Spies in the Family: An American Spymaster, His Russian Crown Jewel, and the Friendship That Helped End the Cold War

by Eva Dillon

Overview

A riveting true-life thriller and revealing memoir from the daughter of an American intelligence officer—the astonishing true story of two spies and their families on opposite sides of the Cold War.

In the summer of 1975, seventeen-year-old Eva Dillon was living in New Delhi with her family when her father was exposed as a CIA spy. Eva had long believed that her father was a U.S. State Department employee. She had no idea that he was handling the CIA’s highest-ranking double agent—Dmitri Fedorovich Polyakov—a Soviet general whose code name was TOPHAT. Dillon’s father and Polyakov had a close friendship that went back years, to their first meeting in Burma in the mid-1960s. At the height of the Cold War, the Russian offered the CIA an unfiltered view into the vault of Soviet intelligence. His collaboration helped ensure that tensions between the two nuclear superpowers did not escalate into a shooting war.

Spanning fifty years and three continents, Spies in the Family is a deeply researched account of two families on opposite sides of the lethal espionage campaigns of the Cold War, and two men whose devoted friendship lasted a lifetime, until the devastating final days of their lives. With impeccable insider access to both families as well as knowledgeable CIA and FBI officers, Dillon goes beyond the fog of secrecy to craft an unforgettable story of friendship and betrayal, double agents and clandestine lives, that challenges our notions of patriotism, exposing the commonality between peoples of opposing political economic systems.

Both a gripping tale of spy craft and a moving personal story, Spies in the Family is an invaluable and heart-rending work.

Spies in the Family includes 25 black-and-white photos.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062385918
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/09/2017
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Eva Dillon spent twenty-five years in the magazine publishing business in New York City, including stints at Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, The New Yorker, and as president of Reader’s Digest, U.S.  Dillon and her six siblings grew up moving around the world for her father's CIA assignments in Berlin, Mexico City, Rome, and New Delhi. She holds a bachelor’s in Music from Virginia Commonwealth University and lives in Charleston, South Carolina.

Table of Contents

Prologue: So Close ix

Introduction: Pulverem Pulveri xi

Chapter 1 Amerikr 1

Chapter 2 REDSOX 9

Chapter 3 The General and the Spy 21

Chapter 4 The Wall 43

Chapter 5 Moody and Mabey 59

Chapter 6 Home and Awry 77

Chapter 7 To the Mexico Station 85

Chapter 8 The Personals 97

Chapter 9 Handover 115

Chapter 10 Exit the Mole Hunter 125

Chapter 11 Back in the Ussr 139

Chapter 12 Enter the Mole 153

Chapter 13 You Don't See One of those Every Day 157

Chapter 14 Three Star 173

Chapter 15 Endgame 191

Chapter 16 An Unmarked Grave 209

Chapter 17 Tomorrow will be too late 229

Chapter 18 Upward Mobility 241

Chapter 19 Do Svidaniva 249

Chapter 20 Nightmover 265

Chapter 21 Welcome 279

Acknowledgments 287

Notes 291

Bibliography 307

Index 311

Editorial Reviews

A riveting read, Dillon creatively weaves the narratives of her CIA father’s career and family life with those of Dmitri Polyakov, one of the Cold War’s most valuable Russian assets. An untold and important story that’s been a long time coming, this book is worth the wait.” — The Hon. John Lehman, Former Secretary of the Navy and 9/11 Commissioner

“This spellbinder spans lives, families and politics on opposite sides of the Cold War, combining suspenseful accounts of two intelligence agents deeply committed to avoiding nuclear war with each family’s unique—and heartbreaking—experiences. This moving story is gripping from start to finish.” — Jacqueline Leo, President and Editor in Chief, The Fiscal Times; former Editor in Chief, Reader’s Digest

“A beautifully written, profoundly moving account of one of the most important U.S Intelligence sources ever run inside the Soviet Union. A cliff-hanger from beginning to end, Dillon’s account is filled with espionage tradecraft and family drama—essential reading for anyone fascinated by how spying really works.” — Peter Earnest, Executive Director, International Spy Museum

“Interweaving details of daring tradecraft with moving human elements, Dillon tells the fascinating story of two agents and their families with differing experiences and perspectives, and very different outcomes. This mesmerizing book will appeal to historians, spy-buffs, intelligence professionals and everyday readers alike.” — H. Keith Melton, author of Ultimate Spy, and co-author (with Robert Wallace) of Spycraft and the Spy Sites series

“Eva Dillon expertly tells an untold chapter of Cold War espionage from a front row seat. It was her father, after all, who was the Spymaster. This is a warm, riveting, great read.” — Joe Drape, New York Times bestselling author, American Pharoah and Our Boys

“With detail and technique that are almost novelistic, Dillon weaves the personal stories of the two families: her own and that of Polyakov. Reads like a fine spy novel whose ending we know but whose story transports us nonetheless.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

From the Publisher

Eva Dillon expertly tells an untold chapter of Cold War espionage from a front row seat. It was her father, after all, who was the Spymaster. This is a warm, riveting, great read.

