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The Spy Who Changed History: The Untold Story of How the Soviet Union Won the Race for America's Top Secrets Hardcover – January 1, 2018

by Svetlana Lokhova (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 111 ratings
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In the 1930s Stalin was obsessed with closing the technology gap between the Soviet Union and the West and recruited Stanislav Shumovsky to join his fledgling espionage and infiltration efforts. ‘Agent Blériot†enrolled at MIT in 1931 and subsequently stole many of their crucial aviation secrets, allowing Russia to transform its military capacity. Based on documents from the Churchill Archives, and including numerous photographs and maps, this book shows the key role Shumovsky played in establishing the Russian spy network.
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  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    William Collins
  3. Publication date
    January 1, 2018
  4. Dimensions
    6.26 x 1.61 x 9.45 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0008238111
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0008238117
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Collins (January 1, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0008238111
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008238117
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.59 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.26 x 1.61 x 9.45 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 111 ratings

About the author

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Svetlana Lokhova

Svetlana Lokhova

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Svetlana Lokhova is a By-Fellow of Churchill College, University of Cambridge. She holds an MPhil and BA (Hons) in History from University of Cambridge.

Svetlana's first book, 'The Spy Who Changed History' is an "ASTONISHING BOOK ABOUT ASTONISHING PEOPLE". "The story of how one of America’s top universities “gave” Soviet spies the means to build a superpower ...'beggars belief'. The book gained a 5-star review by the Daily Telegraph.

The book is 'SUPERBLY RESEARCHED" and "GROUNDBREAKING". The "most remarkable achievement is to shift our perception of the centre of 20th-century espionage from Cambridge, England, to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

​

Svetlana’s interest in espionage history began whilst studying History at Cambridge University. Her Master's dissertation remains the definitive account of the founder of the Soviet intelligence service, Felix Dzerzhinsky.

​

She is responsible for a number of the most important archival discoveries made in recent years. Her revelations have generated substantial press coverage across the world.

Svetlana identified the Cambridge ‘Sixth Man’ Cedric Belfrage featured on the BBC Television News and Radio. The story of Britain’s ‘Hollywood Spy’ was told on a specially commissioned programme.

​

From her work on the ‘Mitrokhin Archive’, she found the identity of ‘MIKE’, a US Cold War KGB recruit, and revealed the KGB’s plans to recruit President Nixon’s chief physician.

She has spoken about the Mitrokhin archive on US Public Service Radio, Radio Free Europe, the BBC and ABC (Australia).

​

She was until recently a Fellow of the Cambridge [UK] Security Initiative jointly chaired by the former head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, and Professor Christopher Andrew, former Official Historian of the MI5.

​

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
111 global ratings
This Was A Excellent Read
5 Stars
This Was A Excellent Read
Every chance I got I would get back to reading. A very intriguing book based on fact. Five Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!!
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Top reviews from the United States

Susan Mathewson
5.0 out of 5 stars Important for understanding events today. Easy & enjoyable to read while learning vital history.
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2020
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I have only gotten near the end of the first chapter, but I used to read what I thought was plenty on Russian History. Once I started this book, Imrealized what I had read was spotty & shallow. I do read about spies from earlier, more the middle of the last century. I have read some seemingly forgotten authors on this period. They had different sources, so it will be interesting to see the differences. I find this book quite readable. I enjoy this previously hidden history. The topics covered so far are so timely in many ways! Worth your time if you have an interest, you will find many things to think about here. Increases understanding of actions impacting us now. We should all know better about this.
2 people found this helpful
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Gregory S. Law
5.0 out of 5 stars Spying from a Cold Climate
Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2019
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Thoroughly researched and well written.
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R. A. Barricklow(Scaramouche)
4.0 out of 5 stars Information Rich True Soviet Union Spy Story.
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2019
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
I got this because I love allegedly true spy stories[for in the spy game truth lies in how we see it].
First off this is an information rich story because the author has gone beyond due diligence and provide her readers w/all kinds of pertinent historical information. Just one example of the poison gas started in WW1/The inventors Lewis and Nieuwland believed in gas warfare. They thought the use of poison gas would make wars more humane by shortening them and avoiding the suffering of civilians. The author gives astounding details like when the Soviet Union began producing massive quantities of material, eventually disposing of approximately twenty thousand tons of it in the Artic Ocean during the late 1940s and '50s. Of course, we know BP Oil did that later of the coast of Louisiana in that terrible 2010 using poison to clean-up that oil spill.
This book centers on technocrat Stanislav Shumovsky who led a party of 75 Soviet spies into the U.S. in 1931 to enroll in universities majoring in science and/or engineering. No doubt, this was and is common method being used even today. Also what was interesting was that the FBI didn't catch on for decades; just like in organized crime. in fact, the Soviet Union very survival depended upon these spies to use the manufacturing to secure a strong industrialized war footing during WW11.
The author also uses her detailed research to draw significant character descriptions that bring the players into sharper focus in both in their background, and in terms of their overall significance. The author shows that the Soviet Union spent significant sums of money, energy, and time in their spy apparatus.
Not mentioned is that when the war was over; the U.S. made a deal with the Nazis to keep the German spy apparatus in-place with Nazi General Reinhard Gehlen at the helm under U.S supervision & direction.
A great book that reveals a relatively unknown Soviet spy operation.
One person found this helpful
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David Keymer
5.0 out of 5 stars FASCINATING (4-1/2* out of 5*)
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2019
Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )
A By-Fellow of Churchill College, University of Cambridge, and recently a Fellow in the Cambridge Security Initiative, which is jointly chaired by the former head of MI6 and her former advisor, who is the official historian of MI5, independent scholar Lokhova has formidable credentials for the writing of this fascinating account of Soviet Russia’s first espionage incursions into the United States.

