The Sword and the Shield

This book reveals the most complete picture ever of the KGB and its operations in the United States and Europe. It is based on an extremely top secret archive, which details the full extent of its worldwide network.

Christopher Andrew is professor of modern and contemporary history and chair of the history department at Cambridge University, a former visiting professor of national security at Harvard, a frequent guest lecturer at other United States universities, and a regular host of BBC radio and TV programs. His books - which include Her Majesty’s Secret Service; KGB: The Inside Story (with Oleg Gordievsky); and For the President’s Eyes Only - have established him as one of the world’s leading authorities on intelligence history.

©1985 Christopher Andrew and Vasilli Mitrokhin (P)1999 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A sweeping, densely documented history…Thanks to Comrade Mitrokhin, the KGB and most who spied for it have been stripped naked.” ( New York Times Book Review)

“ The Sword and the Shield will stand as an indispensable reference work on Soviet espionage for years to come.” ( Washington Post)

“Whitfield’s [narration]…is certainly appropriate for this presentation.” (Kliatt)

Thorough, but TMI

This book was very thorough yet it was very hard to get through. Too much detail and very easy to get lost in all the name dropping. A little less minutiae and more background detail would have made this book more enjoyable. Parts were fascinating, but most droned on for me.

Very Europe/US focused

I got this book thinking it will have global coverage of KGB, but this book keeps repeating the known story of Europe and the US. There are lot of stories that happened in Asia and Africa, but absolutely no mention of it. disappointing.
Also, the story is not well pieced together, to many names and to many incidents, often unrelated.

It’s all in the Preparation and Delivery

The most factual, well written, and delivered report on the KGB and its adversaries - internally and externally. Robert Whitfield’s fluid delivery makes what could have been a “War and Peace” bore into an exciting listening experience. He flawless pronunciation of Russian, French, Spanish, Italian, and the Slavic languages is highly commendable.

Great narration of immense information.

The sheer magnitude of Soviet involvement was well documented and relayed compellingly in this faithful work.

A Deep, (to) Deep Dive Into Soviet Spying

Overall interesting story but way to long and far, far to many names. Could have been half the length and been just as interesting. Best to start with part 2 and go back if really interested.