Circle of Treason: A CIA Insider's Look at the Betrayal of Aldrich Ames and the People He Duped

Kevin S: A good read from those that were at the coal face of the Cold War highly recommended reading for all Cold War buffs

Australia on Aug 19, 2020

Anonymous: From the number of books I read about the year of the spy, the and Pete Early’s books are the most worth reading. The introduction is a bit too dry, but the book goes in a good level of detail. (Though sometimes some of the explanations should have been in footnotes).

United Kingdom on Jul 08, 2020

Firebox50: I watched the TV series "The Assets" which was based on this book and was interested to see in more detail what had taken place, and I was not disappointed much more detail of the actual workings of the CIA offices and the operations that took place. A good historical record. Definitely worth a read.

United Kingdom on Oct 17, 2018

Jason Goodwin: Well thought out with excellent story telling of something that could really be only thought fiction from Le Carre. The Cold War at its height coupled with the 80's what a ride.

Australia on May 10, 2016

Alex from Montreal: Fascinating topic, but flat-ish storytelling.

Canada on Oct 31, 2015

busy dad: Although written by two insiders of the small mole-hunt unit in the CIA, the authors still will not or can not reveal the complete story of Aldrich Ames. I've read every other book on Ames and Hanssen, and many other non-fiction cold war/CIA/KGB books written by other CIA and KGB insiders, and at least one other book mentions an additional source/spy/defector that finally fingers Ames.

In this book, throughout the first 14 chapters, the hunt for the mole is on, and although Ames evolves as a primary suspect, they can't seem to nail him down conclusively. Then, in the very last paragraph of chapter 14, the authors state: "Luckily, in 1993 additional information became available. This new information...pointed in his direction (and) forced the FBI to open a full-scale investigation of Ames". Thats it, end of chapter.

No clarification or any other discussion of this "additional information" is made. Nothing. It is obviously a major break in the whole investigation of Ames, yet the authors leave the reader with a huge hole. I had devoured this book up to this point, but when I realized no further details were coming, I totally lost interest.

I would have given...

United States on Mar 16, 2013

Barbara: CI investigation is an art form carried out by experts. It is not a science and throwing money and unqualified personnel or helpers at such a problem does not guarantee or even improve the chances of success. ..Luck is involved--While there are several `must haves' for a successful CI investigation, knowledge of the target organization, in this case the LGB, is paramount. We had to be experts on the personnel, organization, tradecraft, and operational philosophy of the KGB to have a chance of success.

Sandra Grimes/ Jeanne Vertefeuille "Circle of Treason: A CIA Account of Traitor Aldrich Ames"

First things first: Sandra Grimes and Jeanne Vertefeuille, the two CIA professionals most central to the uncovering of the CIA's most calamitous traitor, Aldrich "Rick" Ames, have produced an insider's description of the case which clearly outclasses five earlier treatments by outside authors, whose access was limited. Their analysis is certain to become the classic description of this treason which resulted in catastrophic damage to CIA's Moscow operations and the deaths of at least eight CIA agents. They tell not just the Ames case but embed it in a compendium of all the...

United States on Jan 09, 2013

F. Carol Sabin: One of the most revealing, authentic and long-waited books yet published about Ames case written by two CIA veterans with direct knowledge of many dramatic episodes of the Cold War.
The authors - Vertefeuille&Grimes - two tenacious and experienced CIA officers made a superb team (supported by many other colleagues) and wrote, with authority and convinction, a book with many priceless stories.
What makes this book so compelling is that almost every word is true, but, by no means, a complete picture of many Cold War episodes, as you can see below.

The book starts in the first two chapters with a personal description of authors' careers, a fine team as I said, after a short, but explanatory, preface.
In chapter three we were provided with an insightful look and general overview of SE (Soviet and East European) division operations.
Starting with chapter 4 and continuing with the next two, we're providing with the best account about Polyakov case, the GRU general receiving a special attention from the authors and a special dedication at the beginning of the book.

The facts are as detailed as possible, but omitted one important factor - the death of one of...

United States on Nov 29, 2012