Family of Spies: Inside the John Walker Spy Ring

by Pete Earley

The Walker family's involvement in spying for the Soviet Union and their conviction on espionage charges is revealed, with new facts about the discovery of their actions and the grand-scale damage done to the nation's security

Genres: Nonfiction, Espionage, History, True Crime, Crime, Biography, Military History

465 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Pete Earley is a storyteller who has penned 13 books including the New York Times bestseller The Hot House and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize finalist Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness.
After a 14-year career in journalism, including six years at The Washington Post, Pete became a full-time author with a commitment to expose the stories that entertain and surprise.
His honest reporting and compelling writing helped him garner success as one of few authors with ”the power to introduce new ideas and give them currency,” according to Washingtonian magazine.
When Pete’s life was turned upside down by the events recounted in his book Crazy, he joined the National Alliance of Mental Illness to advocate for strong mental health reform on the public stage.

Reviews

[Eric_W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another of those must reads after watching the eponymous movie. I have this need to always find out what really happened, i.e., what verity there might be in the dramatic film version compared to real life. Some background reading revealed that John A. Walker’s achievements were monumental. The Soviets could read our communications but not break the code until Walker gave them the code cards. But that was only half of the puzzle. The North Korean hijacking of the Pueblo in 1968 gave them the machine (whether that was the intent of the hijacking remains an interesting speculation.) Why the U.S. didn’t change all its codes after the hijacking baffles me, but they didn’t, and the Soviets could read all the U.S. military traffic until 1980 when the system was changed. That was millions of coded messages. “K-mart store has better security than the U.S. Navy,” John told the author in one of his interviews.

This is the extraordinary story of John Walker who, as a Navy warrant officer, passed vital secrets to the Russians, not out of any political conviction, but purely for the money. He successfully enlisted his friends and relatives in his operation. This went on for more than twenty years. And he would never have been caught except John’s maltreatment of his wife. In fact, the FBI initially discounted Barbara’s revelations much as they ignored the information they had on the 9/11 attackers. John soon realized their ineptitude. “I began to realize that the FBI is not like it is on television. You see, the FBI doesn’t really do any investigating. It doesn’t know how to investigate. The FBI is not powerful at all because its agents are really just bureaucrats and they have the same inherent ineptitude of all government bureaucrats. All they do is spend their days waiting for some snitch to call them and turn someone in. That’s how they operate, and I was beginning to sense that.”

I have always said that the danger to an institution is more likely to come from within (this applies to computer facilities and well as American society - especially with Trump now on the loose.) Of course, that is the danger inherent in trust and it’s virtually impossible to live in a society devoid of trust so the balance between trust and openness and self-protection is a delicate one. “Perhaps it is time for intelligence experts to rethink this central concept of attitudinal loyalty, this idea that Americans don’t betray their country to foreign powers the way that Europeans are perceived to do quite regularly. We trust our citizens to an extent that is almost unknown in history and unheard of in most other countries. This is as it should be. However, we live in a society where money is no longer a mere commodity, but a sacrament. Money is power, possessions, persona, sex, and status.”

[Paul Kratochwill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well written book that chronicled the John Walker, Jr., spy ring. There were some technical inaccuracies about the US Navy, but the author personally interviewed many of the key players of this conspiracy. His interviews with John Walker, Jr. were particularly interesting. I knew that John Walker was an egoist, but he really came across as a megalomaniac.

I served as one of the Communications Material System Custodians aboard USS NIAGARA FALLS (AFS 3) from 1986-1988, and I had to page check some of the same cryptographic manuals that had been previously page checked by CWO2 Walker and RMCS Whitworth. It was chilling to hold the same manuals that these two traitors had held in their hands.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The John Walker spy ring seems to have been forgotten nowadays, even though it was a mind-blowing disaster. John Walker spied for the USSR for 18 years (1967-1985) and what's more: he recruited various friends and family members to do likewise, ending up controlling a tidy little spy network in the Naval community. I had never heard/read more than the bare bones of the story, and this was the first book-length treatment I have found. As is usual with these books, much real estate is dedicated to descriptions of the main character's childhood and family life. The psychodynamics in this family are just mind-boggling - nothing but abuse, alcoholism and poor parenting through several generations. When you read how John Walker tried to get several of his children to enlist in the Navy, with the explicit intent of getting them to become part of the spy ring, you can only shake your head and wonder...

