The Liar
How a Double Agent in the CIA Became the Cold War’s Last Honest Man
$48.75
- Hardcover
288 pages
- Release Date
13 December 2022
Summary
In the mid-1970s, the CIA and KGB watched Karel Koecher closely-they were both convinced he was working for the enemy. And they were both right. Traveling with his wife, Hana, Koecher posed as a Czechoslovak asylum seeker and arrived in the US as a Communist sleeper agent. After parlaying a doctorate from Columbia into a job at the CIA, Koecher proceeded to operate as a double agent at the height of the Cold War.
Shunning a low profile, the Koechers embraced Manhattan’s high life-with…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781541700796 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1541700791 |
| Author: | Benjamin Cunningham |
| Publisher: | PublicAffairs,U.S. |
| Imprint: | PublicAffairs,U.S. |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 288 |
| Release Date: | 13 December 2022 |
| Weight: | 447g |
| Dimensions: | 240mm x 154mm x 30mm |
What They're Saying
Critics Review
”[V]ivid, sprawling… engrossing, well-written tale from the waning days of Cold War espionage.“– Kirkus
“Cunningham delivers a carefully researched, logically analyzed portrait of the man and his times… he is an excellent student of a most difficult topic.”–Decatur Daily
“Engrossing… delivers intriguing documentation about spies and spycraft.”–Wall Street Journal
”[V]ivid, sprawling… engrossing, well-written tale from the waning days of Cold War espionage.“–Kirkus
“Engagingly written, carefully researched, and richly informed, The Liar tells a gripping story of a prominent Czechoslovak Secret Police agent against the backdrop of Cold War history. Cunningham depicts a character worthy of a novel without compromising on historical accuracy. Struggling to be an agent of his own life while at the mercy of world superpowers, Cunningham’s Karel Koecher meets Kafka’s K. in John LeCarré’s universe.”–Veronika Tuckerová, department of Slavic languages & literatures, Harvard University
“The glamour of espionage usually gets more attention than the flawed and fascinating people who practice it. By focusing his story on the rich and multilayered lives of Karel and Hana Koecher, Cunningham gets as close to the heart of the spy as it’s possible to get.”–Joe Weisberg, creator of The Americans
About The Author
Benjamin Cunningham
Benjamin Cunningham is a Barcelona-based writer. He is a former correspondent for The Economist, editor in chief of the Prague Post, and copy boy at the Saginaw News. In addition he contributes to The Guardian, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Aspen Review, Le Monde Diplomatique and is an opinion columnist for Sme, Slovakia’s main daily newspaper. He is a PhD candidate at the University of Barcelona.
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