Summary of Lis Wiehl's A Spy in Plain Sight

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 Dmitri Polyakov was a Soviet military officer and an intelligence officer. He was both a Soviet and American intel asset, and he was a volunteer, unpaid asset. He was extremely distrustful of the Soviet leadership, and he feared they might take any action.

#2 Dmitri Polyakov was an important asset for the Americans, and he was passed secrets from the top down of the Soviet Union. He was also ratted out twice to the KGB by members in good standing of the American intelligence community.

#3 Bob Hanssen has left a stain on the FBI, but his entry into the Bureau is typical of thousands of agents. He was assigned to the Soviet counterintelligence division in New York in March 1979, and was tasked with creating an automated national counterintelligence database for the FBI.

#4 Bob Hanssen was assigned to the New York field office, which was a paradise for him since it was near the start of his career. But he was having trouble fitting in with the dominant culture of the FBI.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822516656

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on Lis Wiehl's A Spy in Plain Sight

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Dmitri Polyakov was a Soviet military officer and an intelligence officer. He was both a Soviet and American intel asset, and he was a volunteer, unpaid asset. He was extremely distrustful of the Soviet leadership, and he feared they might take any action.

#2

Dmitri Polyakov was an important asset for the Americans, and he was passed secrets from the top down of the Soviet Union. He was also ratted out twice to the KGB by members in good standing of the American intelligence community.

#3

Bob Hanssen has left a stain on the FBI, but his entry into the Bureau is typical of thousands of agents. He was assigned to the Soviet counterintelligence division in New York in March 1979, and was tasked with creating an automated national counterintelligence database for the FBI.

#4

Bob Hanssen was assigned to the New York field office, which was a paradise for him since it was near the start of his career. But he was having trouble fitting in with the dominant culture of the FBI.

#5

Bob Hanssen’s first offer to sell the Soviets was a teaser that the FBI had bugged one of the Soviet’s residential complexes. Later offers were much better, including the names of Soviet intelligence officers who were in contact with their American counterparts.

#6

Bonnie Hanssen, Bob’s wife, was raised in a Catholic family. She was very devoted to the Church, and her brother Mark was an officer in Opus Dei. Bob was raised Lutheran, but he eventually joined Opus Dei.

#7

The priest told Bob to go to the authorities, and he advised him to make a clean breast of things. For Bob, this was frightening advice, as he knew what he had sold to the Soviets was real and actionable. There would be no mercy or cuddling when the FBI came knocking on his door.