The Moscow Rules

From the spymaster and inspiration for the movie Argo how a group of brilliant but under supported CIA operatives developed breakthrough spy tactics that helped turn the tide of the Cold WarAntonio Mendez arrived in Moscow in 1976, at one of the most dangerous moments in the Cold War Soviets kept files on all foreigners, studied their patterns, tapped their phones, and even planted listening devices within the US Embassy In short, intelligence work was effectively impossible The Soviet threat loomed larger than ever The Moscow Rules tells the story of the intelligence breakthrough that turned the odds in America s favor As Chief of Disguise and Authentication, Mendez was instrumental in creating and honing a series of tactics that allowed officers to finally get one step ahead of the KGB These techniques included everything from elaborate, Hollywood inspired identity swaps, to deception or evasion techniques, tomundane document forgery With these new guidelines in place, and with an armory of new gadgets perfected by the Office of Technical Services including miniature cameras, suitcase release body doubles, and wall repelling mechanisms, the CIA managed to gain a foothold in Moscow and pull off some of the greatest intelligence operations in the history of espionage As America is again confronted by the threat of Russian disinformation, the dramatic inside story of how we defeated our once and future enemy is as timely as ever. Read The Moscow Rules – kino-fada.fr I listened to the audiobook version, and it was easy listening mainly because there is no depth whatsoever At least it s short.I assume this book is coming out now because some random piece of content has hit a 30 year automatic declassification, but it doesn t feel like there s anything groundbreaking in here Essentially, it s an overview of the basic Moscow rules for the behaviour of American CIA agents conducting Cold War espionage told through anecdotes There are some interesting tidb I listened to the audiobook version, and it was easy listening mainly because there is no depth whatsoever At least it s short.I assume this book is coming out now because some random piece of content has hit a 30 year automatic declassification, but it doesn t feel like there s anything groundbreaking in here Essentially, it s an overview of the basic Moscow rules for the behaviour of American CIA agents conducting Cold War espionage told through anecdotes There are some interesting tidbits tossed in, specifically about how chemists lateral thinkers , artists attention to detail capable of recreating things without access to cameras or photocopiers , and magicians sleight of hand, understanding of human attention and perspective were heavily recruited, but the majority of the book was devoted to the most clich d spy moves from Hollywood movies More authoritative resources would say...This book will appeal to those interested in spycraft, U.S Soviet relations, and the Cold War It may also appeal to fans of Ian Fleming and John le Carr , but I cannot otherwise recommend it to the casual reader For specialists in the field, the book is a strong argument in favor of human as opposed to electronic intelligence operations.First, a couple of clarifications Human intelligence HUMINT means information derived from a foreign agent and provided to an intelligence case office This book will appeal to those interested in spycraft, U.S Soviet relations, and the Cold War It may also appeal to fans of Ian Fleming and John le Carr , but I cannot otherwise recommend it to the casual reader For specialists in the field, the book is a strong argument in favor of human as opposed to electronic intelligence operations.First, a couple of clarifications Human intelligence HUMINT means information derived from a foreign agent and provided to an intelligence case officer CIA employees are officers and foreign sources are agents The agents ...TL DR The Moscow Rules is an excellent addition to the history of Cold War espionage Recommended.Review cross posted at Primmlife.com Review In tales of espionage, the tension of whether the protagonist gets found out and captured drives the narrative With one chance, does the agent succeed and save the world or fail and let democracy die In reality, that agent had hundreds of hours of training and support before venturing onto the front lines to exhibit the bravery and skill needed to succe TL DR The Moscow Rules is an excellent addition to the history of Cold War espionage Recommended.Review cross posted at Primmlife.com Review In tales of espionage, the tension of whether the protagonist gets found out and captured drives the narrative With one chance, does the agent succeed and save the world or fail and let democracy die In reality, that agent had hundreds of hours of training and support before venturing onto the front lines to exhibit the bravery and skill needed to succeed But skill acquisition and practice do not rise to the same level of tension that the actual act of spying achieves In films, these moments get summarized in a montage hopefully one with a 80s ballad playing over the top The professionals who protect this nation whether they re the military, the police, the FBI, or CIA operatives know that practice and dedication to honing one s craft provid...This was far less excited than I had hoped There were some great examples of disguising oneself to lose KGB followers, but the author s were overly interested in providing details for the relationships and bureaucracy among organizations which ought to have been collaborating It also appeared ...At the height of the Cold War, the CIA developed tactics to use against the KGB known as The Moscow Rules Author Tony Mendez used his unique skills to help agents in Moscow lose KGB tails, meet with spies, and collect sensitive information He