Intelligence was a defining characteristic of the Cold War, and it is again today, amid the geopolitical clash unfolding among the United States, China, and Russia. These shadow wars use disinformation, intelligence networks and the latest in technology to create disruption among the superpowers in the hopes of toppling governments and sowing discord.
Calder Walton, historian of intelligence and global security at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, goes inside the history of Cold War espionage, counterintelligence, and covert action. Using newly declassified records from both sides of the conflict, Walton provides fresh light on some of the most famous and infamous espionage cases, such as the five Cambridge spies, Aldrich Ames in the CIA, the existence of an unidentified Russian mole inside British or U.S. intelligence, and the long history of Kremlin assassinations of its opponents in the West. He also offers insights into the clandestine struggles being fought today between East and West—and where we seem to be heading.
Walton is the author of Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West.