Pre-Owned Spies Beneath Berlin (Hardcover) 1585673617 9781585673612

Interest in the CIA and world intelligence operations is greater than it has been in years. In Spies Beneath Berlin, David Stafford -- whom the New York Times calls "a superb researcher who has a feel for when 'secret' meant 'significant' and when it did not" -- gives the fascinating, in-depth account of one of the most audacious and intriguing covert operations of the Cold War: Operation Stopwatch/Gold. Described by CIA chief Allen Dulles as "one of the most valuable and daring projects ever undertaken," Operation Stopwatch/Gold was carried out from a secret tunnel half a mile long under the Russian sector of Cold War-era Berlin as, for more than a year, the CIA tuned in to German Red Army intelligence. This was an almost impossible trick: apart from the technical wizardry needed, any noise or vibration could have given the game away. Indeed, when snow fell, panic measures were suddenly needed to prevent its thawing in a telltale line leading to the target building. An added layer of complexity came from the fact that Stopwatch/Gold was a joint CIA/MI6 project, and after Burgess and Maclean, it was clear that full disclosure, even between allies, could be dangerous. And in fact, there was a mole in the British secret services; the KGB knew about the tunnel even before it was built. Whether or not Operation Stopwatch/Gold was a success has been a point of contention over the years, as new information about KGB mole George Blake and the Cold War has been uncovered. For the first time, using eyewitness interviews and the full rnage of source material -- from KGB files to CIA documents -- Stafford reveals the thrillingly complex story of this operation. Book jacket.