Best of Enemies: The Last Great Spy Story of the Cold War

by Gus Russo, Eric Dezenhall Narrated by Robert Petkoff

Overview

The thrilling story of two Cold War spies, CIA case officer Jack Platt and KGB agent Gennady Vasilenko -- improbable friends at a time when they should have been anything but.

In 1978, CIA maverick Jack Platt and KGB agent Gennady Vasilenko were new arrivals on the Washington, DC intelligence scene, with Jack working out of the CIA's counterintelligence office and Gennady out of the Soviet Embassy. Both men, already notorious iconoclasts within their respective agencies, were assigned to seduce the other into betraying his country in the urgent final days of the Cold War, but instead the men ended up becoming the best of friends-blood brothers. Theirs is a friendship that never should have happened, and their story is chock full of treachery, darkly comic misunderstandings, bureaucratic inanity, the Russian Mafia, and landmark intelligence breakthroughs of the past half century.

In Best of Enemies, two espionage cowboys reveal how they became key behind-the-scenes players in solving some of the most celebrated spy stories of the twentieth century, including the crucial discovery of the Soviet mole Robert Hanssen, the 2010 Spy Swap which freed Gennady from Soviet imprisonment, and how Robert De Niro played a real-life role in helping Gennady stay alive during his incarceration in Russia after being falsely accused of spying for the Americans. Through their eyes, we see the distinctions between the Russian and American methods of conducting espionage and the painful birth of the new Russia, whose leader, Vladimir Putin, dreams he can roll back to the ideals of the old USSR.

Editorial Reviews

FEBRUARY 2019 - AudioFile

Robert Petkoff opts for a barebones narration of the unusual friendship between CIA maverick Jack (Cowboy) Platt, based in Washington, DC, and KGB agent Gennady Vasilenko, based in the Soviet embassy. Petkoff’s detached narration reflects the attitude of the two spies as they carried out their dirty tricks. Methods of interrogation and torture, and other deadly aspects of spy craft from the Cold War into the twenty-first century, are also depicted in the story. Petkoff’s minimal Russian accent for Vasilenko’s dialogue and Russian terminology contrasts dramatically with his “radio broadcaster” enunciation for the narrative and his portrayals of Platt and other Americans. A perfect listen for fans of spy stories and exposés. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

The New York Times Book Review - Adam LeBor

Fast-paced and lively…Best of Enemies can be read as a lament for a world in which mutually assured destruction brought a strange kind of stability. The two nuclear superpowers may have fought proxy wars, but they always stepped back from the brink. The Cold War was a dangerous time, but it was a time with rules.

Publishers Weekly

08/27/2018
In this real-life thriller, Russo (Live by the Sword) and Dezenhall (Glass Jaw) recount the relationship between legendary CIA officer Jack Platt and KGB officer Gennady Semyovich Vasilenko, who remained loyal to their countries while forging a deep personal and professional connection. The authors base their story on extensive interviews with the two protagonists and others who served in the intelligence community, as well as unclassified information regarding CIA-KGB encounters during the Cold War. The two officers were at the center of many important Cold War intelligence confrontations, culminating in the CIA and FBI hunt for a mole who virtually destroyed American intelligence capacity in Russia. Platt was instrumental in the 2001 capture of Robert Hanssen, the most notorious internal spy in U.S. history, and Vasilenko was wrongfully imprisoned by the Russians as a result. Vasilenko’s imprisonment and torture highlights the brutality and corruption that makes the modern Russian judicial system a fitting heir to the Soviet gulag. In an ironic twist, Vasilenko—a KGB agent who had been loyal to the U.S.S.R. and Russia throughout his career—was traded to the U.S. in exchange for captured Russian spies in 2010. This is an informative and exciting history for the general reader and for the espionage expert alike. Agent: Kris Dahl, ICM, and Jeff Silberman, Folio Literary Management. (Oct.)

From the Publisher

"Fast paced and lively."—The New York Times

"This strange, exciting and intriguing tale, laced with international derring-do and extreme personal sacrifice, is destined to become a Cold War classic."—John Douglas and Mark Olshaker, #1 New York Times bestselling authors of Mindhunter and Law & Disorder

"This book is crucial for anyone who wants to understand espionage or the Cold War."—James Grady, New York Times bestselling author of Six Days of the Condor

"If John le Carré wrote nonfiction and was a great reporter, BEST OF ENEMIES would be the result."—Laurence Leamer, New York Times bestselling author of The Kennedy Women

"It's not often you come across a book that's engrossing, topical and instructive; BEST OF ENEMIES is all of those things, and then some. Empathy is never easy — as this book makes abundantly clear — but if there were more of it in the world today, we'd all be better off. A must read."—Ian Bremmer, bestselling author of Us vs. Them, Superpower, and The J Curve

"BEST OF ENEMIES is a knockout thriller about one of the great yarns in international espionage: how an American CIA agent and a Russian KGB agent wound up on the same side. You have to read it to believe it."—Tom Brokaw

"BEST OF ENEMIES is a riveting spy thriller and love story — and best of all, it is a true one! The incredible tale of the deep and enduring friendship of CIA legend 'Cowboy' Jack Platt and charismatic KGB spy Gennady Vasilenko frames a mesmerizing journey thorugh the Cold War that did more than entertain me — it also gave me more insight into the intelligence world in the US and Russia than anything else I have read."—Norman Ornstein, resident scholar, American Enterprise Institute

"Cowboys and commies — sworn adversaries Jack (CIA) and Gennady (KGB) save each other's lives and become the best of friends. Guns, girls, and gulags — and the iconic Robert De Niro in a real-life role — delivered by two of Washington's most savvy insiders — Eric Dezenhall and Gus Russo."—Richard Ben-Veniste, Watergate Special Prosecutor, Member 9/11 Commission

