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Best of Enemies: The Last Great Spy Story of the Cold War

Gus Russo (Goodreads Author),

Eric Dezenhall (Goodreads Author)

4.12 · Rating details · 202 ratings · 33 reviews

The thrilling story of two Cold War spies -- CIA agent Jack Platt and KGB agent Gennady Vasilenko -- and their improbable friendship at a time when they should have been anything but.

In 1978, CIA maverick Jack Platt and KGB agent Gennady Vasilenko were new arrivals on the Washington, DC intelligence scene, with Jack working out of the CIA's counterintelligence office and G ...more

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Hardcover, 352 pages

Published October 2nd 2018 by Twelve

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Nov 19, 2018 Erik Graff rated it liked it

Recommends it for: espionage fans

Recommended to Erik by: no one

Shelves: history

This account of the relationship between Jack Platt of the CIA and Gennady Vasilenko of the KGB begins in the late 70s and ends, shortly after Platt's death, with the beginning of the Trump administration. In telling the story of the deepening friendship between these two counter-intelligence operators the authors also tell of the two most successful moles of the period, Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen, and how Platt and Vasilenko contributed to their capture.

A quick read, but not particularly w ...more

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Oct 26, 2019 Melisende rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: espionage

The thrilling story of two Cold War spies, CIA case officer Jack Platt and KGB agent Gennady Vasilenko -- improbable friends at a time when they should have been anything but.

Two dedicated agents of opposing counter-intelligence agencies who become friends - a buddy story. Whilst obviously written for the mass market, I found this to be a conflicting read for me. I was interested to know how the two men - Jack Platt and Gennady Vasilenko - managed to become close friends, and yet both men come o ...more

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Oct 16, 2019 Denise rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2019

The fascinating story of the unlikely friendship that arose between CIA officer Jack Platt and his KGB counterpart Gennady Vasilenko during the Cold War and lasted until the Platt's death -surviving all manner of espionage shenanigans, betrayals, mole hunts, imprisonment and torture. While I had heard of this (almost) incredible relationship in broad strokes, the full story proved to be every bit as intriguing and engrossing as one might expect. ...more

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Oct 10, 2018 ManOfLaBook.com rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

Best of Enemies: The Last Great Spy Story of the Cold War by Gus Russo and Eric Dezenhall is a non-fiction book which narrates the relationship between KGB officer Gennady Semyovich Vasilenko and legendary CIA officer Jack Platt. Both Mr. Russo and Mr. Dezenhall are published writers with numerous works under their belts.

I love a good spy novel, a great one is even better, and a great non-fiction book which reads like a g For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

Best of Enemies: The Last Great Spy Story of the Cold War by Gus Russo and Eric Dezenhall is a non-fiction book which narrates the relationship between KGB officer Gennady Semyovich Vasilenko and legendary CIA officer Jack Platt. Both Mr. Russo and Mr. Dezenhall are published writers with numerous works under their belts.

I love a good spy novel, a great one is even better, and a great non-fiction book which reads like a great spy novel is the best. Best of Enemies: The Last Great Spy Story of the Cold War by Gus Russo and Eric Dezenhall reads like the last one, an approachable and readable book about a complex relationship, geo-political goals, and true friendship.

The authors use extensive interviews of the Mr. Platt and Mr. Vasilenko, as well as unclassified information to tell the stories. The main narrative, besides a long lasting unlikely friendship, is the hunt for an American mole in the intelligence community which has caused untold amount of damage. Mr. Platt was instrumental in finding that mole, Robert Hanssen, unfortunately, Mr. Vasilenko was arrested and wrongfully imprisoned and tortured for years as a result.

Reading about the brutal imprisonment in modern Russia seems like an extension of the old gulag system. Trying to break a person to get unreliable, yet career making, information or a confession, a false one most likely.

The picture the authors paint of the ex-CIA, ex-KGB operators is that of two fun loving, strong and clever men who share much in common (most notably alcohol and shooting). Men who love their respective countries and will do anything out of pure patriotism despite the large personal cost they pay or their ideological disagreements with the current regime. The authors also touch on the difficult price operatives’ families pay, wives and children take second place to country and its needs.

