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The Mitrokhin Archive: The KGB in Europe and the West (Penguin Press History)Snagging.org In association with Amazon.co.ukOnline Shop | Property Guides | Kitchen & Home | Garden Tools | Power Tools | Consumer Electronics Get the Snagging Checklist Here! The Mitrokhin Archive: The KGB in Europe and the West (Penguin Press History) by: Christopher Andrew, Vasili Mitrokhin  List Price: £16.99 Amazon.co.uk's Price: £11.89 You Save: £5.10 (30%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 327 EAN: 9780140284874 Edition: New Ed ISBN: 0140284877 Label: Penguin Manufacturer: Penguin Number Of Pages: 1040 Publication Date: August 03, 2006 Publisher: Penguin Studio: Penguin Related Items:
Editorial Review: Amazon.co.uk Review: Derived from 30,000 top-secret files of the KGB's Foreign Intelligence Service, The Mitrokhin Archive has sparked controversy in Whitehall and Fleet Street. It has also made Melita Norwood--Britain's grandmother-spy--an overnight media celebrity. This huge book is the result of a collaboration between Vasili Mitrokhin, a former senior officer of the Soviet Foreign Intelligence Service, and Christopher Andrew, Professor of Modern and Contemporary History and Chair of the Faculty of History at Cambridge University. Mitrokhin defected to the UK in 1992, bringing with him notes and classified files he had smuggled out of the Soviet foreign intelligence archives. The authors reveal that Norwood was more highly valued by the Soviets as a spy than the more famous Kim Philby. She passed on technical information that had enabled the Russians to build their own atomic bomb. As an employee at the British Non- Ferrous Metals Research Association, she passed on top- secret files on the Tube Alloys (atomic bomb) project. But Norwood was not alone in being approached to spy for the Soviets--others were MPs Tom Driberg and Raymond Fletcher. The book also records a misguided attempt at recruiting Sir Harold Wilson. The soviets may have been masters at collecting intelligence, but The Mitrokhin Archive shows their inability to interpret the information they received. It's an exhaustive but riveting read--and there's a promise of a second volume. --Susan Sheph Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Turgid Tramp Through The FilesHere we have yet another book organized and largely written by the pet Oxbridge don of the British "intelligence and security" "community", Christopher Andrew. Indeed, his name as "author" eclipses that of Mitrokhin himself, who risked liberty and probably life in copying and hiding the KGB files in his dacha and then bringing them out to the West, in order to serve historical truth, at least mainly, though personal benefit was another possible factor. One big difference between the two! As to the book itself, it is the sort of work which does, admittedly, deserve a place on the shelves of those interested in para-diplomacy, intelligence and international relations etc., but is a very tough read, heavy on coded names and "facts" in general, light on analysis and very light on comparative analysis. The Soviet Union and its KGB arm are (no doubt deservedly) treated harshly, but there is no attempt at balance. For example, no doubt it was indeed very wicked of the Soviet Union in the 1980's to plan to destroy twenty buildings in Teheran upon certain contingencies, but surely this is a drop in the ocean compared to what the United States has done to, say, Baghdad. And there can be no doubt at all that they have equally destructive contingency plans for Teheran. Overall, therefore, a middling work. Rating: - The two faces of Cold WarThe Mitrokhin Archive is an account of intelligence operations conducted by the KGB in successful attempts to infiltrate the British MI6. The volume itself is a proof of how much information Mitrokhin managed to 'keep alive' and how much more he most probably still possesses. At times complex in terms of terminology and writing style, this book provides the best means of looking at the "vie quotidien" of the much self-imposing Soviet intelligence service. Its long, invisible hand stretched both inside and outside the Soviet borders in such miniscule detail. Thanks to Mitrokhin, former dissidents and Soviet citizens can now relax knowing that their fears and sometimes paranoic thoughts were justified and real. However, what astonishes the most is how devoted the British 'recruits' were in their collaboration with the KGB. However, in the light of Litvinenko's death, one question remains unanswered. For how long the imabalance of power brokering will be inflicting upon the East-West relations, causing prolonged damage to regional integration and peaceful co-existence. Both this volume and later additional editions fail to put recommendations on how a balanced relationship could be built. It remains pessimistic in all its Soviet glitter. Rating:  - Compelling, ThoroughProf. Andrew's work is very clear and covers a vast topic and time period. It makes it very easy to understand the importance of intelligence when trying to understand modern intenational theory. I can't wait until the second volume, covering the rest of the world appears in Autumn. It will be a timely memorial to Vasili Mitrokhin. Rating: - Great insight but too subjective and politicisedThis perhaps is one of the most detailed and comprehensive books ever written on the activities of the KGB around the world during the Cold War. It requires some knowledge of modern history and an interest in the world of government intelligence services. The fact that it is based on the information collected over many years by the KGB's veteran archivist from the KGB archives gives it extra authority. However, the book's blatant bias in favour of British MI6 prevents it from being top grade material. While it is undoubtful that Western liberal democracy is by far morally superior and legitimate form of government than socialist authoritarianism, it is important to remember that espionage is a very dirty business irrespective of the government it is conducted by. 'The Mirtokhin Archive' fails to acknowledge that ultimately the KGB was more successful than MI6 had ever been. The KGB's enormous successes in infiltrating the highest levels of MI6 are discredited by a combination of ideological arguments and apparent absurdity of Soviet decision-making in foreign affairs, while the most minor successes of British MI6 are made into major victories over the KGB. This is exactly what the British government wants the public to believe. 'The Mitrokhin Archive' is ultimately great material (of Vasili Mitrokhin) spoiled by MI6's self-praising political spin (by Christopher Andrew). Rating: - fantastic inside account of the KGBAn in-depth, comperhensive account of the KGB over 80 years. Can be heavy going, but provides an excellent account of "the other side" before, during, and after the cold war.  Try searching the Internet for "The Mitrokhin Archive: The KGB in Europe and the West (Penguin Press History)" or Ebay for "The Mitrokhin Archive: The KGB in Europe and the West (Penguin Press History)". You might also be interested in the following great products:
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