster for the world.

I have done over 30 book reviews on Amazon. See my review, for example, of Peter Altenberg, TELEGRAMS OF THE SOUL. Click my name there, and you'll see the other reviews.

I have one LISTMANIA: US Prisoner Abuse: Torture Films on DVD. You have to enter this exact title, because if you enter only "torture films" you'll get all the chain-saw and slasher movies. The torture of terrorist suspects is a crucial issue for the future of the United States, because if it becomes policy it removes all claim to American exceptionalism.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a real life thriller, July 28, 2003

By 

Robyn Johnson Ross (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Death in Washington: Walter G. Krivitsky and the Stalin Terror (Hardcover)

A Death in Washington is a genuine page turner: Gary Kern manages to not only give the relevent facts of Krivitsky`s perilous and dangerous journey from believer in the great experiment to defector (where he gave early warning to the west of Stalin`s agenda), but best of all, it is written with great stylistic aplomb. This is a rare book which in its critical detail can satisfy the professional but is also completely accessible to the general reader; you will recognize many of the players, and the connections between them are clearly sustained. It is the general reader who will be most astonished by the sheer criminality of Stalin and the terrible code of the spy`s world. One of the great pleasures in this book is the psychological and methodological analysis inherent in the character of Krivitsky which enabled his survival until the very end. I think the book a very important addition to the literature which is becoming more available on the Stalin period, and I think that a thoughtful consideration of Kern`s invaluable and dramatic presentation will help us better understand the Russia which is emerging today on the world stage. I highly recommend the book. I had read it as slowly as I could so as to prolong the pleasure and thrill it gave to me.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars remarkable research, August 14, 2003

By 

J. Alexander (Monarch Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Death in Washington: Walter G. Krivitsky and the Stalin Terror (Hardcover)

Kern has done a remarkable job with this very difficult subject. I have read many books about Soviet spies, but this is by far the best one, in terms of the depth of understanding of the political system in the Soviet Union at the time. The portrait of American leftists and bureaucrats is priceless. This author has brought rigorous logic and impeccable scholarship to this field. All this, and it reads like a mystery.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DEATH IN WASHINGTON BETTER THAN IN MOSCOW, September 18, 2008

By 

Joseph R. Calamia (El Paso, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Death in Washington: Walter G. Krivitsky and the Stalin Terror (Paperback)

"A Death in Washington" by Gary Kern is a first rate in depth biographical research project that would easily be credited as a doctoral thesis from any university be it here in the United States or, in Moscow.

Author, Gary Kern takes the reader down the dark corridors of historical espionage through one of it's most talented and prized students, "Walter Krivitsky" former intelligence officer and spy for the infamous "NKDV" (KGB), under the ever watchfull eye of Joseph Stalin, himself.

It is also a story of an indiviudal who trades one set of masters and philosophies for another. Regardless of his motives to please and re-define his own personal mission, the ending is sadly the same...a dead body on a morgue slab.

"Walter Krivitsky apparently tutored the American Intelligence Services enough to bring them out of the "dark-ages" and into the main flow of the Counter-Espionage craft long enough to still be applicable in today's highly charged and technical world. His on-going information to our Government regarding the various workings of the KGB and the hidden Russian agendas locked behinds Stalin's Russia prior to WWII, were impressive to say the least.

Krivitsky's assistance must have at least equaled or, paralleled the information provided by others who came latter, such as General Oleg Penkovsky.

The question still remains..."did "Walter Krivitsky" commit suicide at the Bellevue Hotel in room 532 on February 11, 1941, or was Stalin able to reach across the Atlantic ocean and directly into the Capitol of the United States and extract his tenacious vengeance. Remember, Trotsky assumed he was safe from the cold winds of Russia as he basked in the hot sunny climate of Mexico.

This is, a very detailed read. At times the reader feels smothered with names, places, dates, and events. It is however, not the type of book your looking for if, you want a "light and quick read." This book proved to me just how little...I really know.

The book was well worth the price through Amazon.com and should be included into every library for those interested in Russian history and it's masterful development and use of human intelligence operatives and their techniques.

Author, Gary Kern has put his superb intellect to the task in this portrayal and basically....completed a masterpiece.