Book Description
"Here is a rich new biographical perspective on the brilliant storyteller whose sophisticated romantic fiction . . . made her an international success and perpetual candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature. . . . [These letters] contain the raw material that was later transformed into her classic memoir Out of Africa (1937). They also reveal her as a highly intelligent and sensitive analyst of a strange new world."—Bruce Allen, Christian Science Monitor
"Letters from Africa is literary gold, 24 karat."—Alden Whitman, Boston Globe
Customer Reviews:
BEAUTIFULLY DESCRIBED.......2007-04-24
"... huge distant blue mountains and the vast grassy plains before them covered with zebra and gazelle, and at night I can hear lions roaring like the thunder of guns in the darkness". Passages such as this one make it worthwhile to read this book. Karen Blixen is a master at poetically describing her foreign surroundings. If you enjoy the movie and the book Out of Africa then you will enjoy reading this book. Although at times the letters are repetitious and the author tends to ramble on, it is still an interesting book as it allows the reader to look through a window into Colonial East Africa from 1914 to 1931. The reader is able to go into Karen Blixen's mind and follow her daily struggles, joys and sorrows during her long stay in Africa and through her many safaris. This book unlike Out of Africa is not written through rose colored lenses. As you read this book, you feel a much harsher Africa. Also in this book she writes about her lover Dennis Finch-Hatton and doesn't hide the fact that she's crazy about him from her family. I highly recommend this book to any fan of Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen.
Better than Out of Africa.......2006-06-19
Isak Dineson, or Karen Blixen, was a fascinating woman. Most people know her as the main character from the movie Out of Africa or as the auther of the book of the same name. While the movie and the book are both good, I feel that this collection of her letters gives the best picture of who she was and what was important to her. The struggles of trying to make a go of her farm are heartwrenching, but the joy she expresses in her surroundings is enchanting. She describes the people in her life, especially the Kenyans who worked on her farm, so well that you feel you know them almost as well as you know her. Her description of the Europeans who lived in Kenya for economic or political reasons has enough of compliment and criticism to seem much more fair than many books from the colonial era. By the end of the book, it is easy to think of Karen as a friend.
Like reading a personal diary.......2000-10-22
There's no better way of getting to know the real Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen than by reading her Letters. Blixen shares her life with you a letter at a time, and in such rich detail that one feels a bit inclined to purchase a ticket to Kenya and appear on her veranda for tea!
Blixen's deep love for "her people" finally comes out in its truest sense in that she considered the African natives her soul mates.
The letters to Ingeborg, Aunt Bess, and brother Tommy, reveal (to me at least) that Blixen felt a greater kinship and sense of mutual acceptance with her "black skinned brother" than she did with her Danish relatives.
"Letters From Africa" is essential reading for any Dinesen fan.
A woman of the future.......2000-04-03
This is a very powerfull book, which gives good insight into the mind and soul of Karen Blixen. Compared to her own book "out of africa" you here have the "unprocessed" facts - she writes about her every day life on the farm, happy things as well as sad things in the form of letters to her loved ones. Very different from the intrepetation of the same facts in her book "Out of Africa". Read it!
Amazon.com
In early 1992, a Russian man walked into the British embassy in a newly independent Baltic republic and asked to "speak to someone in authority." As he sipped his first cup of proper English tea, he handed over a small file of notes. Eight months later, the man, his family, and his enormous archive had been safely exfiltrated to Britain. When news that a KGB officer had defected with the names of hundreds of undercover agents leaked out in 1996, a spokesperson for the SVR (Russia's foreign intelligence service, heir of the KGB) said, "Hundreds of people! That just doesn't happen! Any defector could get the name of one, two, perhaps three agents--but not hundreds!"