It starts in 1931, with the arrival of picked delegation of Russian students, engineers and scientists, to study at MIT and other universities. All are covert agents, sent to the States to pick up information in a host of technical field and help Russia overcome its deficiency in the design and manufacture of airplanes and other weapons of modern mass war. One of the excellences of Lokhova’s account, which draws on formerly unavailable Soviet sources, is that, a Russian herself, she understands, even sympathizes, with Russia’s need for this information. As the Thirties ramped up, Stalin rightly feared attack on both edges of his sprawling empire: from Germany into the Ukraine in the West, Japan in the Far East. A country that had difficulty producing even predictably workable and vastly outdated wooden biplanes, the USSR had to modernize quickly, both its production methods and what it produced, to confront formidable enemies.

The answer was the US, in the Thirties a country and people who paid little attention to the possibility of theft of technical secrets. Soviet Russia was seen as a client more than a rival, and in the pacifist atmosphere of the time, the sale of planes and airplane parts to the USSR enabled American aircraft manufacturers to stay afloat. The same was true of the universities, particularly the young, struggling to stay afloat MIT, which welcomed the foreign students’ tuition and fees.

All this began to change with the pact between Germany and the USSR in 1939, and even more in 1941, when the attack on Pearl Harbor and the US entry into war led to greatly expanded anti-espionage activities in the States. Even then, though, Russian agents continued to have notable successes. Most notably the stealing of information about the huge B29 Super Fortress bombers at the end of the war. (The U SSR didn’t just need information about the A-bomb. They needed planes to deliver it in if ever it was needed.)

The dominant figure in this activity, the best spy the Russians had for the theft of industrial secrets, was MIT-trained Stan Shumovsky, who ended a long and productive life as a Russian hero, and died peacefully.

The wealth and depth of detail in this account and Lokhova’s understanding of it in all its complexities more than makes up for occasional deficiencies in narrative style. This is a very good, very interesting book, a model for the writing of espionage history.
2 people found this helpful
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Sekhar Banerjee
3.0 out of 5 stars Not a good read
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2020
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Even though the book has lot of interesting materials collected through painstaking research, on the whole, it was very boring. I did not like it at all.
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Top reviews from other countries

Sunil Kumar
5.0 out of 5 stars Soviets Power
Reviewed in India on March 29, 2024
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An informative and collectable book on early Sovitet's espionage.
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GED
5.0 out of 5 stars How spying in the Usa transformed the Russian economy and contributed to the defeat of the Nazis
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 25, 2020
Verified Purchase
I used to teach Russian history and have read a lot about it subsequently, so this really explained how a devastated peasant economy in 1917 was able to take[literally] the technology of USA through spying in their universities and research institutes, to modernise the Russian defence industry to the point where they did most of the fighting against the Germans and win. For those interested in this period a must read.
One person found this helpful
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S. Sen
4.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive research
Reviewed in India on August 7, 2021
Verified Purchase
U-read store disappointed again with packaging. However, the book is pretty comprehensive. Lokhova did an amazing job with her knowledge of the history of Cold War era espionage as well as the archival materials at her disposal. Without creating scapegoats for the present, she has presented a narrative history which is sure to endure for generations.
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MISS S S KHEDER
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible!!!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2018
Verified Purchase
was so excited about this coming out, actually bought 4 copies on pre-order.. the book did not disappoint at all, incredible story, can’t believe that these are all real events! Ideal as a gift to anyone that loves reading. Also read Svetlana’s Interview in Sunday times, woah what a rollercoaster!
3 people found this helpful
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H SALLER
5.0 out of 5 stars Rising star author in espionage history
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 21, 2018
Verified Purchase
Very impressed at the effort put in to produce this incredibly educational yet easy to read, impeccable quality of writing. I am truly amazed by the level of sophistication of Svetlana's chosen characters, absolutely ground-breaking subject. Hoping to see more of her work.
3 people found this helpful
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