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Moscow Memoir: An American Military Attaché in the Ussr 1979-1981 Kindle Edition

by James R. Holbrook (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 14 ratings
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This memoir portrays the ups and downs in the life and work of an American military attach in the Soviet Union from 1979-1981. The Iranian Hostage Crisis, the failed attempt to rescue those hostages, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the American-led boycott of the Moscow Summer Olympics all occurred during this period.
The author describes both the stark living conditions in Moscow and, based partly on his reports from Moscow that the Defense Intelligence Agency declassified, takes the reader on information collection trips to various cities in the Soviet Union. That travel was in itself an adventureonce his wife and he were forced to sleep in a provincial train station. The KGB frequently tampered with his auto and personal possessions.
The authors job was to observe and report military activity that could have an impact on Soviet political-military affairs. After his earlier assignment with the U.S. Military Liaison Mission in East Germany, where military observation was relatively easy, the author became frustrated at the meager opportunities to gather useful military information in the USSR. Consequently, he became more aggressive in his collection efforts. He began traveling more or less incognito about Moscow, making civilian acquaintances and, due to his language and cultural skills, was able to blend into Soviet social gatherings. He began to take risks, some of which paid dividends.
Overconfidence, however, led to an incident in Rovno, Ukraine. There the KGB set up a swallow entrapment, after which a Soviet intelligence officer, whom the author had known in East Germany, attempted to recruit him as a spy.
This memoir immerses the reader in an increasingly forgotten Cold War environment that, unfortunately, may once again be on the horizon of U.S.-Russian relations.
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  1. Print length
    394 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    AuthorHouse
  5. Publication date
    January 5, 2018
  6. File size
    9992 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Holbrook began his U.S. military career in the Navy before becoming an Army private and retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He served as an assistant army attach at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow in 1979-1981. Before his Moscow assignment, Holbrook worked for eighteen years in a wide variety of Army intelligence positionsas an enlisted Russian linguist in West Berlin, commander of an intelligence detachment in South Vietnam, and as an operational and strategic analyst in the Pentagon and Headquarters, U.S. Army, Europe. In 1976-1977, he served in East Germany with the U.S. Military Liaison Mission attached to the Commander in Chief, Soviet Group of Forces. Touring East Germany with other officers and non-commissioned officers, he played cat and mouse with East German and Soviet military and intelligence forces. Using recently declassified Army files, he published an account of that assignment in his Potsdam Mission: Memoir of a U.S. Army Intelligence Officer in Communist East Germany. The author holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from The American University and a Doctorate from Georgetown University. He taught Russian at the National Security Agency, The American University and the U.S. Military Academy, West Point. Holbrooks military decorations include the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Stars, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal and several service and campaign ribbons. He retired from the Army in 1989 and now lives in Pueblo, Colorado.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B079HFFD78
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ AuthorHouse (January 5, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 5, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 9992 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 394 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1546217592
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

Customer reviews

3.7 out of 5 stars
3.7 out of 5
14 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

