Richard Sorge: The Life and Legacy of the German Journalist Who Became the Soviet Union’s Most Effective Spy during World War II
Written by Charles River Editors
Narrated by Ryan Durham
3/5
()
About this audiobook
Spies are a feature of countless works of fiction in which they often discover secrets on which the fate of nations hang in the balance. Reality is generally rather more mundane, as spies often gather low-level intelligence that only makes sense when it is examined by analysts and compared to information from other sources. Espionage provides clues to what the enemy is planning, but on its own, it rarely changes the course of a war. Moreover, real spies are generally anonymous, not the bold, swashbuckling action heroes depicted in fiction. Spies must hide in plain sight, and that is best achieved by being as innocuous as possible.
However, there are exceptions. Occasionally, a spy will be so successful that they are able to place themselves in a position where they have access to information at the highest levels, secrets that really can change the course of world events. Sometimes, these spies may even be as handsome, charming, charismatic, and bold as their fictional counterparts.
One such spy was a man named Richard Sorge. Experiencing the horrors of World War I at first-hand turned Sorge into an ardent communist, after which he worked as a spy for the USSR in Germany, China, and Japan before and during World War II. He obtained vital military and political secrets and maintained his cover for over nine years despite frantic searches for the spy who was leaking information to Russia. His effortless charm meant that he didn’t need to steal secrets: people told him willingly, including the many women that he seduced.
More audiobooks from Charles River Editors
The East India Company: The History of the British Empire's Most Famous Mercantile Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Project MK-Ultra: The History of the CIA’s Controversial Human Experimentation Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ur: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Sumerian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mysteries of the South: Ghosts, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in Dixie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Life and Legacy of the Father of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mossad: The History and Legacy of Israel’s National Intelligence Agency Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Nineveh: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Assyrian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legends of the West: Deadwood, South Dakota Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Lansky: The Lives and Legacies of the Gangsters Who Reformed Organized Crime in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Life and Trial of Lizzie Borden: The History of 19th Century America's Most Famous Murder Case Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Midwest: Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in America's Heartland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung: The Pioneering Lives and Works of History’s Most Influential Psychologists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Denisovans: The History of the Extinct Archaic Humans Who Spread Across Asia during the Paleolithic Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of Hamburger Hill: The History and Legacy of One of the Vietnam War's Most Controversial Battles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ancient and Medieval Conspiracy Theories: The History of the World’s Most Persistent Conspiracy Theories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Richard Sorge
Related audiobooks
The Spectre of War: International Communism and the Origins of World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Getting Russia Right: 1st Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpying on the Reich: The Cold War Against Hitler Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Essential Lord Kitchener Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPutin's Wars and NATO's Flaws: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tormented Alliance: American Servicemen and the Occupation of China, 1941-1949 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Tale of Two Systems: A View of Ordinary Life in Communist USSR and “The West” - the United States of America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Great Patriotic War: The History of the Fighting Between the Soviets and Germans during World War II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsForging the Anglo-American Alliance: The British and American Armies, 1917-1941 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArctic Convoys: Bletchley Park and the War for the Seas Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Peace and War: Britain in 1914 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Battle of Kapetron: The History and Legacy of the First Major Battle Between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuk Turks Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe End of World War II in Europe: The History of the Final Campaigns that Led to Nazi Germany’s Surrender Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEurope's Dark Journey: The Rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When France Fell: The Vichy Crisis and the Fate of the Anglo-American Alliance Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Maisky Diaries: Red Ambassador to the Court of St James's, 1932-1943 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Glory and the Sorrow: A Parisian and His World in the Age of the French Revolution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Early History of Montenegro: The History of the Region from Antiquity to Autonomy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMeddling in the Ballot Box: The Causes and Effects of Partisan Electoral Interventions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMONTGOMERY: God’s Lonely Man Goes to War Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Benito Mussolini: Italian Prime Minister and Fascist Dictator Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Planning to Fail: The US Wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVietnam: A War Lost and Won Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Montenegro in the Late Middle Ages: The History of the Different States and Dynasties that Controlled the Area Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrance in World War II: The History of Nazi Germany’s Conquest of France and Its Liberation By the Allies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsParty of One: Stephen Harper and Canada's Radical Makeover Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Wars & Military For You
American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Five Rings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Shortest History of Israel and Palestine: From Zionism to Intifadas and the Struggle for Peace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5War Against All Puerto Ricans: Revolution and Terror in America's Colony Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On Palestine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Watchmaker's Daughter: The True Story of World War II Heroine Corrie ten Boom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps' Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unbroken Bonds of Battle: A Modern Warriors Book of Heroism, Patriotism, and Friendship Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Korean War: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Kill Anything That Moves Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin - Book Summary: How U.S. Navy SEALS Lead And Win Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Diary of Anne Frank Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Templars: The History and the Myth: From Solomon's Temple to the Freemasons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You're Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/577 Days of February: Living and Dying in Ukraine, Told by the Nation’s Own Journalists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for Richard Sorge
1 rating0 reviews