Spies in the Family

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

April 1, 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

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 15, 2017
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.

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