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Benjamin Weiser

A Secret Life: The Polish Officer, His Covert Mission, and the Price He Paid to Save His Country Paperback – April 26, 2005

by Benjamin Weiser (Author)

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In August 1972, Ryszard Kuklinski, a highly respected colonel in the Polish Army, embarked on what would become one of the most extraordinary human intelligence operations of the Cold War. Despite the extreme risk to himself and his family, he contacted the American Embassy in Bonn, and arranged a secret meeting. From the very start, he made clear that he deplored the Soviet domination of Poland, and believed his country was on the wrong side of the Cold War.

Over the next nine years, Kuklinski -- code name "Jack Strong" -- rose quickly in the Polish defense ministry, acting as a liaison to Moscow, and helping to prepare for a "hot war" with the West. But he also lived a life of subterfuge -- of dead drops, messages written in invisible ink, miniature cameras, and secret transmitters. In 1981, he gave the CIA the secret plans to crush Solidarity. Then, about to be discovered, he made a dangerous escape with his family to the West. He still lives in hiding in America.

Kuklinski's story is a harrowing personal drama about one man's decision to betray the Communist leadership in order to save the country he loves, and the intense debate it spurred over whether he was a traitor or a patriot. Through extensive interviews and access to the CIA's secret archive on the case, Benjamin Weiser offers an unprecedented and richly detailed look at this secret history of the Cold War.

Print length

400 pages
Language

English
Publisher

PublicAffairs
Publication date

April 26, 2005
Dimensions

5.63 x 1 x 8.63 inches
ISBN-10

1586483056
ISBN-13

978-1586483050
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A Secret Life is a story of danger and stolen documents, of dual identities and hair-raising risk." -- The Wall Street Journal

"A real-life spy thriller...a page-turner" -- Washington Post Book World

"[An] extraordinary account...." -- The Philadelphia Inquirer

About the Author

Benjamin Weiser has been a metropolitan reporter for the New York Times since 1997, where he has covered legal issues and terrorism. Before joining the Times, he spent eighteen years as reporter for the Washington Post, where he served on the investigative staff. His journalism has received the George Polk and Livingston awards.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ PublicAffairs; Illustrated edition (April 26, 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1586483056
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1586483050
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.08 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.63 x 1 x 8.63 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #259,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #295 in Espionage True Accounts
- #552 in Intelligence & Espionage History
- #627 in European Politics Books

Customer Reviews:
114 ratings

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5 star		72%
4 star		22%
3 star		3%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Marnie44

A remarkable, thrilling tale of courage and ideals.

Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2017

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As the daughter of a highly decorated Polish officer who escaped wartime Poland to fight with the Allies, I have read many memoirs, history etc of WW2 and the Cold War. As a teenager, I visited Poland during those grim, dangerous days of the Cold War and know what courage it must have taken to do what Kuklinski did . This story is a standout not least because it reveals just how prepared the Soviet Union was to invade the West. Kuklinski played a vital role in revealing the SUs secret plans so that the West could feel more confident about how to shape a powerful response . With Putin and his cronies now cemented in power in Russia, there is still much to fear from Russian aggression. Crimea is just one example, and now Russia plays at a different game using technology to undermine the democracies of the West. Russia misses her satellites ...
I recommend this story highly to anyone interested in Cold War politics, and thank Colonel Kuklinski for all he sacrificed to set my father’s country free

15 people found this helpful

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Ronaele Whittington

Another intense and true spy story

Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2018

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Having read the true account of Oleg Gordievsky, I read this carefully documented story of Ryszard Kuklinski's dedication to the real and independent Poland. With the Soviets moving powerfully to overtake Europe, Kuklinski recognized that Poland could be decimated once and for all. Whereas Gordievsky worked with the British, Kuklinski worked with the Americans. The double lives challenged mind, thought, actions, and family life. Each was betrayed. Each needed extraction to safety. Each family suffered. Kuklinski became a USA citizen, and remained a Pole in his heart.

7 people found this helpful

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James D. Litton

A true story about a Polish intelligence officer loyal to Poland but disloyal to its government.

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2018

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The British-American spy had a romantic concept of his duty to a post-war Poland which did not yet exist. He was competent and the Soviet occupiers and Polish Quislings were not, so he succeeded in providing critical information on sources, methods and intentions to Western allies. The book is well-written in terms of pacing, of realistic depictions of the protagonist's harrowing double life and the mid-century techniques of espionage, which were of the pre-microprocessor era and thus romantic. His finally being hailed, officially, as a hero in the then post-communist society and at the same time still being castigated as a traitor to Poland is satisfactorily ambiguous outcome-it reads like a spy story but is largely real reporting.

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David Island

An Excellent Non-Fiction Cold War Spy Story

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2013

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"A Secret Life: The Polish Colonel" by Benjamin Weiser turns out to be an excellent non-fiction read.

Though the first 40% of the book is a struggle, due to its super-detailed accounts of meetings, messages and mystery, the story picks up as it goes along. In the last half of the book, Kulkinski's escape from Poland (together with his family) coordinated and pulled off by the CIA is the exceptional part of the story.

