Meet Morris and Lona Cohen; an ordinary-seeming couple living on a teacher’s salary in a nondescript building on the East Side of New York City. On a hot afternoon in the autumn of 1950; a trusted colleague knocked at their door; held up a finger for silence; then began scribbling a note: Go now. Leave the lights on; walk out; don’t look back.Born and raised in the Bronx and recruited to play football at Mississippi State; Morris Cohen fought for the Loyalists in the Spanish Civil War and with the U.S. Army in World War II. He and his wife; Lona; were as American as football and fried chicken; but for one detail: they’d spent their entire adult lives stealing American military secrets for the Soviet Union. And not just any military secrets; but a complete working plan of the first atomic bomb; smuggled direct from Los Alamos to their Soviet handler in New York. Their associates Julius and Ethel Rosenberg; who accomplished far less; had just been arrested; and the prosecutor wanted the death penalty. Did the Cohens wish to face the same fate? Federal agents were in the neighborhood; knocking on doors; getting close. So get out. Take nothing. Tell no one.In Operation Whisper; Barnes Carr tells the full; true story of the most effective Soviet spy couple in America; a pair who vanished under the FBI’s nose only to turn up posing as rare book dealers in London; where they continued their atomic spying. The Cohens were talented; dedicated; worldly spies—an urbane; jet-set couple loyal to their service and their friends; and very good at their work. Most people they met seemed to think they represented the best of America. The Soviets certainly thought so.
#2539168 in Books 2012-01-27 2012-02-10Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.27 x 1.19 x 6.23l; 1.58 #File Name: 1611210925432 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I got some good insights into the minds of Napoleon and those he ...By Andy Nunez; Editor of Against the Odds MagazineNester's book was very helpful to me while writing an article about the 1813 campaign in Germany. I got some good insights into the minds of Napoleon and those he interacted with. Most books concentrate on the campaigns; but this shows the goings on behind the scenes. I think its worth having for anybody doing a serious study of one of history's greatest warriors.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Worthwhile addition to Napoleon libraries; review by Thomas ZacharisBy Sarah StephanThe Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras were not only fertile ground for military glory; but also for feats of diplomatic maneuvering. No other period saw so many treaties; agreements and conventions drafted and signed; the majority of which bore the stamp of Napoleon Bonaparte. After the ratification of the Treaty of Mortefontaine; ending French privateering against American ships; on September 30; 1800; American envoy William Van Murray wrote his impression of Bonaparte: "The First Consul was grave; rather thoughtful; occasionally severe--not inflated nor egotistical--very exact in all his motions which show at once an impatient heart and a methodical head....of a most skilful fencing master....He speaks with a frankness so much above fear that you think he has no reserve." That description stands in telling contrast to that given by Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich to General Etienne Jacque Joseph Alexandre MacDonald 13 years later: "Your Emperor is in every way a lunatic."In Napoleon and the Art of Diplomacy; William R. Nester; professor of the Department of Government and Politics at St. John's University in New York and author of a variety of books; shows that Napoleon owed his rise as much to his skills in diplomacy as to those on the battlefield. Indeed his diplomatic talents can be discerned in his first known letter; written when he was 14; in which he tried to convince his uncle that his brother Joseph was better suited to the priesthood than the army. For Napoleon war and diplomacy were indivisible; a revelation not lost on military scholars such as Karl von Clausewitz.The author regards Napoleon's peak moments as a diplomat in the treaties of Campoformido in 1797 and Tilsit in 1807; and the Conference of Dresden in 1812. He ascribes Metternich's later appraisal to the egopathy inside Emperor Napoleon; which finally pushed him beyond the human limits and finally to fatal hubris. One other reason; however; was that Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord; who the author calls the devil of diplomacy; was in reality a traitor who often worked at cross purposes with the emperor while accepting money from Russian Tsar Alexander. Other officials also plotted against him; including Joseph Fouché and Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte.In line with Clausewitz's description of war as politics by other means; Napoleon and the Art of Diplomacy gives insights into a less well-known but important facet of the emperor's rise and fall. All scholars of Napoleonic history should find it a worthwhile addition to their libraries.(Note: This review was written by Thomas Zakharis and posted on by Napoleon and the Art of Diplomacy publisher Savas Beatie LLC at his request.)6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Good Account of Napoleon and his style of DiplomacyBy Aussie ReaderWilliam Nester's latest book; "Napoleon and the Art of Diplomacy" had me a bit worried when I ordered it. I wasn't keen to read a dry dull exposé of the art and use of diplomacy by Napoleon and his court (however I do acknowledge the importance of diplomacy). I started this book off then with some trepidation but soon found it to be an easy to read book of Napoleon and his campaigns with accounts of his use of diplomacy interwoven within the story.I don't think there are any ground-breaking revelations here; nothing entirely new for those readers of Napoleonic history; but the author has managed to put together a great story of Napoleon's style of diplomacy; how and why it worked or didn't work. As usual I was frustrated and annoyed to read of Talleyrand and Fouche causing problems for the Emperor. I wonder how he achieved so much sometimes with those two and a few others in the wings wrecking his plans but that's history.There are a number of errors; Sir Sidney Smith appears in the book as Sydney Smith; and Pasha Djezzar becomes Pjezzar along with a few other examples but nothing that detracts too much from the story. This is not an in-depth study of the use of diplomacy by Napoleon; more a general history of his campaigns and how he used his style of diplomacy to further his aims. Overall a good general study and well worth the effort to read.