Vasili Nikitich Mitrokhin worked as chief archivist for the FCD, the foreign-intelligence arm of the KGB. Mitrokhin was responsible for checking and sealing approximately 300,000 files, allowing him unrestricted access to one of the world's most closely guarded archives. He had lost faith in the Soviet system over the years, and was especially disturbed by the KGB's systematic silencing of dissidents at home and abroad. Faced with tough choices--stay silent, resign, or undermine the system from within--Mitrokhin decided to compile a record of the foreign operations of the KGB. Every day for 12 years, he smuggled notes out of the archive. He started by hiding scraps of paper covered with miniscule handwriting in his shoes, but later wrote notes on ordinary office paper, which he took home in his pockets. He hid the notes under his mattress, and on weekends took them to his dacha, where he typed them and hid them in containers buried under the floor. When he escaped to Britain, his archive contained tens of thousands of pages of notes.
In 1995, Mitrokhin, by then a British citizen, contacted Christopher Andrew (For the President's Eyes Only), head of the faculty of history at Cambridge University and one of the world's foremost historians of international intelligence. Andrew was allowed to examine the archive Mitrokhin created "to ensure that the truth was not forgotten, that posterity might some day come to know of it." The Sword and the Shield is the earthshaking result. The book details the KGB's foreign-intelligence operations, most notably those aimed at Great Britain and the "Main Adversary"--the United States. In the 700-page book, Andrew reveals operations aimed at discrediting high-profile Americans, from Martin Luther King to Ronald Reagan; secret arms caches still hidden--and boobytrapped--throughout the West; disinformation efforts, including forging a letter from Lee Harvey Oswald in an attempt to implicate the CIA in the assassination of JFK; attempts to stir up racial tensions in the U.S. by sending hate mail and even bombs; and the existence of deep-cover agents in North America and Europe--some of whom were effectively "outed" when the book was published.
Mitrokhin's detailed notes are well served by Andrew, who writes forcefully and clearly. The Sword and the Shield represents a remarkable intelligence coup--one that will have serious repercussions for years to come. As Andrew notes, "No one who spied for the Soviet Union at any period between the October Revolution and the eve of the Gorbachev era can now be confident that his or her secrets are still secure." --Sunny Delaney
Book Description
Christopher Andrew's new book is based on one of the most extraordinary intelligence coups of recent times: the discovery of a treasure-trove of highly classified documents which the FBI has described, after close examination, as the "most complete and extensive intelligence ever received from any source." Though there is top-secret material on almost every country in the world, the United States is at the top of the list. The contents of the book remain embargoed until publication. As well as containing many fascinating revelations, this is a major contribution to the secret history of the twentieth century.
The Sword and the Shield is based on one of the most extraordinary intelligence coups of recent times: a secret archive of top-level KGB documents smuggled out of the Soviet Union which the FBI has described, after close examination, as the "most complete and extensive intelligence ever received from any source." Its presence in the West represents a catastrophic hemorrhage of the KGB's secrets and reveals for the first time the full extent of its worldwide network.
Vasili Mitrokhin, a secret dissident who worked in the KGB archive, smuggled out copies of its most highly classified files every day for twelve years. In 1992, a U.S. ally succeeded in exfiltrating the KGB officer and his entire archive out of Moscow. The archive covers the entire period from the Bolshevik Revolution to the 1980s and includes revelations concerning almost every country in the world. But the KGB's main target, of course, was the United States.
Though there is top-secret material on almost every country in the world, the United States is at the top of the list. As well as containing many fascinating revelations, this is a major contribution to the secret history of the twentieth century.
Among the topics and revelations explored are:
The KGB's covert operations in the United States and throughout the West, some of which remain dangerous today.
KGB files on Oswald and the JFK assassination that Boris Yeltsin almost certainly has no intention of showing President Clinton.
The KGB's attempts to discredit civil rights leader in the 1960s, including its infiltration of the inner circle of a key leader.
The KGB's use of radio intercept posts in New York and Washington, D.C., in the 1970s to intercept high-level U.S. government communications.
The KGB's attempts to steal technological secrets from major U.S. aerospace and technology corporations.
KGB covert operations against former President Ronald Reagan, which began five years before he became president.
KGB spies who successfully posed as U.S. citizens under a series of ingenious disguises, including several who attained access to the upper echelons of New York society.
Customer Reviews:
History all over again.......2007-01-03
For someone who grew up in the former Soviet Union it is a hell of a read. It is like re-learning Soviet history all over again. Just hope it is true.