Each person in the book is conveyed with great respect, but does not shy away from revealing some of their flaws which in my opinion makes this book about humans instead of fictional super-spies. Even actor Robert De Niro, who met the two while researching his 2006 movie The Good Shepard, became an admirer and a lifelong friend (he even wanted the charming and charismatic Mr. Vasilenko to star next to him).

The book contains relevant detail to the story the authors are trying to tell. It is not bogged down by details which will slow down the story, even if they might be somewhat relevant – after all, recapping 40 years of two very dangerous lives, lived by two exciting people is not an easy task to accomplish in 336 pages. ...more

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Sep 27, 2019 Sheri Maxey-Wilson rated it did not like it

Yet another special snowflake with an inability to follow rules. Quick, let me write a book.

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Oct 19, 2018 Amanda Forry-Fino rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 06, 2019 Proforma rated it really liked it

This book could as easily be titled: A Few Good Men. N.B. Plot differs.

This might be the origin of the word 'frenemies'. The book is well researched and offers the reader good insights to the relatively new history of the Cold War and the period of American history from the '70's to early in the new millennium.

It deals, in part with the treason of several American spies (now languishing in prison) and several Russian spies. Those who betrayed Russia (or the USSR) as it was known then were paid w This book could as easily be titled: A Few Good Men. N.B. Plot differs.

This might be the origin of the word 'frenemies'. The book is well researched and offers the reader good insights to the relatively new history of the Cold War and the period of American history from the '70's to early in the new millennium.

It deals, in part with the treason of several American spies (now languishing in prison) and several Russian spies. Those who betrayed Russia (or the USSR) as it was known then were paid well and are living on their ill gotten gains somewhere. Those who got caught by the Russians are now dead.

The Best Of Enemies certainly left me with a few points to ponder:

- Today drones, satellites and computers do the spying, these objects either get the Intel or they don't, it is a largely unemotional, un-human exercise. It cannot be compared to human spying, I cannot imagine going up to someone and trying to convince them to betray their country. I cannot imagine betraying my country.

- Traitor. It depends on which window you look through. Those who betray their country for you or yours are traitors to their country but assets to you. I imagine this works visa versa globally, our traitors are assets to other countries.

- There is a world which we largely ignore, a world where people kill and are killed and we do need men (and women) with guns standing on the wall between us and that world. We need them. We need them to do dirty work we don't want to talk about but we also want them to be transparent and accountable. I think we want our bread buttered on both sides if that is the case. This is not a go ahead to do whatever they want, this is me appreciating the freedom I have. Freedom I would not have if good men did not do the dirty work.

- Patriot, how we throw that word around... It is possible to be a patriot to your country and oppose the ruling party in it. We love to celebrate the 4th of July but how many of us will pick up a gun and defend a position that the government instructs us to, domestic or foreign? Regardless of our own opinion of whether the position or the fight is just or not. We call ourselves patriots but we also want to draw the line as fits our own morality or ideology - not the government's.

As mentioned earlier, the book gives an insight to the Cold War as an event in the background, the story is about the American Cowboys and the Russian Cowboy, and it is a great human interest interest story.

How they ever managed to keep their friendship going in such trying times is a wonder and a tribute to the human spirit, underneath all the layers we seek out our sister and brother souls and we do actually want to be friends, not enemies. This must be our greatest human flaw or our greatest human virtue. I'm going with virtue.

Last but not least, the world at large has chastised the CIA for its incompetence at the end of the war. To quote from the movie, The Siege, the notorious, infamous General William Devereux says: The CIA didn't know the Berlin Wall was coming down until bricks started hitting them in the head.

Apparently those bricks hit the big four at the same time. MI6 had no idea and the authors kindly included chapters relating how the Stasi and the KGB were also wounded in the same fall. The Stasi trying ineffectively to burn files before being overrun by East German citizens and the KGB huddled in the Lubyanka building watching in terror as 'Iron Felix' was garrotted and torn down.

I rate this book 4 stars and advise readers to know your classics, from Kafka to McCarthy, comparisons and quotes are thrown in enriching the pages greatly. ...more

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Jun 23, 2018 Dumbledore11214 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. AMAZON VINE ARC review (free copy)
Review:

I am not really sure how to review this book. The story of Jack and Gennadiy's unlikely friendship, fascinating spying career during the Cold war gets an A for sure and I think the writers did their job in making sure that larger than life personalities of the people they wrote about shine through, so I will leave it at that.