"BEST OF ENEMIES is the ultimate true-life spy tale. Gus Russo and Eric Dezenhall have written a rollicking Cold War thriller centered around the most crazily improbable of friendships — between top spies at the CIA and KGB. Russo and Dezenhall's deep reporting, including interviews with the spies themselves, proves again that fiction has nothing on truth. A wild cast of characters; even Robert De Niro makes an appearance. Important and entertaining."—Philip Shenon, New York Times bestselling author of A Cruel and Shocking Act: The Secret History of the Kennedy Assassination and The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation

"A compelling Cold War fable that illuminates the essence of a human recruitment operation: the unshakable friendship between two men that endured in the Wilderness of Mirrors."—Jason Matthews, New York Times bestselling author of The Red Sparrow spy novels and 33-year CIA veteran trained by Jack Platt

"An informative and exciting history for the general reader and for the espionage expert alike."—Publishers Weekly

"A rollicking tale of Cold War espionage...An unusual, entertaining story of steadfast friendship amid governmental treachery."—Kirkus

"BEST OF ENEMIES is rich in detail that espionage aficionados will enjoy — including CIA cryptonyms, tradecraft, and details of Russian abuse of those they suspect of disloyalty...[The] biggest contribution of the book, however, is its depiction of the long game of intelligence, played out not in months or years, but in decades; the toll on the personal lives of not only the participants, but of their families; and the uplifting message that intelligence officers (at least initially) on opposite sides of the battle can find friendship and common values in each other."—The Cipher Brief

"[An] engrossing tale...highly recommended for those who miss the show The Americans and others who immerse themselves in intelligence intrigue."—Library Journal

"Perfect for the person who's still mourning the end of 'The Americans' and its bromance between Stan Beeman and Philip Jennings."—New York Post

Library Journal

★ 09/15/2018
Russo (Supermob) and Dezenhall (Spinning Dixie) weave an engrossing tale of CIA officer Jack Platt and KGB agent Gennady Vasilenko, who became confidants. Both tried to flip the other to their respective side, and when they realized this couldn't happen, they maintained regular contact, endearing themselves to each other. Bonded by outsized personalities and rebellious streaks that pushed the limits within bureaucratic apparatuses of the CIA and KGB, the two created a friendship that here is woven through the larger contexts of the past four decades of American-Russian (Soviet) relations and the actions and reactions of the KGB-CIA. This book adds knowledge to recent works such as Jack Barksy's Deep Undercover and Eva Dillon's Spies in the Family. VERDICT Highly recommended for those who miss the show The Americans and others who immerse themselves in intelligence intrigue.—Jacob Sherman, John Peace Lib., Univ. of Texas at San Antonio

FEBRUARY 2019 - AudioFile

Robert Petkoff opts for a barebones narration of the unusual friendship between CIA maverick Jack (Cowboy) Platt, based in Washington, DC, and KGB agent Gennady Vasilenko, based in the Soviet embassy. Petkoff’s detached narration reflects the attitude of the two spies as they carried out their dirty tricks. Methods of interrogation and torture, and other deadly aspects of spy craft from the Cold War into the twenty-first century, are also depicted in the story. Petkoff’s minimal Russian accent for Vasilenko’s dialogue and Russian terminology contrasts dramatically with his “radio broadcaster” enunciation for the narrative and his portrayals of Platt and other Americans. A perfect listen for fans of spy stories and exposés. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2018-08-13

A rollicking tale of Cold War espionage focused on the improbable bond between a macho CIA agent and his KGB counterpart.

Russo (Supermob: How Sidney Korshak and His Criminal Associates Became America's Hidden Power Brokers, 2006, etc.) and Dezenhall (Glass Jaw: A Manifesto for Defending Fragile Reputations in an Age of Instant Scandal, 2014, etc.) offer a well-researched account, intersecting with the CIA's betrayal by Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen. The institutional pursuit of these turncoats, who caused "a staggering amount of damage," involved many of the principals here. Previously, in both Washington and Moscow in the 1970s and '80s, spies with diplomatic covers often became entangled in each other's recruitment schemes. Rakish, outgoing KGB officer Gennady Vasilenko became involved in the D.C. diplomats' amateur athletics, making him a prime target of CIA officer Jack Platt, a larger-than-life, hard-living agency tactician. While neither agreed to "cross over" to provide their country's secrets, they developed a genuine friendship. "Both men were patriotic risk takers," write the authors. "Both loved their chosen professions and had no respect for the desk jockeys." Although Platt participated in an operation to "turn" Vasilenko, he respected the Russian's determination to remain loyal. But KGB suspicions of Vasilenko's rule-bending ethos prevailed, and he was lured home, imprisoned, and expelled from the service. When the Soviet Union collapsed, his American connections enabled him to pursue business opportunities with Platt, as did many ex-Russian spies. However, the 2001 arrest of Hanssen led Vasilenko's erstwhile colleagues to target him; he was arrested a few years later and again imprisoned over old allegations of collusion. Following five years of often brutal treatment, Platt's CIA colleagues added Vasilenko to an exchange for the Russian "illegals" notoriously arrested in 2010 after years of deep-cover spying, finally permitting him a bittersweet American retirement. Russo and Dezenhall aptly capture this complex narrative, based on its protagonists' long-classified recollections, though the focus on their outsized personalities can be repetitive.

An unusual, entertaining story of steadfast friendship amid governmental treachery.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173685834
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	10/02/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

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