often used illusionist s methods to outwit KGB surveillance including slight of hand, misdirection, and disguises It s the history of how these techniques were used in the 70 s and 80 s by CIA agents stationed in Moscow that Mendez presents here.I found At the height of the Cold War, the CIA developed tactics to use against the KGB known as The Moscow Rules Author Tony Mendez used his unique skills to help agents in Moscow lose KGB tails, meet with spies, and collect sensitive information He often used illusionist s methods to outwit KGB surveillance including slight of hand, misdirection, and disguises It s the history of how these techniques were used in the 70 s and 80 s by CIA agents stationed in Moscow that Mendez presents here.I found it shocking that despite their best tactics and careful maneuverings, so many of the CIA s Russian agents were discovered and executed by the KGB Yes, the U.S gained priceless intelligence from their spies, but at a cost Mendez and company had to constantly rethink how to make contact with Russians willing to spy against their country without compromising them, which was ne...First if you think your are going to enter into a world of intrigue and plots put it down.Moscow rules is a limited documentary with some insight into old spy craft and some outdated technologies It is shallow in its story telling and jumps around with scarce detail There is considerable name dropping in an effort to gain some legitimacy There is some entertainment in the short stories of how magicians helped invent some of the devices and some albeit limited in accounts of how our own First if you think your are going to enter into a world of intrigue and plots put it down.Moscow rules is a limited documentary with some insight into old spy craft and some outdated technologies It is shallow in its story telling and jumps around with scarce detail There is considerable name dropping in an effort to gain some legitimacy There is some entertainment in the short stories of how magicians helped invent some of the devices and some albeit limite...Really interesting read on sabotage and subterfuge in the most difficult of circumstances, one comes away still quite unable to understand quite how they managed it I ll be readingby the MendezesSo great filled with stories of spy tradecraft from the best in the biz.This book was high up on my list of books I wanted to read The topic of Cold War espionage has always been fascinating to me and while the book addressed techniques and the atmosphere of what it was like, I m really disappointed it felt like an autobiography This isn t to take away from the author s stories they were fascinating and crucial to understanding how pieces fit during those violent 3 decades The problem was the book listed what were called Moscow Rules , yet felt each chapter was This book was high up on my list of books I wanted to read The topic of Cold War espionage has always been fascinating to me and while the book addressed techniques and the atmosphere of what it was like, I m really disappointed it felt like an autobiography This isn t to take away from the author s stories...I had no idea The first hundred Bond movies were before my time, when the Cold War the first one, the second, current one is unofficial was still definitely on and the Moscow Rules were essential to mental and physical survival.I grew up in the Jason Bourne era of spy movies, less magictechnology I cannot fully comprehend the terror of going into a hostile environment without a cell phone, a laptop, Google earth and a host of other gadgets.When the Mendez s start their stories of disgu I had no idea The first hundred Bond movies were before my time, when the Cold War the first one, the second, current one is unofficial was still definitely on and the Moscow Rules were essential to mental and physical survival.I grew up in the Jason Bourne era of spy movies, less magictechnology I cannot fully comprehend the terror of going into a hostile environment without a cell phone, a laptop, Google earth and a host of other gadgets.When the Mendez s start their stories of disguise, not only was I hooked but I foresaw a terrible outcome for their agents Not even the Russians would buy that But I was wrong too much Bourne and the disguises worked beautifully The eye sees what it wants to and readily excludes everything it is not looking for I learned that from a Bourne movie.As with my previous blog post, as you may have noticed this is also a spy book and good things seem to come in two s.Best of Enemies warmed me up to the human aspect involved, and The Moscow R...Moscow Rules by Tony Mendez and Jonna Mendez is out today and I have to say I couldn t be happier The book is a thrill ride for spy nerds such as myself who simply wish to read and learn about everything spy related The book offers an intimate look of how the CIA ran agents and collected information behind the lines of one of the most secretive cities in the world Moscow Every page of this book spills secrets.Tony Mendez was a spy and an American hero, who with a group of his colleagues d Moscow Rules by Tony Mendez and Jonna Mendez is out today and I have to say I couldn t be happier The book is a thrill ride for spy nerds such as myself who simply wish to read and learn about everything spy related The book offers an intimate look of how the CIA ran agents and collected information behind the lines of one of the most secretive cities in the world Moscow Every page of this book spills secrets.Tony Mendez was a spy and an American hero, who with a group of his colleagues developed tactics to help CIA agents operate undetected in Moscow At the height of the Cold War the U.S was on the losing end, with intelligence gathering operations barely functioning in Moscow as a result of the FSB the Russian equivalent of the CIA keeping tabs