The Spy in Moscow Station

A Counterspy's Hunt for a Deadly Cold War Threat

By: Eric Haseltine

Narrated by: Eric Haseltine

Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's Summary

This program is read by the author.

The thrilling true story of the race to find a leak in the US embassy in Moscow - before more American assets are rounded up and killed.

Foreword by Gen. Michael V. Hayden (Retd.), former director of NSA and CIA. 

In the late 1970s, the National Security Agency still did not officially exist - those in the know referred to it dryly as the No Such Agency. So why, when NSA engineer Charles Gandy filed for a visa to visit Moscow, did the Russian Foreign Ministry assert with confidence that he was a spy?

Outsmarting honey traps and encroaching deep enough into enemy territory to perform complicated technical investigations, Gandy accomplished his mission in Russia but discovered more than State and CIA wanted him to know.   

Eric Haseltine's The Spy in Moscow Station tells of a time when - much like today - Russian spycraft had proven itself far beyond the best technology the United States had to offer. The perils of American arrogance mixed with bureaucratic infighting left the country unspeakably vulnerable to ultra-sophisticated Russian electronic surveillance and espionage.  

This is the true story of unorthodox underdog intelligence officers who fought an uphill battle against their own government to prove that the KGB had pulled off the most devastating penetration of US national security in history. If you think The Americans isn't riveting enough, you'll love this toe-curling nonfiction thriller.     

©2019; 2019 Text copyright by Eric Haseltine; Foreword copyright by Michael V. Hayden (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Dull Dull Dull

Not “thrilling” as the description states. It’s obvious the author gathered the content from publicly available information. The story lacks the emotion of the people about whom the story revolved.

It’s dull, We have a blind spot that needs to be corrected. That’s the entire story - which was not written or read in a compelling way.

And the author has an annoying lisp.

Not like the other great spy novels...this really happened!

The central character is a real unsung hero and American patriot who is convinced that the Soviets are smarter than we are in the high tech world of spying. He has to convince the State Department and other “3-letter” agencies that the Russians have been eating our lunch for years, but can’t come up with a smoking gun for a decade that will convince the jealous bureaucrats. You just can’t write credible fiction this good!

Doesn’t go anywhere

I’m not one of the simpletons who complains that real life isn’t as exciting as a novel - and I love real history, but by the end of this book, I’m asking, what was the point. The book doesn’t go anywhere, there’s not even any proof the big discovery was even used for anything. Then at the end of the book the author tries to tie Cold War spying to Russia running ads on Facebook in 2016. I’m all for nuking Russia, they deserve it for their past behavior - but the new red scare, where them making a fake account on Twitter with 12 followers is as bad as the Cuban missile crisis is just silly - and promoted by silky people.

Also the reader of the book is like a 3.5 - he’s fine, but he doesn’t know how to say Reagan. Who doesn’t know how to say that? A Russian agent, that’s who. Minus -0.5 stars.

Eye opening

Well narrated spine crawling account of Russia's overlooked capabilities. Embarrassing reveal of how little we have learned to work together as a cohesive IC! We CAN to better, and we owe it to our nation.

A Worthwhile Listen

It's virtually impossible for me to regard anything as ''shocking' by 2022. 'Surprising' is still possible, and I was surprised by the story illustrated here. Of equal take-away was an inherent reminder to 'stop, & then think clearly regardless of predispositions' that runs through it almost continually without being openly harped on. When directly covered in the conclusion it still wasn't a forced matter for conflict but a matter for open, mindful & constructive attention.
The narration by the author was a twofold benefit. Besides knowing the topic well, I thought he was simply very good at narrating.

Interesting story

This audio book was an interesting story of how the KGB had infiltrated the U.S. embassy

Great book. Very fascinating

Would highly recommend. I had a hard time putting it down. Charles Gandy was a hero in my book.

Techno boredom

If you like hearing a lot of technical details about radios and office machines, this book is for you. If you are expecting a real-life spy thriller, you will be very disappointed.

Equal parts interesting and frightening.

I recommend this book. The details sometimes warranted a second listen, but it is worth it. Very interesting.

Not a spy novel

Too technical and boring at times, and if this really a true story, it needs to be far more interesting.