I won't deny that as much as I enjoy spy thrillers ( or used to enjoy anyway) the reason why I grabbed the book at Amazon vine was t ...more

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Sep 16, 2019 Mark rated it really liked it

If you ever listen at all to conservative talk radio (guilty), you'll hear advertisements for books like Best of Enemies all the time. It's an old-fashioned spy yarn, too unbelievable to be anything but true, about the good old days when men were men, commies were the enemy, you could buy any kind of gun you wanted so long as you had a government job, and murder, torture, and betrayal were all just another day at the office. Just because hundreds of these books roll off the presses to be given a If you ever listen at all to conservative talk radio (guilty), you'll hear advertisements for books like Best of Enemies all the time. It's an old-fashioned spy yarn, too unbelievable to be anything but true, about the good old days when men were men, commies were the enemy, you could buy any kind of gun you wanted so long as you had a government job, and murder, torture, and betrayal were all just another day at the office. Just because hundreds of these books roll off the presses to be given as Grandfathers' Day presents and sit on study bookshelves unread each year doesn't mean some of them aren't really good. Best of Enemies is a great story, and it's extremely well-written, scrupulously fact-based and entirely free of distracting rhetorical flourishes. Russo and Dezenhall have two incredible subjects in CIA man "Cowboy" Jack Platt and his KGB opposite number Gennady Vasilenko, who tried for a few years in the late seventies to turn one another and then gave up and became best friends instead. The story takes several wild twists and turns over the ensuing decades, encompassing the fall of Soviet Union, the arrest of American moles Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen, the "spy swap" that occurred between Russia and America during Obama's brief "reset" period, and amusingly, a couple of lesser Robert De Niro movies. The authors are both filled with admiration for these men and honest about their faults. The few fanciful elements in the closely reported narrative are in the characters' voices and not the authors'. Vasilenko is a true Russian original, a patriot who nonetheless loved America, a volleyball star from deepest Siberia who had a secret second family, a guy who stubbornly wore an FBI sweatshirt while he was being tortured in prison and survived to claim a walk-on part in Silver Linings Playbook. If the authors have right-wing sympathies they're not trying to drive them home. Rather they're making the bipartisan point that no matter what your job is, lasting relationships matter the most, and doing so rather touchingly. ...more

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Jan 21, 2021 Richard Gullickson rated it really liked it

This is the remarkable story CIA agent “Cowboy” Jack Platt and his KGB friend and associate Gennady Vasilenko. Jack spent much of his cold war career trying to recruit “Genya” to spy against his country without success. The two, along with several FBI agent friends, developed a life long friendship that persisted even after Vasilenko was imprisoned by the KGB who assumed (falsely) that he had betrayed his country. Genya, who played an unwitting role in revealing the US traitor spy Robert Hanssen ...more

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Nov 15, 2020 Danny Toma rated it really liked it

This is a fast-paced, page-turning spy yarn that reads quickly and is highly enjoyable. It is the unlikely story of two secret agents, one CIA and one KGB, who became the best of friends during the Cold War despite remaining loyal to their own missions. And what missions these were! Covering some of the biggest cases of the 1980s and beyond, their careers were intertwined with the biggest headlines in espionage. The only flaw to the book (and the reason I give it four stars instead of five), is ...more

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Sep 07, 2019 Adam Steinberg rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and gave incredible insight into the Cold War. I tend to like books with first person accounts and this book had a lot as the authors spent a lot of time with both Jack Platt and Gennady Vasilenko, but verified all information by double and triple checking against credible third party sources. The way they delved into the investigations and arrests of both Aldrich Ames and Robert Hansen were fascinating and highlighted the way some through invest ...more

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Dec 08, 2018 Brian rated it liked it

There is a great story here, and generally well told (the first 20 pages and the end are a little rough, but beyond that it's pretty well written.) As someone who grew up during the Cold War, this book served as a reminder of the tensions between the US and the Soviet Union, and the battle waged between the CIA and FBI versus the KGB. The characters in this are great, and the authors do a nice job bringing them to life. The story is full of twists and insights into what CIA, FBI and KGB officers ...more

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Jan 30, 2019 Miriam rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book, history, biography

This history of the unusual friendship between CIA maverick Jack (Cowboy) Platt, based in DC, and KGB agent Gennady Vasilenko, based in the Soviet Embassy is long and torturous (in many senses of the word). Slowly, slowly, readers learn about the life and times of two spies, their dirty tricks, methods of interrogation and torture, and other deadly aspects of spy-craft from the Cold War into the twenty-first century.

