Pickleloaf.com : Books : Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America (Yale Nota Bene)


Books : Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America (Yale Nota Bene) In association with Amazon.com Rating: - Great research, but somewhat moralistic Informative, though reads a little like a phonebook. The all-too-often repeated pattern: so-and-so -- name, birthdate, birthplace, education -- became a Soviet agent, and passed such and such secrets (and so on for about hundred times). Motives of individual agents are seldom explored (though the final chapter has important insights into the "why" of agent work), while the authors rush to make moralistic judgments: so and so betrayed his country, so and so committed treachery, how many lives would have been saved had the Soviets not learned of US military or atomic secrets! The argument that Stalin would have been much more circumspect and cooperative if he had not obtained a bomb in 1949 is not convincing in the light of what is now known of his foreign policy behavior; indeed, Stalin's apprehension of US military superiority only made him more stubborn and adamant in the face of perceived American pressure. Was MaCarthy right about the communist conspiracy? This book shows that some of his allegations were justified, though not his paranoia. The book makes the argument that US security was lax, allowing spies to penetrate all government agencies and even the Manhattan project. Indeed, US efforts to penetrate the Soviet atomic project came to nothing, and recent research shows that Stalin took much greater care to preserve his own secrets. But so what? The US was not a police society, and hopefully never will be; if Venona is a testament to the success of the NKVD in the US, then it is also a testament to the resilience of democracy. It is a testament to the futility of secrecy and a powerful argument for greater governmental openness. Great reference book, it even has a list of all US agents deciphered by Venona. The authors also make a very good use of the Russian archives, especially those of the Comintern, though their research in this area is a little dated and will hopefully be improved by other enthusiasts. Rating: - A Shocking Book, Well Written, Desperately Needed The subject of this book is a shocking fact of American history that, for reasons inconceivable, has been thoroughly neglected by the historical community for more than a decade. The secrets uncovered through the VENONA Project and presented here by Haynes -- all of them factual -- dramatically re-cast American Cold War history, so much so that any American, regardless of political orientation, should and will be shocked by the story Haynes tells. "VENONA: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America" reveals that, all along, the intelligence community had incontrovertible proof of the Rosenbergs' guilt, and that Alger Hiss was unquestionably a Soviet spy. Countless others -- whose guilt has been debated for decades, or outright dismissed by nearly every serious historian as just one more "McCarthy-ite" lie -- were known from the very beginning to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, though the government withheld the proof to keep VENONA a secret. This is the story of what was by far the most pervasive and disturbing infiltration of the United States government by hostile foreign elements in history. It is also the story of by far the most important counter-intelligence initiative the United States has ever undertaken. Both of these stories were forgotten and needed to be told. All Americans owe Haynes a debt of gratitude for what he has done here. The truth of the book's claims have been established by the Moynihan Commission, and can be personally verified by any member of the public per the official declassification of VENONA in 1995. Rating: - A valuable and important contribution to the history of Soviet Cold War espionage Spying is the everyday word for the fancier word espionage. The main thing is that we know every side does it. Everyone is trying to get an edge on knowing what the other is doing. So, why does it matter what the now defunct Soviet Union was doing in its spying efforts during World War II? Simply, it is because it still plays a part in our current political debate. Our super secret efforts in developing the atom bomb were compromised; this is certain. There is still debate how much of our diplomacy was compromised at the end of World War II, particularly at Yalta, by agents who were sympathetic to the USSR while having sworn loyalty to America and its Constitution. During World War II, the United States was able to intercept encoded Soviet messages. They were supposed to be encoded in one time ciphers that were almost impossible to break in the age before super computers. Fortunately for America, the Soviets were sloppy are reused the cipher pads and better still, we were able to get our hands on a pad that was supposed to have been burned. Much of the material was not decoded until after the war, but all of it was kept classified under the made up name Venona (as well as others). The program was ended in 1980 and the first public disclosures in 1995 (although there were books and articles on the program before that release of documents). This book is an excellent summary of the program and what was learned from the program about key events that remained in the public debate for decades. Was Elizabeth Bently telling the truth about her spying? Yes. Was Whitakker Chamber telling the truth about Alger Hiss? Yes. Was Harry Dexter White, an assistant secretary of the Treasury and influential in the New Deal, working with the Soviets? Yes. Was Julius Rosenberg a spy? Yes. Was Ethel? Probably not more than an accessory to her husband's work. There is much more in this very readable and informative work. Another book to read on this subject is "The Venona Secrets" by Rommerstein and Breindel. "The Haunted Wood" by Allen Weinstein and Alexander Vassiliev is also quite good. Rating: - A High Standard of Scholarship In his book, A People's History of the United States, historian Howard Zinn described the Communist Party of the United States of America as a Party "known to pay special attention to the problem of race equality." Zinn said very little about communist espionage in the United States, and instead emphasized the roles of communist activists in the labor movement and the civil rights movement. Zinn is characteristic of leftist American historians who are quick to describe the Red Scare as an assault on civil liberties and ignore the very real threat posed by radical groups in the United States. Unfortunately for scholarship, their paradigm is regarded as mainstream. John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr have produced a scholarly work that forces the reader to rethink the notion of the American Marxist as a benign reformer. Decoding Soviet Espionage uses hard evidence gleaned from decoded past Soviet diplomatic traffic to expose the espionage of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, Theodore Alvin Hall, Harry Dexter White, Armand Hammer, Lauchlan Currie and literally hundreds of others. Haynes and Klehr prove that the members of the CPUSA regularly stole technology and information from their employers: private industry and the Federal Government. Moreover, they had absolutely no moral qualms about doing this, since they regarded the Federal Government and private corporations as illegitimate, repressive organizations that would soon be replaced by a revolutionary utopia. Haynes' and Klehrs' thesis is convincing and compelling. Although an anti-communist bias becomes quickly apparent, Haynes and Klehr manage to establish a neutral, scholarly tone throughout the book and avoid falling into a shrill ideological chorus. In fact, the book gets four stars because in some places the analysis drags, as though it was a raw data report. Decoding Soviet Espionage should be required reading in any course about the Cold War era in U.S. History. Rating: - Spies and Lies A well-researched book on an interesting subject. The findings of the Venona project shed new light on communism in America. It was fascinating to learn that communists in this country during the first half of the 20th century were doing more than just freely practicing their political and sociological beliefs - they were making serious and deliberate attempts to undermine our government, our defenses, and our technology. The detailed descriptions of espionage by communists in America, supported by factual evidence found in the Venona transcripts changed my perspective on this era of our country's history.