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Spies in the Family
- An American Spymaster, His Russian Crown Jewel, and the Friendship That Helped End the Cold War
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
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Publisher's summary
A riveting true-life thriller and revealing memoir from the daughter of an American intelligence officer - the astonishing true story of two spies and their families on opposite sides of the Cold War.
In the summer of 1975, 17-year-old Eva Dillon's family was living in New Delhi when her father was exposed as a CIA spy. Eva had long believed that her father was a US State Department employee. She had no idea that he was handling the CIA's highest ranking double agent - Dmitri Fedorovich Polyakov, a Soviet general whose code name was TOPHAT. Dillon's father and Polyakov had a close friendship that went back years, to their first meeting in Burma in the mid-1960s. At the height of the Cold War, the Russian offered the CIA an unfiltered view into the vault of Soviet intelligence. His collaboration helped ensure that tensions between the two nuclear superpowers did not escalate into a shooting war.
Spanning 50 years and three continents, Spies in the Family is a deeply researched account of two families on opposite sides of the lethal espionage campaigns of the Cold War and two men whose devoted friendship lasted a lifetime, until the devastating final days of their lives. With impeccable insider access to both families as well as knowledgeable CIA and FBI officers, Dillon goes beyond the fog of secrecy to craft an unforgettable story of friendship and betrayal, double agents and clandestine lives, exposing the commonality between peoples of opposing political economic systems.
Both a gripping tale of spy craft and a moving personal story, Spies in the Family is an invaluable and heart-rending work.
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Story
Long before the waterboarding controversy exploded in the media, one CIA agent had already gone public. In a groundbreaking 2007 interview with ABC News, John Kiriakou called waterboarding torture - but admitted that it probably worked. This book, at once a confessional, an adventure story, and a chronicle of Kiriakou's life in the CIA, stands as an important, eloquent piece of testimony from a committed American patriot.
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Fascinating Read about the CIA
- By Nancy on 05-13-10
By: John Kiriakou, and others
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The Art of Betrayal
- The Secret History of MI6 - Life and Death in the British Secret Service
- By: Gordon Corera
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 17 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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From Berlin to the Congo, from Moscow to the back streets of London, these are the stories of the agents on the front lines of British intelligence. And the truth is often more remarkable than fiction.
MI6 has been cloaked in secrecy and shrouded in myth since it was created a hundred years ago. Our understanding of what it is to be a spy has been largely defined by the fictional worlds of Ian Fleming and John le Carré. Gordon Corera provides a unique and unprecedented insight into this secret world and the reality that lies behind the fiction.
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Good details but lacks thorough research
- By Unapologetic on 09-06-17
By: Gordon Corera
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The Main Enemy
- The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB
- By: Milton Bearden, James Risen
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 19 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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A landmark collaboration between a thirty-year veteran of the CIA and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, The Main Enemy is the inside story of the CIA-KGB spy wars, told through the actions of the men who fought them. Based on hundreds of interviews with operatives from both sides, The Main Enemy puts us inside the heads of CIA officers as they dodge surveillance and walk into violent ambushes in Moscow. This is the story of the generation of spies who came of age in the shadow of the Cuban missile crisis and rose to run the CIA and KGB in the last days of the Cold War.
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A masterpiece of espionage history
- By kucherv on 08-21-18
By: Milton Bearden, and others
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Spymaster
- Startling Cold War Revelations of a Soviet KGB Chief
- By: Tennent H. Bagley
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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An brilliant personal Cold War perspective
- By Iamnotaspy on 01-09-15
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Wise Gals
- The Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage
- By: Nathalia Holt
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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In the wake of World War II, four agents were critical in helping build a new organization that we now know as the CIA. Adelaide Hawkins, Mary Hutchison, Eloise Page, and Elizabeth Sudmeier, called the “wise gals” by their male colleagues because of their sharp sense of humor and even quicker intelligence, were not the stereotypical femme fatale of spy novels.
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Intriguing untold history
- By Andrea Guzman on 12-15-22
By: Nathalia Holt
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Agent 110
- An American Spymaster and the German Resistance in WWII
- By: Scott Miller
- Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the secret and suspenseful account of how OSS spymaster Allen Dulles led a network of Germans conspiring to assassinate Hitler and negotiate surrender to bring about the end of World War II before the Soviet's advance. Agent 110 is Allen Dulles, a newly minted spy from an eminent family. Dulles met with and facilitated the plots of Germans who were trying to destroy the country's leadership.
By: Scott Miller
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Missing Man
- The American Spy Who Vanished in Iran
- By: Barry Meier
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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In late 2013, Americans were shocked to learn that a former FBI agent turned private investigator who disappeared in Iran in 2007 was there on a mission for the CIA. The missing man, Robert Levinson, appeared in pictures dressed like a Guantánamo prisoner and pleaded in a video for help from the United States.
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Important story
- By Richard F. Callahan on 08-03-16
By: Barry Meier
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A Spy Among Friends
- Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
- By: Ben Macintyre
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
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Who was Kim Philby? Those closest to him—like his fellow MI6 officer and best friend since childhood, Nicholas Elliot, and the CIA’s head of counterintelligence, James Jesus Angleton—knew him as a loyal confidant and an unshakeable patriot. Philby was a brilliant and charming man who rose to head Britain’s counterintelligence against the Soviet Union. Together with Elliott and Angleton he stood on the front lines of the Cold War, holding Communism at bay. But he was secretly betraying them both: He was working for the Russians the entire time.
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The narrator is incorrectly identified.
