by Tim Weiner
First published 1996
Aldrich Ames sits in his CIA office, pulling files on every major Soviet operation the agency runs worldwide. An alcoholic with a mediocre record, he has somehow landed atop the counterintelligence branch of the Soviet division. The files contain the names of American spies across the globe, and Ames plans to sell every one to Moscow. He needs the money to support tastes his government salary cannot cover. As Ames trades lives for cash, dozens of operatives face exposure and death. He collects nearly three million dollars over eleven years, buying expensive homes and taking European vacations. His CIA colleagues notice his wealth but ask no questions. The agency's leadership cares more about protecting itself than catching traitors within its ranks. Ames grows careless, almost daring his superiors to stop him. Based on interviews with Ames himself, this account reveals how institutional blindness allowed one man to devastate American intelligence operations until his arrest in 1994.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, non-fiction, espionage
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: deception, institutional-corruption
Setting: Moscow, United States
Period: Cold War
336 pages · Paperback · Richard Cohen Books
Content warnings: death, violence