Operation Solo: The Fbi's Man in the Kremlin

Rating:
Summary: SON OF AGENT
Review: I am the son of the FBI agent Richard Hansen. I can attest to the secrecy of this operation by explaining how I learned about it. In 1997 I was looking through the new arrivals at my local library. I started leafing through this book and did a double take when I saw my dad's name. I checked out the book, rushed home, called my dad. Sure enough, he admitted that he was the agent in the book. It is an amazing testament to his fidelity that he did not speak of this operation(even after he retired), until this book came out.

Rating:
Summary: True American Heroes
Review: John Barron does a remarkable job of weaving 40 years of a day-to-day spy operation into an exciting page turner. Morris, Eva and Jack Childs are the spies who dedicated their lives to penetrating the Iron Curtain and defeating communism. Reagan, Nixon and Kissinger credit them with providing the tools to ultimately defeat the Soviet Empire while simultaneously engaging China.

In addition, Barron does an excellent job of reminding the reader that the FBI is made up of real men and women with real lives who dedicate themselves to the safety of America.

Operation SOLO is a beautiful tribute to American exceptionalism. It is reminds us that the Cold War was real, that communism is evil and that individuals make a difference. I am grateful that Morris, Eva and Jack Childs dedicated themselves to this dangerous and complex task. Their patriotism and self-sacrifice has made this world a much safer place and liberated millions of people from the shackles of communism.

Rating:
Summary: A careful account of a three-decade national secret
Review: Operation Solo is the operation name of a national secret that is among the most protected in history. The reasons are obvious as this remarkable source of high level human intelligence is traced from the birth of two brothers in Russia, their emigration to the U.S., their embrace of Leninism, cultivation of contacts in Russia as youths who became senior officials of Russia during the cold war, their disenchantment and careful recruitment by the FBI in the name of patriotism, the operational side of intelligence gathering, and the value of human intelligence. One of the two brothers, Morris Childs, became the second in command of the American Communist Party and the conduit as he made some 57 missions to the Soviet Union (as well as China and Cuba) for millions of dollars aimed for the American Communist Party, that was diligently accounted for by the dollar by the FBI. The historic estrangement of the Bureau with the CIA is discussed only slightly, but shockingly apparent. The role of presidents and their security advisors is only marginally discussed and could have been amplified by resort to increasing declassification of documents from their presidential libraries, or resort to still living primary sources. The author, John Barron, had the cooperation of Morris Childs and his proud wife before their deaths in the early 1990's, as well as several of the longstanding and admiring hands on case agents, heros of their own right. It is a remarkable story of espionage, recruitment, operation, and use of human intelligence from the 1950's until it finally ended in 1980

Rating:
Summary: A story of Courage and Devotion
Review: Operation Solo tells the story of Morris Childs, a spy for the American government for almost thirty years. He was a dedicated communist in the 1930's. He even visited to the Soviet Union and was taught revolutionary tactics to be used in the violent overthrow of the United States government. By the late 1940's he began to understand the monster he was serving in Stalin and feeling extremely guilty about his activities. While still in the hospital recovering from heart problems, he was visited by two FBI agents who asked straight out if would like to be a spy. He agreed. As luck was have it, he was still a member in good standing with the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) so he was able to resume his activities in the Party with no problems. He eventually rose to second in command of the CPUSA.

Mr. Childs knew and was completely trusted by all the Post-Stalin leadership. One story shows how much he was trusted. On one trip to the Soviet Union, he was injured and had to have a finger amputated. He refused anesthetics because he was afraid he would blurt out he was a spy while under. Khrushchev thought he did this so he would not tell Soviet states secrets while under. Khrushchev made a speech in the Politburo congratulating Childs for his courage and had his finger buried Kremlin wall. From this position of trust, he was able Childs was able to obtain top-secret information for almost 30 years. This is only one of numerous improbable but true stories from the book, many of them life-threatening. An unparalleled story of courage and devotion.