A Train to Potevka will take you on an incredible winter's journey across Great Mother Russia along the 6,000-mile Trans-Siberian Railway. This fascinating story about an American itelligence agent from a small town in the Rockies, is a tale of failed espionage, escape, and second chances.
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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Spy Who Was Left Out in the Cold,
By
This review is from: A Train to Potevka (Paperback)
Reading "A Train To Potevka" reminded me of listening to war stories told by a favorite uncle; you find yourself captivated even though you suspect he may have spiced things up a bit after numerous retellings. In fairness, Mike Ramsdell makes no attempt to pass this off as a straight memoir, acknowledging in his Prologue that "several of the events, places, and names in the book have been altered or fictionalized."
Putting aside the fact or fiction question, Ramsdell has crafted an addictive story, equal parts spy novel and faith-based inspirational piece. The plot line is simple yet effective, tracing Ramsdell's struggle to flee from a botched intelligence mission in Russia. Abandoned by his handlers, hunted by the Russian Mafia, seriously injured, without food, and in the midst of an intense blizzard, Ramsdell makes his way across Russia on the dingy Trans-Siberian railway. For a spy novel, there is little action, no fancy gadgets and a conspicuous absence of glamorous female agents. Ramsdell takes pride in portraying the realistic side of a profession that has long been distorted by fictional super-agents like James Bond: "In reality, intelligence work is extremely serious, tedious, and unglamorous; done by balding, pudgy, middle-aged men - and there are seldom any buxom women." Ramsdell makes good use of the tedious interludes in his survivalist adventure, weaving in a substantial amount of factual information about the Soviet Union on the brink of its collapse, recounting memories from his family life and his earlier days as an intelligence agent, and framing the tension between his strong Mormon faith and the devious nature of his chosen profession. For the most part, these flashbacks and introspective sections are effective and inspirational. Although a ruthless editor could probably have skinnied down a few passages and improved the overall punch of the story, I recommend this interesting, heartfelt novel as it stands. -Kevin Joseph, author of "The Champion Maker"
48 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rebuttal From an Officer Who is also a Witness,
This review is from: A Train to Potevka (Paperback)
Responding to another Amazon review is frowned on, but since the personal character of this author has been challenged, a response to `NDM' who wrote the review dated May 13 is necessary. I hope that Amazon readers will forgive its length.
I write as a friend and coworker of Mike Ramsdell, someone who has known Mike for thirty years and was the first to urge him to write `A Train to Potevka'. I was an Army intelligence officer and a Russian linguist, just like Mike. I also happened, for a time, to work for the US Department of State on a security mission in the USSR, alongside LTC Ramsdell. I am glad to see your revised review clarifies that you were expressing personal opinion. You are entitled to believe whatever you want as to what parts of this book are fact and what parts fiction. However, no matter what `field' of experience you are coming from (which you have failed to clarify), I still believe that your knowledge and point of view regarding Russia, the Soviet Union, the US intelligence community and the realistic nature of `A Train to Potevka' are not as expert as you think. Let me address your four points, one by one, and show how your conclusions are faulty. In argument one you point out that US military officers do not engage in the kind of intelligence activity described in `A Train to Potevka'. For the most part you are correct in this. However, LTC Ramsdell was not functioning as a military officer when he was in Russia. Just as the book explains, he was on special reassignment to the State Department, even as I had been in the 1980's. I should also point out that the State Department feels a little more free to act in the international environment than the military. It is important to note that the Soviet Union/Russia in the early nineties was a country almost without government outside of Moscow. In the struggle between the communists and those seeking democracy, power was actually being grabbed by local party officials and mafia bosses. Any appeal for justice to the national authority was practically meaningless. This kind of anarchy builds frustration and could feasibly lead to low-level international intervention. As for whether or not the mission to kidnap a mafia warlord, as described in the book, actually took place, well, that is a matter of conjecture. It is a novel, after all and novels can be founded on truth, while not revealing truth. Ramsdell used personal experience as a base for his book, but no classified information was revealed in its pages. The fact that the agent in the book is attacked by rather inept thugs seems illogical to you. But, let me see..., who would a mafia warlord deep in Siberia have available to carry out his sudden request for murder--a professional hit man, like `the Jackal', or social outcasts who want to become more powerful by joining a gang? Real life may not be as slick as a James Bond novel. In argument two you claim that the idea of an agent bearing arms in Russia was unthinkable. But, if a Russian can carry a weapon and not get caught, why can't an agent? Remember, this agent was set up as a well-documented German engineer. If caught with a gun (which is not so very likely an event), wouldn't he simply claim that foreigners are frequently targeted by Russian