The KGB Archives.......2006-11-18
Mitrokhin & Andrews' book is just as described: an archive of information. As such, it is packed with information that the authors have tried to organize into something of a dry narrative. That said, this volume and its successor, "The World Was Going Our Way," contain a plethora of details on KGB tactics and experiences from WWII onwards.
What it doesn't contain is a good deal of information about NKVD operations prior to WWII. There are brief descriptions of a handful of operations, and a general outline of the organizations history and structure, but, as the title advertises, this is a work on the KGB and the KGB alone.
Andrews should be commended for making what I'm sure were dry and, at times, likely unreliable reports into a working narrative.
NOTE: The rating above should read four stars rather than three.
Real.......2006-10-26
Well, this is the real facts, is not a story , is real life, this book is not about the agents some have in their mind from the movie industry's prections of the handsome athletic agent who is " good to the bone". This book shows the truth and explains what happened and why, it might not be too much impressionism but it gives what was going on behind the scene. The truth is always good to know, this is the book on the subject that gets as close as possible. The book can be opened at any page and is still captivating to read.
Longwinded but interesting.......2006-03-11
Quite recently a colleague told me that he resented a newspaper columnist who had referred to a relative of his as a communist spy. My colleague believed his relative had been an innocent victim of McCarthyist red baiting. I knew that his relative was no innocent but a high-level KGB operative. It said so in the Mitrokhin Archive vol. I, "The Sword and the Shield".
One of the tragedies of the Cold War is that many western communist spies, traitors to their own countries and dupes to one of the worst systems humanity has ever known, managed to rebrand themselves as victims of persecution. The paradigm for this view is Miller's "The Crucible", where for
"witches" one should read "spies". Except that there were no witches but there sure were spies. The Rosenbergs were spies and they did help Stalin put together his nuclear weapons. Alger Hiss was a spy. And so on and on. And as we have known or suspected for a long time, many NGOs such as the World Council of Churches and many political parties and publications were also preferred haunts for KGB agents and contacts in its neverending propaganda war.
Volume I of the Mitrokhin files is bulky and a longwinded. The writing is what used to be described as workmanlike in that goes to lenghts to avoid rethoric and even elegance. It just piles on fact upon fact. The facts are fascinating. As noted above, many of us knew that the governing and the chattering classes of the West were filled with spies and fellow travelers, but the sheer magnitude of that presence is impressive. We also knew that the Soviet leadership often did not manage to make the best possible use of the extraordinary intelligence it managed to acquire (remember Sorge's warning about the operation Barbarossa, and how Stalin dismissed him as a stooge to the British?). The book goes in mind-numbing detail on just how often political or personal prejudice stood in the way of taking advantage of the information.
As a Latin American I am a much bigger fan of volume II of the files. But volume I is a good place to start, and to never let us forget that the Cold War was a real war, that it could have been lost, and what it could have like if that had happened.
Amazing, dense and packed with info.......2006-02-21
I have not finished the book yet (in the interest of being honest)...but so far its got some really interesting unheard facts. I heard the author on the NPR and what he said (about the sequel) was some really interesting, amazing facts about the KGB....unfortunately the book is more dense and layered down with codename after codename and I think a lot gets lost as a result. However, the intent was to release EVERYTHING that Mitrokhin smuggled out so thats what they did....if you can sit threw a lot of stuff, there are real nuggets of gold here.
