From Warsaw with Love, John Pomfret
From Warsaw with Love, John Pomfret
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

From Warsaw with Love
Polish Spies, the CIA, and the Forging of an Unlikely Alliance

Author: John Pomfret

Narrator: Donald Corren

Unabridged: 8 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 10/26/2021


Synopsis

The epic story of how Polish intelligence officers forged an alliance with the CIA in the twilight of the Cold War, told by the award-winning author John Pomfret

Spanning decades and continents, from the battlefields of the Balkans to secret nuclear research labs in Iran and embassy grounds in North Korea, this saga begins in 1990. As the United States cobbles together a coalition to undo Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, six
US officers are trapped in Iraq with intelligence that could ruin Operation Desert Storm if it is obtained by the brutal Iraqi dictator. Desperate, the CIA asks Poland, a longtime Cold War foe famed for its excellent spies, for help. Just months after the Polish people voted in
their first democratic election since the 1930s, the young Solidarity government in Warsaw sends a veteran ex-Communist spy who’d battled the West for decades to rescue the six Americans.

John Pomfret’s gripping account of the 1990 cliffhanger in Iraq is just the beginning of the tale about intelligence cooperation between Poland and the United States, cooperation that one CIA director would later describe as “one of the two foremost intelligence
relationships that the United States has ever had.” Pomfret uncovers new details about the CIA’s black site program that held suspected terrorists in Poland after 9/11 as well as the role of Polish spies in the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

In the tradition of the most memorable works on espionage, Pomfret’s book tells a disquieting tale of moral ambiguity in which right and wrong, black and white, are not conveniently distinguishable. As the United States teeters on the edge of a new cold war
with Russia and China, Pomfret explores how these little-known events serve as a reminder of the importance of alliances in a dangerous world.

About John Pomfret

John Pomfret served as a correspondent for the Washington Post for many years, and is currently on a Fulbright Senior Scholar's grant, living in Beijing. He is the author of the acclaimed book, Chinese Lessons, and has won several awards for his coverage of Asia, including the Osborne Elliot Prize.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Romulus

Świetna książka. Przeczytana podczas dwóch posiedzeń na lotnisku - Wizzair i jego notorycznie spóźnione loty, jak można mieć im za złe? 🤓 Autor skupił sie w niej na historii współpracy polskiego wywiadu i CIA oraz skutkami tejże (w wymiarze politycznym - wstąpienie Polski do NATO i inne). Lektura jes......more

Goodreads review by Abram

Love the topic of the book. Made me understand the special relationship between the Polish and American intelligence communities pre- and post- the fall of the Berlin Wall. I also appreciate the readability of the book, though it seems that Pomfret from time to time simply pasted together phrases/pa......more

Goodreads review by Arthur

From warsaw with love a 9 hour unabridged audiobook. The first half of the book details Polands spy history, and the latter half about the post Cold War times. I can see Polands conundrum. Punish former communist spies or reward those that eventually helped forge diplomatic relations with the west. T......more

Goodreads review by Lauren

Every November I try to squeeze in at least one nonfiction book in honor of the trendy #nonfictionnovember challenge. While I enjoy nonfiction, I have to really be sure to read a topic I’m truly interested in or else the reading becomes more of a burden than a joy. I’ve always been fascinated with h......more