The Fourth Man

The Hunt for a KGB Spy at the Top of the CIA and the Rise of Putin's Russia

De: Robert Baer

Narrado por: Robert Baer, Eric Jason Martin

The explosive, never-before-told story of the thrilling hunt for a KGB spy in the top ranks of the CIA, revealing how spies blinded the US to the rise of Putin and Russia’s dangerous future, from New York Times bestselling author and former CIA officer Robert Baer.

We think we know all the Cold War’s greatest spy stories. The tales of America’s greatest traitors have been told over and over. However, the biggest story of them all remains untold—until now. Rumors have long swirled of another mole in American intelligence, one perhaps more damaging than all the others combined. Perhaps the greatest traitor in American history, perhaps a Russian ruse to tear the CIA apart, or perhaps nothing more than a bogeyman, he is often referred to as the Fourth Man.

Blowing the lid off the biggest spy story in decades, Robert Baer tells the full, gripping story for the first time. After arrest of KGB spy Aldrich Ames, the CIA launched another investigation to make sure there wasn't another double agent in its ranks. Led by three of the CIA’s best spy hunters, women who devoted their lives to counterintelligence, its existence was known only to a few. They began methodically investigating their own bosses and colleagues, turning up loose threads, suspicious activity, and shocking intelligence from the CIA’s best Russian asset.

In the end, they came to a startling conclusion that, whether true or not, would shake American intelligence to its core, setting the stage for a cat-and-mouse game with enormous geopolitical stakes. Spies and moles may seem like bygone cold war history, but with Russia again a misunderstood belligerent power, the skeletons America would rather keep hidden are emerging, and as Robert Baer shows in this thrilling masterwork of investigative reporting, they matter as much now as ever.

Great story, but not a good production on Audible.

This story was a most interesting procedural, luckily I bought both hard and digital copies.
ATT: Audible
Stop truncating the chapters.

Fascinating, important story!

Thought provoking and although some parts take a little time to digest, the book is relatively easy to follow. Fascinating deep dive into spy world and it’s ramifications- good, bad or indifferent. Hope the mystery is solved in my lifetime!

ex CIA officials’ books I’ve found one for one excellent

This one gives a look at inside CIA mole hunting and as Baer has said in interviews this really is as good as fiction.

The real ex CIA officers’ books are just better and I can’t stand fiction anymore.

Espionage

I can’t believe they didn’t catch him. There’s isn’t enough oversight, is this one reason Russia is stuck with Putin?

Baer still good and insightful.

I liked he gave facts and yet was upfront about what the facts could mean. A term I use is FBI certainty and CIA certainty. While basic, it underlies probabilities and possibilities. And the responsibility to make a call that is accurate as possible based on what is in front of you in the real world vs a courtroom. I’ll listen to this again and recommend any of Baer’s books.