Sword and the Shield

"The real value of this work is not so much in its fresh or not-so-fresh revelations. Rather, it provides a sweeping, densely documented history of the K.G.B. and its predecessor incarnations that establishes four salient features of Soviet espionage: that the preponderance of Soviet intelligence operations, after striking successes during World War II, were ham-fisted failures; that paranoia rather than reality prompted numerous K.G.B. spy operations; that what successes the K.G.B. did achieve during the cold war were enabled mostly by the greed of American and other traitors; and that good intelligence was often neutered by a fear of upsetting the cherished preconceptions of Kremlin leaders."Andrew, Christopher is the author of 'Sword and the Shield', published 1999 under ISBN 9780465003129 and ISBN 0465003125.