Still, the book does a good job of describing not just John Walker's private life, but his career as a Naval man and as a spy. The book also explains how he was found out - it was a plain old case of his ex-wife calling the FBI. That is of course less exciting than for instance the unmasking of the Cambridge Spies, which was based on painstaking analysis of old decoded cable traffic and on testimony of Russian defectors.

There is nothing edifying in this story : John Walker was a thoroughly despicable husband and father, and on top of his personal transgressions, he sold secrets. The book was written with cooperation from John Walker and some of his friends and associates, and it's full of his self-justifying rhetoric. It's nauseating, but at the same time it's instructive to see just how far a psychopath can go in justifying his own actions.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If nothing else, read the last chapter. Does John Walker's personality remind you of anyone?

[Stormy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating and scary look at how people get involved with their own greed and their self-denial about their actions. Walker spied for the Soviet Union from the mid-sixties until his downfall in the mid-eighties. The Navy ship Pueblo was boarded, sailors killed and imprisoned (tortured) because of him. He recruited his wife, his brother, a not-too-bright Navy buddy, his son and tried to recruit his daughters. And said, "it's all just a game."

[Larry Kravitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this and you will understand why we have homeland security. A true story that takes into the world of espionage. Money and secrets are like a drug but in the end you betrayed your country and your soul.

[Mle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book with one question in mind: what type of person sells naval secrets to the KGB for over 20 years?

The answer is a misogynistic psychopath who gets a kick out of manipulating everyone around him.

Pete Earley's examination of the John Walker spy ring is gripping and hard to put down. It's built upon years of interviews, court records, and documentary evidence. Walker is an infuriating and fascinating case study of the perpetuation of abuse and greed. He is an individual with zero redeeming qualities, and his blatant disregard for other people (especially his family) is disturbing.

The pacing of this book is phenomenal. The last third, detailing the fallout of the spy ring and subsequent court cases, demanded my full attention. I highly recommend giving this book a read.

[D. Richard Eunice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was amazed how easy it was to steal secrets.

I was starting to run out of gas reading the book. I kept telling myself that the end was coming and then the people would find another way to steal information. I can not sympathize with those involved. The word "NO" has a meaning that anyone can understand. When I was in the service there were certain areas that would get you shot if you were not cleared to be there. The line badge best be flopping in the wind and it was clearly marked what areas you were allowed in. The book was very good and I wonder what kind of changes were made and whose head rolled because of the lack of security. I am sure there were quite a few meetings held when all of this hit the fan.

[Zella Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Earley is a fantastic writer, and I couldn't put down this well-researched book about the Walker Family Spy ring. The Walkers may well be one of the most dysfunctional families I've ever read about, quite separate from the treason, and Earley does a good job of illustrating how the toxic family dynamics led a greedy, manipulative naval warrant officer to recruit his brother, son, and best friend to sell top-secret information (including vital cryptographic knowledge) to the KGB for 20 years. Walker is a terrifyingly banal figure, a charismatic but nasty and ambitious piece of work who twists every situation to his advantage and preys on his family and friends' weaknesses.

I definitely want to read more of Earley's work.

[Scott Holstad · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the risk of sounding like a total elitist asshole, we're talking about families and generations of white trash who'd sell their own mothers, an almost obscene lack of appropriate military/government security, a foreign intelligence service willing to take advantage of this mixture, and you wind up with this crap -- some of the worst traitors in US history -- up to that point. Since then, there's been much worse, and knowing that, this story frankly felt a little stale and somewhat boring. But at the time, I'm sure it was quite a thriller.

[Joe Spoto · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting non-fiction read. It gives a look into the mind of a psychopath who has no morals and cares only about his own benefit and gain. For a while I did not want to continue, not because the author did not do a good job telling the story, but because I was disgusted with John Walker. I decided to go ahead and finish because I wanted to see how he was finally caught. It was a well-written book and the author comes to the same conclusion that I did about Walker.

