Tuesday, August 6, 2019

The Spy in Moscow Station by Eric Haseltine

book description TEXT
In the late 1970s, the National Security Agency still did not officially exist―those in the know referred to it dryly as the No Such Agency. So why, when NSA engineer Charles Gandy filed for a visa to visit Moscow, did the Russian Foreign Ministry assert with confidence that he was a spy?

Outsmarting honey traps and encroaching deep enough into enemy territory to perform complicated technical investigations, Gandy accomplished his mission in Russia, but discovered more than State and CIA wanted him to know.

REVIEW:
I really enjoyed this book for the history involved, but admit it made for a pretty dry read throughout. This particular infiltration was so technical that it was beyond my comprehension despite the detailed explanations provided. Perhaps a communications expert would get more out of those details – as a reader, I would have preferred a broader overview. I found it all fascinating to be sure, but hard to slog through at times.