The book does delve rather deeply into anti-Communist political blather from time to time, but the dip into ideology is real and honest. What struck me, as someone who lived through that era and who visited Poland in the 1960s, was the tone of reality about the Cold War, its ugliness and its toll on humans.

In a real sense, the story is a profound tragedy, not only from the standpoint of the human toll in Eastern Europe during the Cold War, but for Kulkinski himself. From my distant view, it seems obvious that he never recovered from the need to leave his homeland and his subsequent sentencing in absentia for his "traitorous" conduct, despite redemption later in his life.

On an intellectual level, the book raises an interesting question about what it means to take a stand, even secretly as Kulkinski did, to spy against one's ruling government. What is patriotism and what is loyalty to the flag, people, language and culture. Is it okay to deceive your superiors and government if your motivation is based in a higher necessity? The book thoughtfully explores the topic, and of course ends up on the side of the higher necessity.

Well done. I liked it. Sad, terrifying and important.

A solid 4 on Amazon's rating scale.

7 people found this helpful

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opinionated_reader

A gripping true account

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2018

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This is a gripping account of a Polish soldier who was divided between loyalty to his country and a conviction that following orders was really loyalty to an imperial Russia, not to Poland.
The tale is as detailed as one could hope, and goes beyond the mechanics and tradecraft. It provides insight into the motivations, he doubts and the psychological cost of being a spy in this position.
It also shows how long it can take, even after a country has won its freedom, for some others to see the spy as a patriot -- fearing that doing so would imply they were evil collaborators with an occupying power.

One person found this helpful

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Donna

A true real spy story

Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2021

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Written in a true journalistic style, we live through the tense secrecy, real threat of death, and insight into one of the most historically significant episodes of the Cold War. Sometimes too much detail is conveyed, but the true-life drama of a real hero keeps the tension moving in one of the most compelling stories of our times in Eastern Europe in the aftermath of World War II. History lovers will be enthralled.

Helpful

Al Lucas

A great spy story you haven't heard.

Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2018

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An outstanding book on how a man behind the iron curtain helped the west keep ahead of the Soviets. Suspenseful and heroic how Kuklinski was determined to help Poland gain it's independence.

One person found this helpful

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Jeff N

Mild disappointment.

Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2017

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The story is heavy. A Polish Colonel, angry at the rape of his country by the USSR, decides to photograph every top secret document he can get his hands on and send those to the CIA. The writing, is sparse. At least half of the book consists of letters to and from the agent and the CIA officers. Many of these letters are congratulatory, or sympathetic, or inspirational for an agent in the field, especially one performing such a perilous job. The thing that is lacking is a strong narrative. It is as if the writer opened up the declassified case file and simply copied and pasted much of the material. There is little of what makes up good writing. The author is largely passive if not invisible. The film corrected this by creating a strong narrative, while rearranging the events and adding a lot of dialog. Thinking that the book would supply more excitement and detail led to mild disappointment.

4 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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Hermes

Great choice.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2015

Verified Purchase

Everything as expected, Excellent choice, great purchase.

MRS G E ORLOWSKA

Polish post war history

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2013

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Very interesting story about polish officer working as spy for West and risking all for his country, thoroughlly enjoyed by all memnbers of my family.

2 people found this helpful

chris_bif

exzellentes Buch

Reviewed in Germany on March 11, 2015

Verified Purchase

hervorragend erzählt mit Blick und Gefühl für die Tiefe der Thematik - auch der besonderen Position und Vorgeschichte Polens im Sowjetpakt. Der Author hält die menschliche Ambivalenz zwischen Antrieb und Angst, Zweifel und Patriotismus ebenfalls im Blick. Was ich nicht erwartet habe ist was für ein Eindruck Kuklinski hinterlassen und gar Veränderung bei den US-Offizieren und Diplomatenbewirkt hat.
Ich habe danach auch eine Doku mit Interviews mit den Protagonisten gesehen- ich habe vorher noch nie CIA-Offiziere mit feuchten Augen etwas erzählen hören. Als sie über Kuklinski sprachen taten sie es- sehr beeindruckend. Es liest sich wie ein Drehbuch zu einem Thriller. Es wird Oberst Kuklinski ausgesprochen gerecht. Nun ja, wegen polnischer Offiziere macht man keine Filme fürs breite Publikum. Das Thema bleibt wohl für immer einem interessierten Publikum vorbehalten.
Wer auf der "sonnigen" Seite des Eisernen Vorhangs aufgewachsen ist bekommt hier auch einen Eindruck wie schwierig und auf den ersten Blick widersprüchlich das Leben in einer Diktatur sein kann- vor allem wie schwierig und widersprüchlich es ist in einer Diktatur anständig zu bleiben.

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Amazon Customer

GREAT BOOK IF YOU LIKE SPY GENRE

Reviewed in Canada on October 3, 2019

Verified Purchase

REALLY GOOD BOOK FINISHED IT IN A COUPLE OF DAYS

Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on October 30, 2017

Verified Purchase

Awesome book

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