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Man Without A Face: The Autobiography Of Communism's Greatest Spymaster
by
Markus Wolf
,
Anne McElvoy
For decades, Markus Wolf was known to Western intelligence officers only as "the man without a face." Now the legendary spymaster has emerged from the shadows to reveal his remarkable life of secrets, lies, and betrayals as head of the world's most formidable and effective foreign service ever. Wolf was undoubtedly the greatest spymaster of our century. A shadowy Cold War
...more
Paperback
,
460 pages
Published
June 4th 1999
by PublicAffairs
(first published 1997)
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Community Reviews
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Man Without A Face
is an interesting read. I've read criticisms about the book accusing Wolf of denying his involvement in the repression of East Germans and the GDR's involvement with terrorist organisations. I can't help but feel these people didn't read the book. As Wolf states early on, this is book written by someone on the losing side of the Cold War who still believes in the superiority of socialism over capitalism. There is no need for him to apologise for his beliefs but he does acknowl
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I'm obsessed with Cold War history, and this is a good chronicle from the former head of intelligence services in East Germany. Born in Weimar Germany to communist parents and raised and educated in the Soviet Union during the Third Reich, Wolf returned to East Germany after WWII under the USSR's carefully orchestrated program of transitioning Soviet-occupied countries of Europe into Communist-partner states of the USSR. Wolf details the methods of intelligence used to procure information from c
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An excellent read into the three decade career of an East German spymaster.
Markus Wolf provides a sobering thought on his role as the head of the Foreign Intelligence Agency within the Stasi. A man who believed in the system he served, who nonetheless does not deny that he bears responsibility for the repressive nature of the regime he served---even if he was not directly involved in the repressive nature of the Ministry he was under.
The book is an excellent read to gauge the thoughts of a man w ...more
Markus Wolf provides a sobering thought on his role as the head of the Foreign Intelligence Agency within the Stasi. A man who believed in the system he served, who nonetheless does not deny that he bears responsibility for the repressive nature of the regime he served---even if he was not directly involved in the repressive nature of the Ministry he was under.
The book is an excellent read to gauge the thoughts of a man w ...more
Autobiography of East Germany's foreign espionage and intelligence chief. Very good; he became an advocate of glasnost, amazingly enough. Lots of interesting info.
Good read, but I read too many reviews arguing the veracity. I'm no expert on East Germany, but it was still interesting.
Fascinating...
This book is a nice blend of cultures that I've studied (German and Russian) with spies. And really, what's more fun than spies? It is also a glimpse into the thoughts (i.e. justifications) of those who were responsible for serious oppression. They were people too, and looking at the "reasoning" they used while setting up such a police state gives perspective on our own justifications for things. But mostly it's about spies and spycraft.
Kind of a gross apologia... dude takes pains to constantly justify everything he did & separate himself from the Stasi and KGB, but it rings hollow. He was Stasi scum. Not that our own spymasters in the US were heroes either... but at least they didn't write self-serving memoirs.
Also, the book is just boring. Much duller than the title suggests.
Also, the book is just boring. Much duller than the title suggests.
De memoires van het hoofd van de buitenlandse inlichtingendienst van de DDR. Zeer interessant voor wie geinteresseerd is in de (soms klein-menselijke) verhalen achter de geschiedkundige feiten.
Zeer vlot en toegankelijk geschreven, alhoewel wat kennis van de geschiedenis van de koude oorlog toch noodzakelijk is om van dit boek te genieten.
Zeer vlot en toegankelijk geschreven, alhoewel wat kennis van de geschiedenis van de koude oorlog toch noodzakelijk is om van dit boek te genieten.
A good research source about the DDR, Wolf's book details his years as head of the Stasi's Foreign Intel unit. While I do wish there were more anecdotes about Erich Mielke, this was a worthwhile source for my own upcoming books about the DDR/BDR history.
Mar 13, 2011
Pankaj Kapoor
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommended to Pankaj by:
Pravesh Bharadwaj
Shelves:
non-fiction
,
biographies
Wolf spent a lot of time in the book justifying what he did. Those explanations got a bit tedious. What I liked was this sprinkling of dry humor nuggets all over. The chapter on Cuba as well as Romeos is by far the best part about the book.
tedious account of a spying life and justification , little regret. Markus Wolf describes the secret service of the GDR as just another workplace.
I couldn't finish chapter 3, that's how dull the writing was. To bad he was influenced by all those long winded Russian writers.
I didn't think you could make running a spy network during the Cold War boring, but this book manages to do it.
khaterate jalebe rayise sabeghe sazmane jasoosie almane sharghi
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“I know Mischa, but you know how the politburo runs. If I say one word of this in there, I'll be out of my job the next day.' Remember, Gorbachev only became general secretary after he had kept his mouth shut under three predecessors.”
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