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Tower of Secrets: A Real Life Spy Thriller Hardcover – October 1, 1993
by
Victor Sheymov
(Author)
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Victor Sheymov
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Print length420 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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PublisherNaval Institute Press
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Publication dateOctober 1, 1993
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Dimensions6.25 x 1.5 x 9.25 inches
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ISBN-101557507643
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ISBN-13978-1557507648
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Sheymov was a senior manager and troubleshooter in the communications division of the KGB, a position affording him a comprehensive overview of the organization. In this suspenseful third-person narrative, he reveals how he was recruited and trained, gives details of his most interesting assignments and describes the gradual disillusionment that led to his defection. How, in 1980, the CIA smuggled him out of the Soviet Union with his wife and five-year-old daughter into the United States forms the core of this exciting story. The KGB, fooled into thinking Sheymov was dead, did not learn of his defection for 10 years. The KGB, he maintains, has not been disbanded, but, rather, has increased operations under President Boris Yeltsin. Sheymov became a U.S. citizen in 1985 and works as a business consultant. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
The suspenseful, eye-opening memoir of a Soviet spy who came in from the cold. Writing in the third person, Sheymov offers a riveting account of his upwardly mobile career with the KGB and the factors that led him to defect to the West in 1980. In 1969, after graduating with an engineering degreee from Moscow's prestigious Technical University, the author joined a Defense Ministry institute that was researching military uses of space. Recruited by the state's intelligence service in 1971, at age 25, Sheymov eventually became the Eighth Chief Directorate's principal troubleshooter. In this sensitive capacity, he traveled far afield, ensuring the security of enciphered KGB communications throughout the world: During one sojourn, for example, he was able to figure out how the technologically backward Chinese had managed to eavesdrop on the USSR's Beijing embassy. Along the way, the author also learned about his agency's penetration of the Russian Orthodox Church, its role in the plot to assassinate Pope John-Paul II, and its involvement in other unsavory projects. But the higher Sheymov climbed, the more disillusioned he became with Communism and the Kremlin elite's corruption. Resolved to inflict as much damage as he could on the system, the author, while on a Warsaw assignment, evaded his minder and made contact with the CIA. The latter third of the narrative provides a detailed briefing on how Sheymov's knowledge of KGB tradecraft, as well as the professionalism of US operatives, allowed him to slip across two closely guarded borders into Austria with his wife and young daughter. The exfiltration was so skillfully executed that the author's erstwhile masters long believed that he and his family were dead. While the story ends abruptly with Sheymov's escorted arrival in N.Y.C., it seems likely that the information he subsequently furnished American officials hastened the cold war's end. A top-level insider's dramatic, stranger-than-fiction disclosures in the great game of espionage. (Maps and photographs- -not seen) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Product details
- Publisher : Naval Institute Press; 1st edition (October 1, 1993)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 420 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1557507643
- ISBN-13 : 978-1557507648
- Item Weight : 1.65 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.25 x 1.5 x 9.25 inches
-
Best Sellers Rank:
#1,415,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,090 in Historical Russia Biographies
- #3,782 in Russian History (Books)
- #8,346 in Political Leader Biographies
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
26 global ratings
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2018
Verified Purchase
While Oleg Gordievsky is a better known KGB agent to have been exfiltrated from the Soviet Union in 1985 by the MI6, less well known story is the first successful CIA exfiltration operation from the USSR that took place five years earlier, in May 1980. Victor Sheymov, a KGB agent in charge of Soviet Embassy communication security tells an incredible story of his decision to defect to the United States, numerous failed attempts to contact the CIA, and an incredibly harrowing preparation and escape from the USSR. I have reread the story multiple times as it is more thrilling than any Hollywood film made. The success of the operation was incredible. Sheymov simply disappeared from the USSR and the KGB did not know of his whereabouts until this very book was published.
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2019
Verified Purchase
Sheymov has an agenda, and really makes himself the hero of his own story. However, it's a riveting read. I lost my origninal copy and had to buy a replacement, as it is a must-have in my library.
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2013
Verified Purchase
Victor portrays the Russian character, in Soviet and current times. What is valued? What is accepted as a reasonable expense in human values to reach a target? Why Russians, after the suffering of generations, cannot yet address the separation of judicial and executive powers to seek a fair, if not just, society?
Kudos to Victor for what he did, in spite of the costs, and what he has contributed as, apparently, a Russian who came to the western democracy world and assimilated--something many who come out of Russia, today, seem to miss.
This is a very entertaining and informative account of times that have not really gone away.
Kudos to Victor for what he did, in spite of the costs, and what he has contributed as, apparently, a Russian who came to the western democracy world and assimilated--something many who come out of Russia, today, seem to miss.
This is a very entertaining and informative account of times that have not really gone away.
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2018
Verified Purchase
Great book. Budget time for it, as the author is not a native English speaker. But no native English speaker was a KGB communications officer, so...
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
This reads like fiction which is the type of literature I like to read. Mr. Sheymor made a wise decision in writing what actually went on/goes on in Russia esp. the KGB in novel form instead of what could have been dull reportage. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read thrillers but gets revealing true information at the same time. It is truly mind boggling to see the evil in the form of governance depicted by the author. .