[Dcgreads570 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good follow up to operation paperclip, if anyone would like to read that first. It was pretty amazing to me just how much damage one family could do, to the US, without being noticed. Although it has been some time since this was relevant I was in the military when this occurred. (It continued on over a 20 year span.)

I wonder how many US service lives and agents were lost due to this man.

[Gonzaga Escauriaza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like very much the author and again he did not disappointed me.

The story is very original. Difficult to have most of the family involved in an spy scheme.

The different characters are very well described and you never lose the interest of the story despite

that you know that the whole family is going to be busted.

[Nelson Thibault · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely fascinating and informative story about one of the most infamous spies of the Cold War and his notorious cohorts. The book is well written, nicely organized, and extensively researched. Family of Spies is a significant contribution to the annals of the Cold War and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading incredible stories about Soviet spies of that era.

[Rodney Burr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book proves that evil appears in many forms. The way John Walker treated the people closest to him was wrong on all levels as long as it benefited him. He was a poster child of narcissistic behavior. The damage he did or could have done is worse than any serial killer and he should have been put to death by firing squad.

[Chris Seals · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's astounding how John Walker Jr could have pulled off being a spy for so long. It was interesting how he preyed upon the vulnerable, but shrunk back from those that were more powerful or self assured. Using his family like he did,wow! I liked this book. With today's technology, I wonder if he could have survived as a spy for as long as he did.

[Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written true crime, giving you insight into the kind of personality that led a man to betray his country for money and convince his family to do the same. You can get the ebook edition for half price on the author's website.

[Jane Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spy Story

I am a fan of Pete Early, so I was distressed to see that due to scanning, there were many mistakes in the book. Otherwise, it is a good book, more the story of a family's disintegration than anything else.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read about despicable people. The Walker family were self serving and had no love for anyone or anything but money. John Walker Jr. believed to the end that he was a victim. Sounds very much like he would have got along great with the former President. Lies and more lies and no truth ever.

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent book. The last 100 pages were the most interesting. Everything up to that point was mostly about Walkers dysfunctional family life. That was my least favorite part of the book. I can only read about domestic discord so many times. The FBI investigation was only a couple chapters.

[JMA · Rating 4 out of 5]

The principal person is disgusting. The security fails depressing. I recommend this for people to read to understand the depth and depravity of some spies.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

When an organization (the Military) attempts to be sleaze proof, someone comes up with a way to prove it wrong. Disgusting!

[Carol Garland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book. Held my attention.

[Richard A Lambing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read. The level of greed exhibited astounds me.

[Susan Krich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book.
Good depiction of the Walker family and how the spy ring was born, developed and was ended up until the trials. I would have liked as much depth about the trials as was given to how the ring came to be and functioned.
The idea of the plea bargain which would have allowed the mastermind to be paroled was disturbing as are most such when the main perpetrators gets less of a punishment than some of their followers.
John Walker did die in prison before the parole issue arose.

[James A Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done retelling

I enjoyed this book because it didn't try to paint the subject as an anti hero. It was well organized and well written

[B. Factor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides a detailed account of the Walker family history, based on public documents released during their various espionage trials and interviews with the leading players. The bulk of the book is on the Walker family's dysfunctional behavior, including physical and psychological abuse, adultery, alcholism, drug addiction, child endangerment, and spying. Spying is only a small part of their lives, and only a small part of this book. The book leaves many questions about their spying unanswered, and is contradictory in parts.

If you're interested in the life of a spy, I would recommend Earley's "Confessions of a spy: the real story of aldrich ames" as a much much better book.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolute classic of the genre, riveting and enraging at the same time, surely the definitive account of the Walker spy ring. Once more very relevant in this age of such dangerous traitors as Assange and Snowden.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Getting into the mind of a traitor has been very enlightening. John Walker, Jr. was an uncaring, manipulative, and evil man. When confronted with a way out of everything, he chose to be remorseless and unrepentant to the end. Very sad.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

What do I say? I liked the spy story and everything, but not all the gory details about his personal life that were better left unwritten.