- By Greenlake DD on 07-30-14
By: Ben Macintyre
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Enemies of the People
- My Family's Journey to America
- By: Kati Marton
- Narrated by: Laural Merlington
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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In this true-life thriller, Kati Marton draws on her skill as an investigative reporter to discover who her journalist parents really were---and how they survived the Nazis in Budapest and imprisonment by the Soviets during the Cold War.
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Couldn't stop listening
- By Jane on 04-09-10
By: Kati Marton
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Mossad
- The Greatest Missions of the Israeli Secret Service
- By: Michael Bar-Zohar, Nissim Mishal
- Narrated by: Benjamin Isaac
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In Mossad, authors MichaelBar-Zohar and Nissim Mishal take us behind the closed curtain with riveting, eye-opening, boots-on-the-ground accounts of the most dangerous, most crucial missions in the agency's 60-year history.
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maybe with a different reader.
- By Andrew on 04-30-16
By: Michael Bar-Zohar, and others
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The Cell
- Inside the 9/11 Plot, and Why the FBI and CIA Failed to Stop It
- By: John Miller, Michael Stone, Chris Mitchell
- Narrated by: John Miller
- Length: 4 hrs and 43 mins
- Abridged
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The Cell provides the first complete treatment to piece together what led to the events of 9/11, ultimately delivering the disturbing answer to the question: why, with all the information the intelligence community had, was no one able to stop the September 11 attacks? It also includes a first-person account of John Miller's face-to-face meeting with Osama bin Laden.
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What led up to 9/11?
- By Richard on 12-31-03
By: John Miller, and others
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The Book of Honor
- The Secret Lives and Deaths of CIA Operatives
- By: Ted Gup
- Narrated by: Frank Muller
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Abridged
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In the entrance of the CIA headquarters looms a huge marble wall in to which seventy-one stars are carved - each representing an agent who has died in the line of duty. At the base of this wall lies "The Book of Honor," in which the names of these agents are inscribed, or at least thirty-five of them... In this remarkable program, author Ted Gup delves into covert lives and classified deaths at the CIA.
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Painfully narrated.
- By RM on 08-16-19
By: Ted Gup
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Enemies Within
- Inside the NYPD's Secret Spying Unit and bin Laden's Final Plot Against America
- By: Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman
- Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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In Enemies Within Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman lay bare the complex and often contradictory state of counterterrorism and intelligence in America through the pursuit of Najibullah Zazi, a terrorist bomber who trained under one of bin Laden's most trusted deputies. Zazi and his coconspirators represented America's greatest fear: a terrorist cell operating inside America. Apuzzo and Goldman lift the veil of secrecy to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of our counterterrorism measures.
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Very in depth. I highly detailed account.
- By Patrick on 10-08-20
By: Matt Apuzzo, and others
What listeners say about Spies in the Family
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- patty fredericks
- 12-12-19
Excellent Story
Very well written and read. Enjoyed the story of family history and intriguing events in history.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Leah
- 01-27-19
Interesting story that puts a face on real spies we have heard about
I enjoyed hearing this story from the perspective of the daughter of the CIA agent who handled probably the most important and selfless Russian spy of the Cold War.
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1 person found this helpful
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- mamaof6
- 11-29-22
Thrilling, intriguing, touching, enlightening!
Excellent. Reads like a riveting spy novel, but full of heart and history. Paul Dillon is my mother's uncle... I had no idea he lived such a fascinating and important life until this book.
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- SaraofDI
- 11-06-17
LOVED it!
The best book club book in over two years! There's nothing better than gaining an amazing education while being thoroughly entertained! I have such a better understanding of the Cold War after reading this book. Highly recommend it!
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9 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 09-05-21
Incredible true story!
One of the best true spies novel., and what an extraordinary life Paul Dillon, and his Russian agent lived. Both incredible men who shared a sad fate. Men who believe in their causes, confronted their fate with calmness, and conviction. A must listen.
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- Anonymous User
- 10-09-18
Lovely and tragic book
I have always been fond of Polyakov and it was interesting to hear more about the details of his life - and the tragic final days when KGB parked the ambulance outside his house in anticipation of his suicide.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Coach K.
- 04-25-20
Loved!
Wow! What a great book! Ms. Dillon writes a sobering account of a period in U.S. History that I find so interesting. Her "front row seat" telling of Cold War espionage and treason is a riveting one. I thoroughly enjoyed her book.
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1 person found this helpful
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- BustedTrunk
- 04-23-19
Enjoyed this very much!
An unusual vantage point on a story and players I've encountered in many other books. I truly appreciate this book.
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- Antonio Rojas
- 03-22-24
Great story, explained in simple terms.
Outstanding story, narrated simply and with good rythm. Gabra Sackman’s voice is amazing and engaging to continue listening. Very satisfied in general.
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- Miriam
- 07-31-20
Very Informative
This isn't my usual type of book, however my husband thought we could enjoy it together. We listened to it whenever we were driving. Several times we stayed in the truck listening until we could find a good stopping point...
Too bad this author won't have another enthralling story to tell like this one. This is a one off situation and she wrote an excellent book about it.
Bonus this is history that we both remember. My husband's family is multi-generational military and the Aldrich Ames case was something they talked about in depth. I remember the headlines and always wondered what secrets he passed to the Soviets. Now we both agree he got off far to lightly... many of the people he turned over to the Soviets died. In my opinion he is a murderer. Neither of us knew much about the other people who are more central to this book. We learned a lot more about the cold war and the people who worked hard to prevent it from being a hot war. Very interesting and informative.
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3 people found this helpful