BETRAYAL IN BERLIN : THE TRUE STORY OF THE COLD WAR'S MOST AUDACIOUS ESPIONAGE OPERATION
by Steve Vogel
During the 1950s, Berlin was a hotspot for espionage. Many intelligence agencies from countries such as Great Britain, the United States, Germany, and Russia could traverse between East and West Berlin (this is before the wall was erected) meeting up with potential recruitments. It was also a hub for communications: every call that was ever made went through Berlin. For this reason, both the Americans and the British had the bright idea of digging a secret tunnel underneath where the East German troops patrolled. It would begin at the American zone and extend to the Soviet sector. If the plan worked, they could listen in to KGB and Soviet military telecommunication lines. What a wealth of information could be relayed: Soviet nuclear forces, operations of KGB counterintelligence, and the identities of quite a number of communist agents. The green light was given for Operation Gold, and the allies began excavating as quietly as possible. There was only one problem: a mole. This traitor would be the most damaging spy of the Cold War.
Betrayal in Berlin is the BEST spy book that I have ever read. (I know I must have said it before within this blog for other works on espionage, but this book far surpasses any other of this genre.) Hats off to author Steve Vogel! I don't believe any other writer could have done justice as Vogel did, mainly because of his background. Vogel was born in Berlin one year before the wall went up. His family left the city in 1962. (They were able to get out due to the fact that his father was a CIA officer stationed in Berlin.) Years later, Vogel returned to West Germany, and was there when the Berlin Wall came down. As a journalist he reported on all the events that happened afterwards including intelligence secrets. Between his immense research and interviews with the principal players, Vogel has recreated the creepy, paranoid milieu of a divided city. You might think it's all fiction, but it's most definitely not. The writing is superb and will keep you riveted. If you want to sink your teeth into an excellent masterpiece of espionage, get this book.
Very highly recommended.
