Traitors Among Us: Inside the Spy Catcher's World

Although the Clyde Conrad espionage circle won't ring bells for most readers, the case ranks as one of the most damaging breaches of U.S. security. Herrington, who ran the army's Foreign Counterintelligence Activity (FCA), tells how the U.S. closed in on Conrad and his cohorts, giving readers a spooks'-eye view of mid-1980s Cold War intrigue. Conrad, who began spying while a sergeant in the U.S. Army, spent 13 years during the Cold War plundering national security secrets and selling them to Soviet bloc customers. Conrad's spy net was so elaborate and far-reaching that American investigators spent years tracking and documenting his crimes before actually making an arrest. Even then, Conrad's capture became a matter of delicate international negotiation as American counterintelligence officers investigated Conrad on German territory without telling German authorities until it came time to arrest the spy. Chief among the investigators' concerns was that their operation would be blown by a New York Times reporter who had been tipped off that a major spy case was underway. Although a multi-chapter foray into another spy case proves far less exciting then the tale of the Conrad investigation, Herrington (Stalking the Vietcong) is a natural storyteller who effectively evokes the spy-laden atmosphere of Cold War Berlin. He also gives readers a sense of the nature of counterintelligence work--how months and even years of tedious legwork can explode into moments of insight, when puzzle pieces finally come together, and moments of high drama, when the chase finally ensues. Photos not seen by PW. (July)