In the Enemy's House
Page 29
As for the depiction of the spies in this story who worked with their Russian handlers, there is a small library of books that helped inform my portraits (writing about the Rosenberg case, for example, is a cottage industry for dueling historians). However, I found myself most frequently returning to Sam Roberts’s elegantly written and carefully researched The Brother (New York: Random House, 2001) and Ronald Radosh and Joyce Milton’s definitive The Rosenberg File (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997). Ted Hall’s story is told with verve in a groundbreaking investigative account by Joseph Albright and Marcia Kunstel, Bombshell: The Secret Story of America’s Unknown Atomic Spy Conspiracy (New York: Times Books, 1997); their book also offers a very readable analysis of encoding and code-breaking techniques that greatly influenced my discussions of those topics. As for Klaus Fuchs, I found his story best told in H. Montgomery Hyde, The Atomic Spies (New York: Atheneum, 1989), which also helped to shape my understanding of the Gouzenko defection; Robert Chadwell Williams, Karl Fuchs, Atomic Spy (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1987); and Mike Rossiter, The Spy Who Changed the World (London: Headline, 2015). Elizabeth Bentley gives a fascinating, if dubious, account of her life in Out of Bondage (New York: Ballantine Books, 1951), while more objective histories are Kathryn S. Olmsted, Red Spy Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth Bentley (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002); and Lauren Kessler, Clever Girl: Elizabeth Bentley, the Spy Who Ushered in the McCarthy Era (New York: HarperPerennial, 2003). A good overview of the KGB’s activities can be found in Katherine A. S. Sibley, Red Spies in America: Stolen Secrets and the Dawn of the Cold War (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2004).
The telling of this story, however, would not have been possible without the declassification of the approximately 2,900 Venona translations, starting in 1995. These cables—as well as perceptive explanatory monographs by Robert Louis Benson—are available on the NSA’s official Venona site (https://www.nsa.gov/news-features/declassified-documents/venona/index.shtml). Meredith Gardner’s Special Reports are also available at this site. Further, Mercyhurst College’s Institute for Intelligence Studies has facilitated analysis of these cables by turning them into fully searchable Microsoft Word documents, available online (https://www.wilsoncenter.org). The CIA has also issued a cogent summary of the key Venona cables, “Selected Venona Messages” (https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence). The story of how these cables came to be declassified is told in Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s “Report of the Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy; Appendix A: The Experience of ‘The Bomb,’” available through the U.S. Government Printing Office (1997). There have also been numerous books written on the Venona decrypts and what they reveal. I found the most valuable to be Nigel West’s comprehensive Venona: The Greatest Secret of the Cold War (London: HarperCollins, 1999); John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000); Robert L. Benson, The Venona Story (Washington, D.C.: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012); and Herbert Romerstein and Eric Breindel, The Venona Secrets: The Definitive Exposé of Soviet Espionage in America (Washington, D.C.: Regnery History, 2014).
A basic comprehension of code writing was necessary to understand the accomplishments of Meredith Gardner and the other code breakers working at Arlington Hall. In addition to the numerous NSA documents available online at the agency’s website (many of which I have cited above), my admittedly rudimentary knowledge was informed by David Kahn’s exhaustive and definitive The Code-Breakers (New York: Scribner, 1996); Stephen Budiansky, Battle of Wits: The Complete Story of Codebreaking in World War II (New York: Free Press, 2002); Katharine L. Swift, “How the Germans Broke a U.S. Code,” declassified by the NSA in 2012 and available online at the NSA website; and Francis Litterio, “Why Are One-Time Pads Perfectly Secure?” found at web.archive.org.
Also, the writing of this book was greatly influenced by the discussions I had with former members of the intelligence community, several of whom knew Meredith Gardner and were also directly aware of the singular importance of Bob Lamphere’s contributions. They spoke to me in off-the-record conversations, and their identities remain protected by this agreement. Further, there was another source that, however obliquely, served as a constant influence as I wrote this story. The critic Leslie Fiedler has written with an iconoclastic insight into the fictional characters whose unlikely yet deep friendships have become cornerstones of American literature. This espionage story of two real-life heroes whose bond was defined and yet also reinforced by their differences owes a narrative debt to Fiedler’s entertaining and perceptive body of work.
A final thought: When I began work on this book my narrative ambitions were to share a spy drama, a tale of friendship, courage, genius, and regret. Yet as I researched and wrote the book during the presidential election campaign of 2016 and well into the first year of the new presidency, this Cold War history took on an unexpected resonance. And a chilling prescience. “The past,” as Faulkner warned, “is never dead; it is not even past.”
