From Library Journal
Alexander Orlov has been justly recognized as the highest-ranking Soviet intelligence officer ever to defect to the West, and his lengthy story is here presented by Gazur, the FBI "minder" assigned to Orlov during the last two years of his life. Gazur acknowledges that this is not a biography but rather a narrative of Orlov's life drawn from his memoirs and personal recollections. Every detail and anecdote of the general's life in the USSR, in Western Europe, and, most minutely, in the United States (a 35-year sojourn) is included. Much of this detail could safely have been omitted. Gazur's account of Orlov's work in Civil War Spain is particularly interesting, as are the details of his 1938 defection and warning to Stalin to leave his Soviet family alone or risk embarrassing revelations. The KGB eventually caught up with him in Cleveland, but he survived unscathed. Gazur also incorporates Orlov-supplied details of famous Soviet intelligence exploits from the first quarter-century of Soviet rule. The book provides some good stories and copious evidence of a brave man with nerves of steel. For the general reader. Robert Johnston, McMaster Univ., Hamilton, Ont.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Defecting from the Soviet Union in 1938, General Alexander Orlov, a KGB intelligence officer and master spy, successfully lived undercover in the U.S. for 15 years. Coming in from the cold in 1953, he published his best-selling blockbuster,
The Secret History of Stalin's Crimes. Gazur, the final FBI agent assigned to his case, developed a unique relationship with Orlov, rooted in friendship and mutual respect. From 1971 until his death in 1973, Orlov relayed his experiences and shared his remarkable story with Gazur. In order to counter the unflattering portrait author John Costello painted of Orlov as a cunning double operative in
Deadly Illusions, Gazur decided to pen his own chronicle of Orlov's extraordinary life. Though Orlov remains a controversial figure, Gazur offers a fascinating, personalized account of a Stalinist-era agent.
Margaret FlanaganCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