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Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2015
Verified Purchase
Book is poorly written with no secrets. Akvarium by Andrei Rezun and Comrade J were much more interesting
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2001
One might ask why twenty plus years on, the experiences of the author might have some significance other than to the historians of intelligence and the students of tradecraft and organization.
The primary reason I first bought this was that it dealt with Soviet SIGINT operations. Of course, one must keep in mind that in return for his exfiltration and a new start in the West, the suthor will not reveal anything that our side does not want him to even though the other side may have known what he revealed, we might not want that known by a third party in the intelligence business.
What is most relevent here and now is that the author was in the KGB, thoroughly understood its mindset, and broke with that mindset. It has been said that the KGB with its world wide tentacles was the only part of the USSR government that truly knew the situation both politically and economically.
Just because the KGB no longer exists in its old form, it formed the base of the Russian intelligence service of today. And most important of all, power has settled in the hands of Putin, who no matter how affable and westernized he may seem, spent all his working life in the KGB and its successor.
Consider that fact with the author' opinion that the Stalinists may come back. I think they will not but that authoritarianism very well might. After all the Russian never lived in a democracy before Communism and have no experience with it. And observe the semi anarchic business and social conditions in Russia. Belarus has already gone back to authoritanism.
Thus, this book remains useful for studying the other side, whether they prove to be friends or foes again.
The primary reason I first bought this was that it dealt with Soviet SIGINT operations. Of course, one must keep in mind that in return for his exfiltration and a new start in the West, the suthor will not reveal anything that our side does not want him to even though the other side may have known what he revealed, we might not want that known by a third party in the intelligence business.
What is most relevent here and now is that the author was in the KGB, thoroughly understood its mindset, and broke with that mindset. It has been said that the KGB with its world wide tentacles was the only part of the USSR government that truly knew the situation both politically and economically.
Just because the KGB no longer exists in its old form, it formed the base of the Russian intelligence service of today. And most important of all, power has settled in the hands of Putin, who no matter how affable and westernized he may seem, spent all his working life in the KGB and its successor.
Consider that fact with the author' opinion that the Stalinists may come back. I think they will not but that authoritarianism very well might. After all the Russian never lived in a democracy before Communism and have no experience with it. And observe the semi anarchic business and social conditions in Russia. Belarus has already gone back to authoritanism.
Thus, this book remains useful for studying the other side, whether they prove to be friends or foes again.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2011
I was sorry to have to give this important book an average grade. Sheymov was obviously an important defector and an extremely gifted man but he should not become a writer. I have a number of complaints about this book.
First, he writes in the second person ("he" rather than "I"). I found this distracting. It would have been far more effective if he had just told us his story clearly and simply without trying to write the world's greatest novel.
Second, he casts far too much of his story in the form of glib and pal-sy conversation. His characters do not speak naturally. His characters are often unbelievably surprised to learn what a police state the Soviet Union was and what a dastardly bunch the KGB were.
Third, the dialogues between him and his superiors are too casual to be believed. Humphrey Bogart and Dirty Harry may have talked like this but I can't see a KGB officer doing it. I have read many defectors' memoirs and none exaggerated dialogue the way Sheymov does. Such people were extremely cautious in what they said to everyone, especially to anyone in authority.
Fourth, the chronology is confusing. He introduces segments of his early life as the saga unfolds. It was tiring to be constantly re-introduced to the younger Sheymov.
I was disappointed by the ponderous and self-concious style of this book. Had Sheymov avoided these pitfalls, the book would have been half as long and much stronger both as memoir and as literature. Somewhere amid all the forced dialogue lies an important life history worth telling.
First, he writes in the second person ("he" rather than "I"). I found this distracting. It would have been far more effective if he had just told us his story clearly and simply without trying to write the world's greatest novel.
Second, he casts far too much of his story in the form of glib and pal-sy conversation. His characters do not speak naturally. His characters are often unbelievably surprised to learn what a police state the Soviet Union was and what a dastardly bunch the KGB were.
Third, the dialogues between him and his superiors are too casual to be believed. Humphrey Bogart and Dirty Harry may have talked like this but I can't see a KGB officer doing it. I have read many defectors' memoirs and none exaggerated dialogue the way Sheymov does. Such people were extremely cautious in what they said to everyone, especially to anyone in authority.
Fourth, the chronology is confusing. He introduces segments of his early life as the saga unfolds. It was tiring to be constantly re-introduced to the younger Sheymov.
I was disappointed by the ponderous and self-concious style of this book. Had Sheymov avoided these pitfalls, the book would have been half as long and much stronger both as memoir and as literature. Somewhere amid all the forced dialogue lies an important life history worth telling.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries
joethe6pack
4.0 out of 5 stars
Spannendes, nun historisches Buch.
Reviewed in Germany on November 17, 2017Verified Purchase
Den Titel habe ich beim Lesen eines Buchs zum Thema Vatikan gesehen. Die ich-Erzhälperspektive ist gewöhnungsbedürftig, allerdings machen es die Details und KGB Anekdoten wert. Empfehlenswert für jeden der am Kalten Krieg und Geschichte Interesse hat.
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