Following are the principal sources for each chapter of this book.
Sources
Prologue: Robert J. Lamphere and Tom Shachtman, The FBI-KGB War [War]; Martha Lamphere interview [ML]; Theo Schaad interview [TS]; Phyllis Lamphere interview [PL]; Robert Lamphere FBI Personnel Records [Personnel]; FBI File 65–58238, Espionage R, Ladd to Director Hoover, 1/8/53 [Ladd]; Sam Roberts, The Brother [Roberts]; Ronald Radosh and Joyce Milton, The Rosenberg File [RF]; Arthur Gardner interview [AG]; Alexander Feklisov, The Man Behind the Rosenbergs [Feklisov]; “Secrets, Lies, and Atomic Spies,” PBS transcript [PBS]; Peter Wright, Spy Catcher [Wright]; Voices of the Manhattan Project, Robert Lamphere’s interview [Voices].
Chapter One: War; Personnel; ML; PL; TS; Theo Schaad, “A Lamphere Anthology” [Anthology].
Chapter Two: Personnel; War; ML; TS; PL; http: waspfinalflight.blogspot.com/geri-elder-lamphere-nyman; neddybee.blogspot.com/geri-elder-lamphere-nyman.
Chapter Three: Arthur and Michele Gardner interview [AG]; Wright; Meredith Gardner’s Washington Post obituary (August 18, 2002); the NSA’s “Polyglot: The Meredith Gardner Story” [Polyglot]; NSA declassified untitled history of Venona [History]; Benson and Warner, editors, Venona: Soviet Espionage and the American Response 1939–1957 [B&W]; University of Texas Archives; Candice Gaukel Andrews, “The Code-Breaker and the G-Man” [Andrews]; University of Wisconsin Archives.
Chapter Four: William Crowell, “Remembrances of Venona” [Remembrances]; Genevieve Feinstein, “Women in Cryptological History,” www.nsa.gov/about/cryptologic_heritage/women [Feinstein]; History; B&W; Robert L. Benson, The Venona Story [Story]; Nigel West, Venona [West]; John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America [Decoding]; U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command History Office, “Arlington Hall from Coeds to Codewords,” http://fas.org/irp/agency/inscom/trail/pdf [Coeds]; Stephen Budiansky, Battle of Wits [Wits]; Compendia Virginica, “Social Graces and Espionage,”Virginia Living Magazine, April 22, 2011 [Graces]; War; AG; David Kahn, The Code-Breakers [Kahn]; Allen Weinstein and Alexander Vassiliev, The Haunted Wood [Haunted]; “How the U.S. Cracked Japan’s ‘Purple Encryption Machine’ at the Dawn of World War II,” gizmo.com; Joseph Albright and Marcia Kunstel, Bombshell: The Secret Story of America’s Unknown Atomic Spy Conspiracy [Bombshell]; Andrews.
Chapter Five: History; West; Haunted; Remembrances; B&W; Kahn; Feinstein; Albert L. Weeks, Russia’s Life-Saver: Lend-Lease Aid to the U.S.S.R. in World War II (Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2010).
Chapter Six: Decoding; West; B&W; Kahn; Bombshell; Haunted; Francis Litterio, “Why Are One-Time Pads Perfectly Secure?” [Secure]; [AG].
Chapter Seven: War; ML; Personnel; B&W; West; Haunted; Bombshell; Decoding; Feklisov; John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr, and Alexander Vassiliev, Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America [Rise]; Christopher Andrew and Oleg Gordievsky, KGB: The I
nside Story of Its Operations From Lenin to Gorbachev [KGB]; A. S. Sibley, Red Spies in America and the Dawn of the Cold War [Sibley]; H. Montgomery Hyde, The Atomic Spies [Hyde]; Elizabeth Bentley, Out of Bondage [Out]; Kathryn S. Olmsted, Red Spy Queen [Queen]; Lauren Kessler, Clever Girl [Clever].
Chapter Eight: Feklisov; KGB; Rise; Haunted; Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archives and KGB [Sword]; Sibley; Herbert Romerstein and Eric Breindel, The Venona Secrets: The Definitive Exposé of Soviet Espionage in America [Exposé]; Richard Rhodes, The Atomic Bomb [Bomb]; Richard Rhodes, Dark Sun [Dark]; David Holloway, Stalin and the Bomb [Holloway]; “Problems in the History of Science and Technology,” Journal of Russian Institute for History of Sciences and Technology [Journal]; B&W.