on all foreigners who were in Moscow Tony, Jonna, and other brave men and women studied the FSB patterns, perfecting t...Interesting enough, certainly for someone who works in the government, as I do but a bit wonky not sure how appealling it would be if you didn t know the inner workings of the USG Plus, there were times when Mendez goes into the weeds on operations, that just wasn t interesting I wasn t interested in how something happened, i.e a magic trick The book centers on CIA operations at the US Embassy Moscow in the late 1970 s to glasnost and the ending of Soviet communism 1990 s It is fascinat Interesting enough, certainly for someone who works in the government, as I do but a bit wonky not sure how appealling it would be if you didn t know the inner workings of the USG Plus, there were times when Mendez goes into the weeds on operations, that just wasn t interesting I wasn t interested in how something happened, i.e a magic trick The book centers on CIA operations at the US Embassy Moscow in the late 1970 s to glasnost and the ending of Soviet communism 1990 s It is fascinating how some things were done very cloak and dagger and the tools of the trade which were reminiscent of James Bond and Q, small cameras, suicide pills in a pen, etc Than descriptions of the agents, how they had to be so covert, stealthy but also playing to the boredom of their handlers I think the best chapter was when the call was coming from inside the h...Life is oftenfascinating than fiction An excellent example is to compare any spy movie set in Moscow with The Moscow Rules by Antonio J Mendez and Jonna Mendez The complexity of living and working in a constant state of danger was incredible Although the Mendezes were not assigned to Moscow, they were directly involved in designing the tools that allowed Americans to work without the KBG observing them Each chapter begins with one of the rules, although there are many that are not use Life is oftenfascinating than fiction An excellent example is to compare any spy movie set in Moscow with The Moscow Rules by Antonio J Mendez and Jonna Mendez The complexity of living and working in a constant state of danger was incredible Although the Mendezes were not assigned to Moscow, they were directly involved in designing the tools that allowed Americans to work without the KBG observing them Each chapter begins with one of the rules, although there are many that are not used in the book The Introduction starts with this rule, Don t harass the opposition An American was attacked by an FSB KBG snewest form member who tried to stop him by physically assaulting him The author ties the aggression of the Russians in 2016 to the Soviets in 1986 There were two aspects of this book that stayed with me One was the way the authors show how it is really a team and not one person interacting with the opposition Everyone is essential to have success The other aspec...One of my favorite books of the year I honestly could not put this one down Mendez and his wife were CIA employees yes, spies , in Moscow during the 1970 s combined, they served for 52 years The USSR, thanks to the KGB, had an almost impenetrable society at the time Constant surveillance of foreigners, as well as it s own citizens, made spying impossible They had no limits on the resources they could expend on counter surveillance Add to that the awful damage done by moles traitor One of my favorite books of the year I honestly could not put this one down Mendez and his wife were CIA employees yes, spies , in Moscow during the 1970 s combined, they served for 52 years The USSR, thanks to the KGB, had an almost impenetrable society at the time Constant surveillance of foreigners, as well as it s own citizens, made spying impossible They had no limits on the resources they could expend on counter surveillance Add to that the awful damage done by moles traitors from our own country, and it was darned difficult to find out what was going on there Mendez relates his and his wife s experiences, failures, and successes during their careers Fascinating narratives that read like the best James Bond novels, except that they are true Edge of your seat reading that you will not be able to put down And, through it all, he relates everything to a series of rules they followed, called the Moscow Rules They are a series...Beginning with the start of the Cold War in 1946 to the fall of the Soviet Union 1989 the CIA battled with the KGB to protect America and learn the secrets of the Russian Government The authors are a husband and wife, but Jonna who wrote a lot of the book is theinteresting of the two she was a member and later leader of the disguise section.They start out with explaining how the CIA had superseded the wartime OSS The CIA was just like the OSS, made up of upper class Ivy League grad Beginning with the start of the Cold War in 1946 to the fall of the Soviet Union 1989 the CIA battled with the KGB to protect America and learn the secrets of the Russian Government The authors are a husband and wife, but Jonna who wrote a lot of the book is theinteresting of the two she was a member and later leader of the disguise section.They start out with explaining how the CIA had superseded the wartime OSS The CIA was just like the OSS, made up of upper class Ivy League graduates from all the right families, with all the right connections Mostly concerned with the Moscow Section and Embassy, their tale is one learning the ropes the hard way The Moscow Rules are created along the way as Agents learn to see the surveillance they are under and to thwart the KGB by using tricks they had learned from Magicians from Las Vegas who taught them many of the ways to obscure what they were doing They discuss the...

• 19 November 2017
Antonio J. Méndez
• Hardcover
• 272 pages
• 1541762193
• Antonio J. Méndez
• The Moscow Rules