Intriguing account of the life and times of Isiah (Cy) Oggins, Columbia '20, who got in over his head with Russian intelligence, and eventually was murdered (in a particularly gruesome fashion) by the same -- after his lawful sentence had been served -- because he knew too much. The author does a very interesting job of piecing together the few surviving fragments of Oggins' life into a comprehensible whole, even though some parts remain conjecture. I wasn't totally happy with the "cutting/flashback" format where his time in Russian prisons appeared out of order. In some ways, it spoiled it. Otherwise, a very interesting book. One inexplicable goof: on page 172, it says a particular diplomat (connected with the case) got the Congressional Medal of Honor; no. The diplomat got the Medal of Freedom, a different award. (Civilian recipients of the MoH are exceptionally rare.) ( )

A very gripping and telling story of a wayward American communist/revolutionary and spy for the USSR. I liked very much how the author wove the subject's story with all influencing issues of the time; a history of American revolutionary activity, communist influence in the early twentieth century labor movement, and the horrors of World War II. ( )

Intriguing story. One reads that the gulag system consumed untold numbers of Russians and even some foreigners, this book helps put a human face on those multitudes. I'm impressed that the author was able to construct this book from so little direct information. Still at times, this book can be frustrating because of it's lack of detail about Cy Oggins, the protagonist. This is not a fault of the author, he just had very little to go on.
This book touched on many aspects of 20th history, the Russian Revolution, Stalin, WWII, neo-Cons, and McCarthyism. One detail that I found particulary fascinating was a Soviet project to counterfeit US dollars to help fund the Soviet government.
The book is interesting spy store with a easily digested history lesson to go along with it. ( )