Perfect for fans of spy stories and exposés, the casual listener might prefer a ...more

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Oct 21, 2018 Ernest Spoon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A fascinating and topical book. "Cowboy" Jack Platt and Gennady Vasilenko were assigned by their respective espionage agencies, the CIA and the KGB, to "turn" one another, ie turn traitor. But they never did. Both remained loyal citizens and spies of their respective nations. Yet both became fast friends.

The events of this book are to incredible to be fictionalized. However, I can envision a television mini-series. ...more

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Jan 04, 2019 North Landesman rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, history

Fun. A story of two spies sent to recruit each other that mostly seem to make friends and have the CIA pay for them to party and shoot guns in the woods. The friendship and spycraft never gets boring, the characters are great, and frankly, I wish the book were longer. Highly recommend this for anyone who likes spy books. I think that Cowboy sold out his buddy and tricked him and deserves full blame for what happened here.

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Feb 19, 2020 Phil rated it liked it

Shelves: history, non-fiction

Started out well, but about half-way through I felt like it was kind of wandering and pulling bits and pieces and connects from a lot of places. I didn't feel like it was a tightly woven narrative of the events. It felt like it was trying to weave in all of these other stories and big names to make the book more interesting. I think I'm being a bit generous in giving it 3 stars. I had a hard time finishing it. If you want to read a really good spy book read "The Billion Dollar Spy" ...more

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Jan 03, 2019 Beau rated it really liked it

Very well researched and put together. Interesting read and informative also. I feel like I have much more context for even current political issues and US / Russian relations, as much as I gained about Cold War era details. I appreciate that the authors have cleaner language than the two protagonists, but just be forewarned that there are several f-words in it.

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Feb 03, 2020 Stephanie rated it really liked it

I found this to be a fascinating look at cold war spies, and how respect and friendship could span even the Soviet/American divide. Peppered with details of the discovery of double agents, Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen, as well as Robert De Niro's friendship of both men, it read quickly. A good read for anyone interested in spies or the cold war. ...more

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Nov 30, 2020 Steve Wegman rated it really liked it

The unlikely friendship of CIA operative Jack Piatt & KGB’s Genady Vasilenko who became friends during Vasilenko’s first assignment to the US and eventually saved each other’s lives. They first met in the 1970s and remained close through the breakup of the Soviet Union and through Vasilenko's being imprisoned twice by the KGB (and post-Soviet FSB) until Piatt's death in 2017. ...more

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Jan 16, 2020 Tamara rated it liked it

I had the extreme pleasure of meeting Jack Platt's daughter. She entertained me during a business meeting with detailed stories about her father's heroism and accomplishments during his distinguished career with the CIA. ...more

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Nov 19, 2020 Ron Baumer rated it it was amazing

An extremely powerful novel about spy’s during the Cold War. The story was riveting and I did not want to put it down. A very inspirational story about an unlikely friendship that endured all troubles. A must read book.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Jan 26, 2019 Linda Childs rated it really liked it

Spy stories are always exciting, but a true spy story is exciting and nail-biting.

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Aug 08, 2019 E rated it really liked it

Great read.. 4 stars because the placement of photos were like spoilers

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Nov 22, 2020 Pleunig rated it really liked it

A little peak into the CIA and KGB through the eyes of real life operatives and their life long friendship. Very interesting. Oh the webs you weave when you attempt to deceive!

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Feb 13, 2021 Aidan Renaghan rated it it was ok

It was fine. Readable but not super exciting. Felt fairly embellished but what do I know.

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Mar 24, 2021 Laura rated it liked it

3.5***. Interesting Cold War real James Bond spooks.

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Jun 24, 2019 Sybil rated it it was amazing

If you enjoy "The Americans" television show then reading this book confirms some of the stories told in the television show. Book about a great friendship between two of the most unlikely people to be friends. ...more

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Oct 02, 2019 Cathy rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019-books, arcs

If you enjoy the television show The Americans, the Jason Bourne movies or grew up reading John LeCarre or Robert Ludlum, you’ll likely enjoy Best of Enemies. The same goes for those interested in Cold War history in general.

