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Spymaster
- Startling Cold War Revelations of a Soviet KGB Chief
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
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Spymaster
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Summary
From the dark days of World War II through the Cold War, Sergey A. Kondrashev was a major player in Russia’s notorious KGB espionage apparatus. Rising through its ranks through hard work and keen understanding of how the spy and political games are played, he “handled” American and British defectors, recruited Western operatives as double agents, served as a ranking officer at the East Berlin and Vienna KGB bureaus, and tackled special assignments from the Kremlin.
During a 1994 television program about former spymasters, Kondrashev met and began a close friendship with a former foe, ex–CIA officer Tennent H. “Pete” Bagley, whom the Russian asked to help write his memoirs.
Because Bagley knew so about much of Kondrashev’s career (they had been on opposite sides in several operations), his penetrating questions and insights reveal slices of never-revealed espionage history that rival anything found in the pages of Ian Fleming, Len Deighton, or John le Carr. This includes chilling tales of surviving Stalin’s purges while superiors and colleagues did not, of plotting to reveal the Berlin Tunnel, of quelling the Hungarian Revolution and “Prague Spring” independence movements, and of assisting in arranging the final disposition of the corpses of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun. Kondrashev also details equally fascinating KGB propaganda and disinformation efforts that shaped Western attitudes throughout the Cold War.
Because publication of these memoirs was banned by Putin’s regime, Bagley promised Kondrashev to have them published in the West. They are now available to all who are fascinated by vivid tales of international intrigue.
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Editor reviews
Spymaster is no ordinary account of Cold War espionage - banned by Putin, it offers an insider look at agent Sergey A. Kondrashev's involvement with the KGB. Kondrashev entrusted his close personal friend, ex-CIA officer Tennent H. Bagley, to publish these memoirs for a Western audience, and the stories of purges, revolutions, and defections are truly startling. Listeners will be surprised to discover that the deep, serious, and evocative vocal performance is from none other than Bronson Pinchot, better known as "Balki" from television's Perfect Strangers. Here, he proves his sincerity and versatility as a vocal actor, to great effect.
What listeners say about Spymaster
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Barry Winters
- 20-09-22
too niche
unless you already know much of the various intrigues of the cold war, this book was far too focused for the average listener to understand the intricacies of the story. The abbreviations and various section and department acrinam were also m8nd boggling. Add to these the Russian names of the people involved and I found myself floundering often. And why is the family history of the main protagonist put at the end of the book, when it would of been a better introduction to the same at the start of the book.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Michael Gough
- 04-11-22
A pencil and paper needed for notes
Well researched but numerous Russian names make baffling links. However the revelations òn occasional acitivity that was familiar, ìe. Commandeŕ Crab, Prague Spring, Berlin tunnel etc are fascinating.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Phil Crackers
- 24-02-22
What a day to finish this story!
Today Russia became an invader. 24/2/22
This story plays out cold war years to present.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Drew
- 21-09-21
Good for those with an existing background knowledge…
…of the Cold War & US/Russian espionage. A little hard to follow for those without but still a very well written & interesting book, even if the significance of certain events might not be clear to the beginner.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Iris
- 15-09-22
Good story line
Interesting storyline from a different perspective. Very enjoyable. Sorry it ended. Highly recommend this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Zazafraz
- 22-10-24
Massively interesting.
The information given is, if true (the source is not from the source itself but a man he spoke to much later), and I like to think it is true myself, is massively fascinating. A man directly or indirectly involved with many of the 20th century’s largest soviet operations and spy scandals and decisions. If you’ve read about some of the larger cold war spy stories, like George Blake, Philby, or some of the major political movements in and around the eastern block, this book will keep you hooked from start to finish. A look into the brutal, terrifying, paranoid and always fascinating world of espionage - and almost everything involving spies is interesting. A great book, worth a listen for sure.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Dan
- 15-12-21
Not good enough narration
For whatever reason, a man reading a book about espionage pronounces the British Secret Intelligence Service’s name as M-16, like the rifle, rather than as MI6, as it is called. Infuriating, unforgivable lack of knowledge.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- RASCALL33
- 06-02-23
Intriguing to the last.
The book was an interesting parallax view from both sides of the cold war which was as intriguing from start to finish.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Joseph Jewell
- 16-09-22
Poor narration
Interesting history spoiled by terrible narration, e.g. pronouncing MI 6 as M 16; far from professional reading.
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1 person found this helpful