Chapter Nine: Feklisov; Sword; KGB; Bombshell; Exposé; War; Haunted.
Chapter Ten: Feklisov; War; Sword; KGB; B&W; Journal; Holloway; Bomb; Dark.
Chapter Eleven: Polyglot; Story; B&W; West; Decoding; Bombshell; Remembrances; History; Secure; David M. Glantz and Jonathan M. House, When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1995); War; Out; Queen; Clever; Sword; KGB.
Chapter Twelve: War, Personnel; Anthology; TS: PL; ML; Sword; KGB; Sibley; Haunted; Clever; Queen; West; Voices; Dark.
Chapter Thirteen: West; Story; Polyglot; History; B&W; War; Haunted; Bombshell; Robert Edwards, White Death: Russia’s War on Finland, 1939–40 (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2006); Wright; Randy Rezabek, “TICOM: The Last Great Secret of World War II,” Intelligence and National Security (27:4, 2012); James Bamford, Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Organization (New York: Anchor Books, 2002); Secure.
Chapter Fourteen: Katherine L. Swift, “How the Germans Broke a U.S. Code” [Swift]; History; Story; Polyglot; B&W; Bombshell; West; Decoding; War; AG; interviews with intelligence sources [Intel]; Meredith Gardner Special Reports [Reports]; FBI Report 65–43826–3, 10/18/48 [65]; Kahn; Venona decrypted telegrams [Decrypt]; Haunted.
Chapter Fifteen: War; ML; TS; PL; Personnel; West; Bombshell; History; Polyglot; Story.
Chapter Sixteen: War; History; Story; Polyglot; B&W; West; Bombshell; Decoding; Voices; Meredith Gardner NSA page [Page]; Feinstein; Coeds; Graces; AG; Dark; Feklisov; Journal; Holloway.
Chapter Seventeen: War; AG; West; History; Story; Polyglot; B&W; Decoding; Exposé; Reports; Decrypt; Dark; Holloway.
Chapter Eighteen: War; Personnel; Reports; Decrypt; Sword; KGB; Feklisov; Haunted; Bombshell; Sibley; RF; Roberts; West; Journal.
Chapter Nineteen: Feklisov; RF; Roberts; Sword; KGB; Haunted; Journal; Dark; War.
Chapter Twenty: War; Voices; Personnel; ML; TS; West; Haunted; Decoding; KGB; Sword; B&W; Feklisov; RF; Roberts; Sibley.
Chapter Twenty-One: AG; War; History; Story; Polyglot; Dark; Personnel; West; Sibley; RF; Roberts; Decrypt; Reports; Feklisov; KGB; Sword.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Reports; Decrypt; War; West; Haunted; Exposé; History; Story; Polyglot; AG; Decoding; RF; Dark; Feklisov.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Dark; War; Bomb; Haunted; Sibley; Personnel; Holloway; Decrypt; Bombshell; Sword; KGB; Journal; West.
Chapter Twenty-Four: Feklisov; Dark; Haunted; Hyde; Robert Chadwell Williams, Karl Fuchs, Atomic Spy [Williams]; Mike Rossiter, The Spy Who Changed the World [World]; West; Decrypt; War; RF; Sword; KGB; Rise; History; Story; Polyglot; B&W.
Chapter Twenty-Five: War; Dark; West; Decrypt; Bomb; George T. Mazuzan and Samuel Walker, Controlling the Atom: The Beginning of Nuclear Regulation, 1948–1962 (Oakland: University of California Press, 1985); RF; Roberts; Hyde; Williams; World; Haunted; Sibley; Voices; AG; Personnel; ML.
Chapter Twenty-Six: War; ML; TS; Personnel; Hyde; World; Williams; Dark; Bombshell; Haunted; KGB; Sword; B&W; History; Story; Polyglot; Reports; Decrypt; Feklisov; Journal; Holloway; RF; Roberts.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: War; Personnel; Hyde; Dark; Bombshell; KGB; Sword; World; Williams; Haunted; RF; Voices; Decrypt; Reports.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Decrypt; West; Haunted; Decoding; History; Dark; RF; War; Clever; Queen; Out; Williams; World; Hyde; Voices.
Chapter Twenty-Nine: British Ministry of Justice website, Wormwood Scrubs, https://www.justice.gov.uk/ . . . /wormwood; War; Voices; Dark; Hyde; Williams; World; RF; Haunted; Sibley; Feklisov; KGB; Sword; Bombshell.
