Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 327.12092
EAN num: 9780425167120
ISBN number: 0425167127
Label: Berkley Trade
Manufacturer: Berkley Trade
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 368
Printing Date: December 01, 1998
Publishing house: Berkley Trade
Sale Popularity Level: 328120
Studio: Berkley Trade
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For nine years he fed highly classified information to the KGB. Russia paid him millions of dollars--and promised millions more. He betrayed the identities of the United States' top agents. An act that led to their executions inside the Soviet Union... Never before in American history has one man done so much to sabotage our national security.
Pete Earley is the only writer to conduct fifty hours of one-on-one interviews with CIA mole Aldrich Ames, without a government censor present. He is the only writer to have traveled to Moscow to speak directly to Ames's KGB handlers and with the families of the spies he betrayed. And he is the only writer to have had acess to the remarkable CIA mole-hunting team that tracked down and stopped Aldrich Ames.
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Rated by buyers 
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This gives the best account of Ames' CIA career, particularly prior to the time he began to work for the Soviet Union, and corrects errors in several earlier books such as Wise's.
Rated by buyers -
This is the only text I have read that provides a compelling and nuanced explanation of why Ames betrayed his country. The short answer is that he needed the money because he was living beyond his means. As a result of his work recruiting and handling spies he no longer believed it was wrong for a person to betray their country. Earley's well-written book explains how he arrived at that point. It also provides the reader with a credible look at what it is like to work for the CIA, and what it is like to work as a spy.
Rated by buyers -
I was reading "See No Evil" by Robert Baer and he briefly mentioned Aldrich Ames and decided to read a book on him. While looking for books, I was pleasantly surprised to find one written by Pete Earley. I had read "The Hot House" a couple of years ago and found Earley to be a very clear and detailed writer. I really could not wait to receive the book. My expectations were high and they were met and exceeded. The book details Ames' life from birth, it details his parents, his entry into the CIA, and ultimately his betrayal of the country. The thing I love about Earley is that he leaves no loose ends. You're never left saying, "but what ever happened to..." or "I wonder who that is...". He's a very clear writer who introduces every subject in the book. He explains the facts sharply and thoroughly, and the pacing is perfect. Earley not only gives you the details, but draws you in with a story line that adds suspense. Earley is similar to other great non-fiction writers such as Stephen Ambrose, Jon Krakauer, Simon Winchester, Mark Bowden, or Kurt Eichenwald in that he takes a real event and tells it gripping way.
On the negatives, there was not an index in my book which made it difficult at times. Also, Earley was not able to get interviews with everyone involved, in particular Ames' very first wife, but at the time I'm sure not everyone wanted to participate with the media.
The most important aspect of the book is that Aldrich Ames cooperated with Earley with face to face interviews while awaiting trial and later through letters. But Earley did not take everything Ames told him at face value, he is not lazy or sloppy, he fact checked and questioned everything. He even fact checked with Russian KGB which demonstrates how dedicated he was to the subject. Is it definitive? Definitely not because it came out so quickly after Ames arrest (before revelations of Robert Hanssen) but it is an excellent book.
Rated by buyers 
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Step by step we are moving to the truth.
The fiction is banal. Hence - one star for the book. The reality is amazing. Hence - 5 stars for the subsequent book on the Ames-Colby case. The subsequent book will be based on Dekov's memoirs.
Rated by buyers -
Ames was unduly lucky to have not been "netted" much sooner. Mr. Earley gives us a very well written piece of work.Ames was certainly not Kim Philby or 007;but He did get away with His betrayal for some years,and that alone makes it worthy for any 20th Century Historian. The little tidbit of a quite 'hot potato'betrayal story on Henry Kissenger is worth the cost of the book alone.Earley is also fair to Ames'American employers at CIA who finally pinch "the mole".
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