Product Description
Provides the most complete picture to date of the KGB & its operations in the U.S. It is based on a top-secret archive described as "the most complete & extensive intelligence ever achieved from any source." The archive reveals for the first time the full extent of the KGB's worldwide network. Before defecting from Russia to the West in 1992, Mitrokhin worked for 30 years in the foreign intell. archives of the KGB. In 1972 he was made responsible for moving these archives to new headquarters. However, Mitrokhin spent over a decade secretly making notes & transcripts of these highly classified files which he smuggled out of the archives, which he eventually brought to the U.K. Photos ( 700 pages )
Average customer rating:
- The Sword and The Shield & the Secret History of the KGB
|
The Sword & the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive & the Secret History of the KGB
Christopher Andrew ,
Vasili Mitrokhin , and
Robert Whitfield
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
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ASIN: 0786117435 |
Customer Reviews:
The Sword and The Shield & the Secret History of the KGB.......2001-12-12
This is an absolutely incredible read. The only drawback is the fine print, but asside from that, it catches your interest immediately. The fact that Vasili Mitrokhin was visionary enough to read and take notes on almost all the KGB files he could get his hands on is a testament to him. It also speaks volumns for the risk he was putting himself and his family into. It's amazing that he, his family, and the volumns of notes he made was able to make it out of the Soviet Union into Hungary, but he was a patient man willing to sacrifice it all knowing the penalty. What becomes immediately clear in this wonderful history lesson in espionage, is that we Americans are still behind in the game of cloak and dagger. It is completely mind boggling how much the Soviets knew about the US, our politics and our science and technology years before we became involved in WWII. For anyone who is interested in history, European history, espionage, and international leaders, this book is for you. Enjoy.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc. on May 1, 2000. The length of the article is 1309 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB.(Review) (book review)
Author: Melvin A. Goodman
Publication:
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 2000
Publisher: Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc.
Volume: 56
Issue: 3
Page: 64
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Security Management, published by American Society for Industrial Security on November 1, 2000. The length of the article is 521 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB.(Review) (book review)
Author: G. Ernest Govea
Publication:
Security Management (Refereed)
Date: November 1, 2000
Publisher: American Society for Industrial Security
Volume: 44
Issue: 11
Page: 116
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Harvard International Review, published by Harvard International Relations Council, Inc. on March 22, 2000. The length of the article is 1089 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Sword and the shield: the Mitrokhin archive and the secret history of the KGB.
Publication:
Harvard International Review (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2000
Publisher: Harvard International Relations Council, Inc.
Volume: 22
Issue: 1
Page: 84-5
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
Every one of the 887 species of birds found in Britain and Europe is described and illustrated - including all rarities and introduced species. The book provides the information needed to identify every species - whatever its age or sex - and special pages highlight groups of birds that are difficult to identify.
Average customer rating:
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Birds of Great Britain, Europe & Africa
David Alderton
Manufacturer: Southwater
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1844760359 |
Book Description
A lavish guide to the world of birds in Britain, Europe and Africa, finely illustrated with color photographs and specially commissioned artworks.
Average customer rating:
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Birds of Prey of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East (Collins Field Guide)
Benny Gensbol
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0002191768 |
Book Description
For millions of Americans, birdwatching is nothing less than an obsession. For enthusiasts, the excitement of sighting a rare species, the pleasure of watching a bird in flight, and the satisfaction of being able to spot and identify different birds constitute a burning passion that travels
with them wherever they go. The Birdwatcher's Handbook provides a marvelous resource for these dedicated hobbyists, offering a compendium of information about European birds that will be a delight to armchair readers and vacationers alike.
In The Birdwatcher's Handbook, authors Paul Ehrlich, David Dobkin, Darryl Wheye, and Stuart Pimm provide in-depth information about British and Northern European birds not found in standard guides. Unlike quick-reference spotter's guides, this volume combines helpful identification aids with
thorough descriptions of the birds' behavior and characteristics. Here you can find out where a bird nests, what type of nest it builds, and which partner builds it; how many eggs it lays, what they look like, which parent incubates them, and for how long; how it cares for its young, what it likes
to eat, and its foraging habits. This comprehensive volume also provides details about displays, mating, wintering and migration, conservation status, and guides to further reading. For the dedicated birdwatcher on the go (in one of the most popular vacation destinations for Americans), this
information will constitute invaluable help for locating and following different birds, and for identifying them by their behavior as well as their appearance. And both bird-loving travelers and homebound enthusiasts will delight in the comprehensive background this book provides on 515 separate
species--including 150 short essays on avian natural history.
Bird-watchers form a remarkable group, dedicated to following their passion from the backyard to the most distant places. The Birdwatcher's Handbook provides the information they need for both at-a-glance reference in the field and hours of reading pleasure at home--the perfect companion to a
trusted identification guide.
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