criminals and he needed protection? In reality, he would most likely bribe his way out of the problem. The fact is, any well-planned intelligence operation must weigh the advantages and risks of having agents carry arms. In my judgment, when confronting the Russian mafia, a weapon is an obvious necessity. Your point three made great mileage out of the fact that "Yuri" is a Russian name. Actually, page 77 points out that the character's name was "Jiri" (phonetic marks not shown here), a very common Czech name, pronounced "Yizhee", and roughly equivalent to the English name "George". According to the story, Jiri was born in Prague but partly raised in the US when his parents immigrated to the United States (a fact misstated in your review). I can understand the confusion about his name. As a high school student, I wouldn't want to be called Yizhee, either. Yuri fits better and Americans would even pronounce `Jiri' that way. Incidentally, the `Jiri' character was never shot (another misstatement on your part). Get off this kick about the NATO school. You are totally ignorant about what the US Training Facility-Europe really was. During the 60's and early 70's it was a collection of high-level training programs in Oberammergau, usually all referred to simply as the `Intelligence School'. It consisted of separate schools for: Intelligence, Military Police, Chemical Weapons, Communications, Logistics, Training Management and NATO Weapons Systems (the NATO School). In 1974, the compound was turned over to the German military and all of the schools except the NATO School were moved to other locations in Europe. You will find references to both the Intelligence and NATO Schools by Googling the words: intelligence school Oberammergau. Most assuredly, the facility maintained a large contingent of military police, so long as the Intel School was present, and high level US documents were never shared with non-US students/faculty of the NATO School. By the way, Ramsdell has documentation proving he was an instructor at the `Intelligence' School. As for your claims about media reporting of the `incident' in Oberammergau, the world was very different in the late 60's and early 70's. Back then the media actually supported the military. Are you so certain you know how they would have handled a situation where an American soldier commits suicide? Your last item tells us that Russian trains are actually opportunities for people to engage in enjoyable social activity and food sharing. Very interesting. Here is where I seriously question your knowledge of the Russian people. Russians are, by nature, highly suspicious of one another and rarely open up to strangers. On all forms of public transportation they are extremely quiet and talk only in whispers. This is reflective of the time when every seventh Russian citizen was reporting to the KGB. In more modern times, the strangers who are nice to you are predictably the ones trying to get something out of you. My Russian friends cannot even imagine the `raucous', food-sharing scenario you describe. The Potevka train was a third class train filled with people running away from misery and betrayal, people who had absolutely nothing but the few things they carried with them. Food may have been much more valuable to them than what you speculate. A couple of final observations: (1) It is true that LTC Ramsdell based his book on his own life. The book is realistic because each and every chapter is anchored to an actual experience. In my opinion, Mike has written a fascinating, compelling book detailing a turbulent and historical period in Russia. Now, with a readership of over a quarter of a million people, it seems many others also agree that his book has merit. I hope you will remember, however, that `A Train to Potevka' was written as a novel (spy stories have to be) and novels are defined as fiction. Ramsdell makes no bones about that, whether in writing or in personal appearances. (2) You said many things in your review that are quite personal and unfounded. Be careful when using words like `fraud'. Slander is not the same thing as giving a bad review. Terry Brewer LTC USAR (retired)
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
READ THIS BOOK!,
By
This review is from: A Train to Potevka (Paperback)
Mike couldn't tell his own family what he was doing for his country. You see he was an intelligence officer in deep cover inside the Soviet Union. Now he's written a can't-put-it-down page-turner that he calls a spy novel.
I was a CID agent in Saigon, worked for many years as an intelligence agent and supervisor for the Secret Service. For several years I supervised a task force at the CIA's Counter Terrorist Center. My jobs took me to war, to the White House, behind the Iron Curtain, and to former Warsaw Pact countries. Because I know intelligence work I think there's more truth than fiction in Mike's book. Being a bit of a romantic, I also find it an incredible love story. Could civil servants really be as religiously bigoted as Mike describes? I've seen it myself, and it's not just Mormons that feel it. A little clique of "hard-drinking, hard-loving, two-fisted, real men," which is to say lushes and cheaters put it to a young Baptist Agent because he refused to live down to their low standards. Could an intelligence agency be so inept and calloused as to leave a colleague behind in the middle of nowhere? Could,would,and have! A physician's assistant I worked with rescued a retired agent from just such a situation. He had gone to work as a covert contract employee for another agency. On assignment in one of the most backward countries in the world,he became deathly ill. Old friends found him and evacuated him back to the states, saving his life, no thanks to his new employer. Thank you Mike & Bon, for your service to our GREAT country!
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