The book is well-paced and intriguing. There is plenty of detail regarding people, places, and tradecraft. It’s interesting to see what was going on behind the scenes over those many years.

My only recommendation to readers is to bookmark the character bios at the front of ...more

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Feb 09, 2021 Akindle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: advance-reader-copies

A true spy story rivaling even one of my favorite stories about the Cold War, this book is great. 5 stars for a tale spanning decades of some CIA personal and a KGB officer who became friends. My rating is not affected by getting this for free as an ARC.

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About Gus Russo

Gus Russo

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Gus Russo is a veteran investigative reporter, musician, and author. His first book, Live By the Sword: The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK (Bancroft, 1998), was praised by the New York Times as “compelling, exhaustively researched and even handed.” Kirkus Reviews called Sword, “Probably the last book on the Kennedy assassination you will need to read....Gripping and convincing!” T
Gus Russo is a veteran investigative reporter, musician, and author. His first book, Live By the Sword: The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK (Bancroft, 1998), was praised by the New York Times as “compelling, exhaustively researched and even handed.” Kirkus Reviews called Sword, “Probably the last book on the Kennedy assassination you will need to read....Gripping and convincing!” The book was a Book of the Month Club and History Book Club Featured Alternate. Sword was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1999, and has been scripted for a mini-series by Showtime Networks. Russo next authored The Outfit: The Role of Chicago’s Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America (Bloomsbury, 2002). It was described as “seamless” (Baltimore Sun), “a tireless read...a saga...550 pages of good journalism” (Chicago Tribune), and “one of the essential works on the subject of organized crime” (Los Angeles Times). The Outfit was also nominated for the Pulitzer, and was optioned before publication by USA Networks.
Russo’s next book, Gangsters and GoodFellas (June 2004, M Evans Pub.), was a collaboration with former NY gangster Henry Hill, a sequel to his 1985 biography Wiseguy, which was the basis for the hit 1990 movie GoodFellas, starring Robert DeNiro.
Russo followed with Supermob: How Sidney Korshak and His Criminal Associates Became America’s Hidden Power Brokers (Sept. 2006); Supermob film rights were sold before publication to CBS-Paramount, and is being developed as a television series. Regarding this book, Publishers Weekly stated: “Veteran investigative author and organized crime expert Russo's magnum opus is a compelling look at one of the last century's major power players. Russo's extensive research is amply evident, and he has made use of recently disclosed records to paint a fuller picture than predecessors such as Seymour Hersh and Brian Ross were able to...a worthy addition to the genre.” Chicago Sun-Times: “An exhaustive look at [Korshak’s] exploits… Russo does a masterful job… The amount of research in the book is staggering… Russo pulls plenty of substantive dirty deeds done by Korshak into the light. Korshak would have cringed.” Kirkus: “there are plenty of revelations in this absorbing book.” SF Chronicle: “[Supermob] adds up to a compelling picture of the exercise of power in the 20th century… Russo’s chapter on the shameless plundering of the assets of imprisoned Japanese Americans during World War II, presided over by a bevy of Korshak’s associates, is particularly stirring.”
In January 2006, Russo, as co-writer with Wilfried Huismann, delivered a breakthrough 90-minute documentary for the German public television network WDR. The film, “Rendezvous With Death,” clarifies the relationship between Cuba’s intelligence service and JFK’s killer. At this writing, the film has aired in fifteen countries. In addition, Russo is also an occasional consultant to Hollywood screenwriter Ron Bass. Russo’s fifth book (w/ Steve Molton), is Brothers in Arms: The Kennedys, the Castros, and the Politics of Murder (October 2008). This book was inspired by the “Rendezvous” film. Brothers was named Winner of the 2008 History Prize by the New York Book Festival.

In 2009, Russo produced and co-wrote Generation 9-11, a documentary feature film on the West’s misconceptions about Islam, for Academy Award-winning director Nigel Nobel. Most recently, Russo’s The Outfit was optioned by top Hollywood producer Joe Roth (Alice in Wonderland) as a television series, and his original feature script, Django, ¬is currently being read by Mick Jagger for possible purchase by his Jagged Films Production Co.

Russo released his sixth book, a memoir entitled Boomer Days, in May 2011.

Previously, Gus Russo has worked an investigative reporter for PBS’ Frontline series, as well as ABC News Special Reports w ...more