Joe Drape

This spellbinder spans lives, families and politics on opposite sides of the Cold War, combining suspenseful accounts of two intelligence agents deeply committed to avoiding nuclear war with each family’s unique—and heartbreaking—experiences. This moving story is gripping from start to finish.

Jacqueline Leo

A beautifully written, profoundly moving account of one of the most important U.S Intelligence sources ever run inside the Soviet Union. A cliff-hanger from beginning to end, Dillon’s account is filled with espionage tradecraft and family drama—essential reading for anyone fascinated by how spying really works.

Peter Earnest

Interweaving details of daring tradecraft with moving human elements, Dillon tells the fascinating story of two agents and their families with differing experiences and perspectives, and very different outcomes. This mesmerizing book will appeal to historians, spy-buffs, intelligence professionals and everyday readers alike.

H. Keith Melton

A riveting read, Dillon creatively weaves the narratives of her CIA father’s career and family life with those of Dmitri Polyakov, one of the Cold War’s most valuable Russian assets. An untold and important story that’s been a long time coming, this book is worth the wait.

The Hon. John Lehman

04/01/2017
Dillon's book is a poignant portrait about how espionage touches personal lives. Focusing on American spy Paul Dillon (the author's father) and Soviet spy Dimitri Polyakov, it explores how each navigated the dangers of the Cold War. Readers will quickly see how the Soviet and American espionage apparatuses were quite similar. Furthermore, there is a connection between the two men that makes their lives even more remarkable. This story reveals how each created separate identities—the one at work and the one at home. It is astounding to realize how little each family knew about what their patriarch did and the dangers he endured. This volume further adds to the understanding about Cold War intelligence services and is similar to Benjamin Weiser's A Secret Life, David E. Hoffman's The Billion Dollar Spy, and Kati Marton's True Believer. VERDICT An intriguing work with a touching narrative. Cold War historians and espionage aficionados will be delighted. [See Prepub Alert, 11/14/16.]—Jacob Sherman, John Peace Lib., Univ. of Texas at San Antonio

Library Journal

The havoc that traitor Aldrich Ames wrought on the espionage community in the late twentieth century was personal for author Eva Dillon. Her father, Paul, was an agent for the CIA and was close friends with Soviet agent Dmitri Polyakov, who became a mole for the Americans. Eventually, he was exposed and executed. Narrator Gabra Zackman captures the fun of being a CIA brat as Eva grows up in Mexico, India, and Rome. But these autobiographical anecdotes turn out to be a small part of her audiobook. The the real story focuses her father's friendship with Polyakov, revealed through correspondence and interviews, and the valuable information he provided as a Soviet mole. Zackman vividly depicts these real-life characters and tells a gripping story. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

JULY 2017 - AudioFile

★ 2017-04-02
The intense and intimate story of espionage involving Soviet and American agents; one of the latter was the author's father.Dillon, a veteran journalist who served as the president of Reader's Digest and has worked for Vogue, Harper's, the New Yorker, and other publications, debuts with a tale full of intrigue, ignorance, treason, treachery, family, greed, and loyalty—to country, to lucre, to human rights. The author tells us about two families: her own and that of Dmitri Fedorovich Polyakov, a high-ranking Soviet intelligence official, who, for decades, shared critical information with his American counterparts, including Dillon's father. With detail and technique that are almost novelistic, the author alternates the stories of the two families and describes her awareness, much later on, that her father was a CIA agent. Appearing in the text are some names familiar to followers of spy stories: Kim Philby, Philip Agee, and, most grievously in this particular story, Aldrich Ames. Using multiple interviews of principals and her comprehensive research, Dillon shows the internecine battles within the CIA, the fierce paranoia evident among many on both sides of the Iron Curtain, and the failure of intelligence officials to see the traitorous behavior that, in some cases, was flaring prominently. Ames, for example, was living a life that was far beyond his means, yet it took years for his superiors to catch on; likewise, the Soviets could not believe that a decorated hero like Polyakov would betray his country. Throughout the narrative, the author weaves the personal family stories of both of her principals—her own, of course, but she awards special attention to Polyakov's son, Alexander, who also was working in intelligence but was unaware of his father's alliances. We know the outcomes, so the dramatic irony is piercing. Reads like a fine spy novel whose ending we know but whose story transports us nonetheless.

Kirkus Reviews