The Third Secret: The CIA, Solidarity and the KGB's Plot to Kill the Pope (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Nigel West has conducted the most painstaking and detailed investigation of this mystery to date." -- LITERARY REVIEW

From the Publisher

In The Third Secret, Nigel West makes a convincing case that when the CIA joined forces with the Vatican under the Polish Pope John Paul II to launch a massive campaign to destabilize Warsaw's Communist regime, the KGB retaliated by attempting to kill the pontiff. West reveals the extraordinary strength of the Pope's personal commitment to the destruction of Communism in Europe, and sheds new light on the Soviet involvement in the failed 1981 assassination plot. Based on reliable sources within the Vatican, CIA, KGB, and other intelligence services, this book breaks new ground in our understanding of one of the key events in modern history. Nigel West is a military historian and an expert in intelligence and security issues.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins Pub Ltd (November 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006531806
• ISBN-13: 978-0006531807
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,629,340 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Soviet-Sponsored Assassination Attempt on Pope John Paul II, August 10, 2007

By	Jan Peczkis "Scholar and Thinker" (Chicago IL, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

There is so much information packed into this little book! Its title comes from the third secret of the Lady of Fatima. West begins with a biographical sketch of Pope John Paul II. He discusses the Solidarity movement in Poland, and how the CIA gave it aid (pp. 201-202). He touches on Richard Kuklinski and on Soviet plans for the invasion of Poland.

Oleg Kalugin, the KGB chief of counterintelligence, admitted that, unlike the Czechs and East Germans, "the Poles were always difficult" (p. 192). West comments that: "Communists hate most who understand their methods." (p. 30).

The Soviet Union had a long history of political assassinations. In contrast, accusations about the CIA being responsible for political assassinations, according to West, are unfounded (p. 32).

After decades of lying, the Soviet Union admitted responsibility for the Katyn crime. And, following the fall of Communism, once-classified Bulgarian and Soviet reports confirmed their nations' involvement in the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II (p. 74). (When I first heard news of the Pope being shot, my first thoughts were: "I knew it! I knew that the Communists would get rid of him!")