JAck in Colorado
5.0 out of 5 stars Otlichno Priklyucheniye or Excellent Adventure
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2018
Verified Purchase
The Cold War was at it's most frigid depth during my 1978 - 1980 assignment to the U.S. Defense Attache Office, Moscow. This accurate account awakened some dormant memories of dangerous events. Most all of the accounts of the activities of those brave men must remain only in the memories of those involved and top secret archives. Jim Holbrook was admired by all for his excellent skill of blending into the culture and the content of subsequent reports.
If you ever worked in the Intel area this is the real stuff.
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dp
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent personal account of one Attaché’s experience in USSR’s Moscow
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2018
Verified Purchase
what I liked: The immense amount of reference and noted supporting material for the author’s observations. Author keeps a very engaging and conversational tone.
What I disliked: Lack of full exploration of the author’s experiences related to current events and international relationship. The author makes some shallow allusions to parallels that exist but deprives the reader of entering fully into his viewpoint and understood implications.
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JJC
2.0 out of 5 stars Mildly interesting, tainted by some self-serving storytelling
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2019
Verified Purchase
Some of the details of life in the USSR in 1979-1981 were interesting, but the author comes across as rationalizing bad decisions and personal flaws and self- promoting.
2 people found this helpful
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Brightlight
5.0 out of 5 stars Must-read view of Moscow and the KGB at the height of the Cold War
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2018
Verified Purchase
A completely in varnished account of the life of a military attaché in the belly of the beast. Try it.
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Lia Scovil
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank You
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2019
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Thank you
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Joseph Guido
4.0 out of 5 stars Must-read True Story of an American serving on the front lines of the Cold War
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2019
James Holbrook’s stunning, first-person account of his time as an Assistant Army Attaché at the US Embassy in Moscow at the height of the Cold War is a must-read for anyone who is to serve in a US diplomatic mission or anyone interested in what living behind the Iron Curtain as a Cold Warrior was actually like. His deeply personal and introspective narrative, which could use much refinement, courageously outlines his successes…and failures…as an expert Russophile and Sovietologist as well as talented new Military Attaché serving abroad. His story should serve as both a warning as well as reminder about the techniques used to exploit vulnerabilities and weakness in diplomatic service. While Holbrook does not know if it was the KGB or GRU which entrapped him through a classic rendition of the infamous “honey trap,” Holbrook’s self-reflection on the events leading to this life-changing event as well as confronting its consequences, should be mandatory reading for all Foreign Area Officers.
Importantly, this autobiography alludes to the resurgence of these types of activities, in no small measure by the prominence of the most famous veteran of the Soviet Intelligence Service today: Vladimir Putin. Using a variety of sources to include his own declassified Intelligence Reports, Holbrook paints a stark picture of life as a diplomat in the Soviet Union, harkening to the words of the Russian Prime Minister of Russia in 1903-1906, Sergei Witte: “In truth, what is it that has essentially upheld Russian statehood?...Only the power of the bayonet. The world bowed not to our culture, nor to our bureaucratized church, nor to our wealth and prosperity. It bowed to our might.” Those words, like Holbrook’s tale, have meaning and significance for the democratic world today.
One person found this helpful
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Rolland W. Amos
5.0 out of 5 stars ASSIGNED TO MOSCOW
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2019
In this book the author describes his tour of duty as an assistant Military Attache from 1979-81. This assignment followed an earlier tour (1976-77) with the U.S. Military Liaison Mission attached to the Soviet Group of Forces in East Germany (which he writes about in another book - "Potsdam Mission: Memoirs of a U.S. Army Intelligence Officer in Communist East Germany). Because of his superb knowledge of Russian, he was able to carry out both assignments with skill and imagination. This current book, I predict, will become mandatory reading for any American headed for an assignment in Russia. While Holbrook's accounts describe life and duty challenges during the Cold War era, current events indicate that U.S.-Russian relations have not warmed up that much. Thus, many of the problems and conditions that Holbrook experienced in his day still prevail. I particularly enjoyed the accounts of his travels to some 15 Russian cities, that he embellishes with some interesting, associated historical information, plus other details on how the Russians continuously obstructed in various ways his efforts to carry out his duties. He also describes in detail how the KGB 'entrapped' him and later tried to "turn" him (to spy for Russia) - an incident that resulted in the early curtailment of his Moscow assignment. This book contains historical, cultural, language and professional information that will be of interest to any 'Russophile", linguist , whomever - military or civilian - who is headed for Russia in some capacity. It also contains a very useful bibliography. I enjoyed the book immensely. R. Amos, Severn MD
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Karpaty
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging, honest account
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2020
After mostly counting antennas at the beginning, the author picks the pace in the second half, including repeated adultaries that crashed his promising career. And very promising career it was if Mr. Holbrook's Russian was so good he sold himself as a Soviet to military recruits in Moscow. Too bad he didn't make it to Lvov, he'd be charmed. Bad Katya.
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