Chapter Thirty: War; Hyde; Dark; Haunted; Williams; RF; Roberts; Personnel; Bomb; KGB; Sword; Journal.
Chapter Thirty-One: Feklisov; Sword; KGB.
Chapter Thirty-Two: War; Dark; RF; Hyde; Haunted; Personnel; AG; Sibley; West; Decrypt; Reports; B&W; Roberts; Exposé; Decoding.
Chapter Thirty-Three: Intel; Bombshell; War; Personnel; West; Haunted; Dark; RF; Exposé; Allen M. Hornblum, Acres of Skin: Human Experiments at Holmesburg Prison (London: Routledge, 1998).
Chapter Thirty-Four: Roberts; RF; War; Dark; Personnel; West; Haunted; Sibley; Feklisov; Journal; KGB; Sword.
Chapter Thirty-Five: War; Dark; RF; Roberts; Bombshell; Sibley; Exposé; Personnel; Decrypt.
Chapter Thirty-Six: War; ML; TS; RF; Roberts; Dark; Personnel; FBI Memo 65–53826–80; Decrypt.
Chapter Thirty-Seven: War; Decrypt; West; Dark; Decoding; Exposé; Bombshell; Haunted; RF; Roberts; B&W; Reports; “Gardner Special Reports,” FBI website.
Chapter Thirty-Eight: RF; Roberts; War; AG; Decrypts; Reports.
Epilogue: War; ML; RF; Roberts; Voices; Wright; AG; Feklisov; Gardner Notebook #7, private collection of Gardner family.
Acknowledgments
It would seem that every author whose book takes him out to Los Angeles hears before too long the same hoary bit of wisdom. Writing, the producer—or the studio executive, or the development person—states knowingly, is a solitary endeavor. Making a movie, however, is a communal enterprise.
While they are no doubt correct about what it takes to make a movie, experience has taught me that they’re far off the mark when it comes to writing a book. Sure, you sit at your desk by yourself. But bringing a book out into the world is by no means a solitary occupation.
As soon as I got the idea for this book, Lynn Nesbit, my literary agent and friend for the past thirty years, became involved. And I counted on her wisdom and guidance throughout the entire process. It is a genuine blessing to know she is always in my corner. Hannah Davey, Lynn’s assistant at Janklow & Nesbit, was also always around to bail me out of the seemingly inevitable publishing crises.
Jonathan Burnham has been the publisher for my last four books at HarperCollins and he’s been wonderfully supportive—a wise, well-read, and droll voice. And a friend, to boot. This is my first book with Jonathan Jao as my editor, and his arrival into my literary life has been a blessing. He’s thoughtful, conscientious, and he improves all the prose he touches. I owe him a large debt. Sofia Groopman, the assistant editor who worked on this book, was also invaluable in helping it make its way through the process in a timely fashion.
For over three decades Bob Bookman has been my friend and a wise counselor, leading me with kindness and determination through the Hollywood jungle. I’m particularly grateful for his shrewd reading of an early draft of this book. Also in Hollywood, I’ve counted on my attorney, Alan Hergott, to guide me safely through stormy weather.
I have also benefited from a long relationship with Vanity Fair. Graydon Carter and Dana Brown’s worldly intelligence and kindness of spirit have been a source of encouragement as I wrote this book, and simultaneously wrote for the magazine.
And at the end of a long day’s writing, there are friends I lean on. I’d be lost without my sister, Marcy; she’s always there for me. And there’s also Susan and David Rich; Irene and Phil Werber; John Leventhal; Bruce Taub; Betsy and Len Rappoport; Sarah and Bill Rauch; Pat, Bob, and Marc Lusthaus; Nick Jarecki; Claudie and Andrew Skonks; Destin Coleman; Daisy Miller; Beth DeWoody; Arline Mann and Bob Katz; Ken Lipper; Elizabeth Bagley; and Sarah Colleton. Sadly, just days after I had written “the end,” Bob Mitchell died. H
e was a brave and tenacious man, as well as a good friend.
My children—Tony, Anna, and Dani—are all grown, young adults on their way into the world from their colleges and grad schools. Their accomplishments fill me with great and sustaining pride.
And, not least, I have to thank Ivana.
Index
The pagination of this digital edition does not match the print edition from which the index was created. To locate a specific entry, please use your ebook reader’s search tools.
Acers, Inspector, 22
Alamogordo atom bomb test, 231–32
Albuquerque field office (FBI), 245–46
Albuquerque meetings, 229, 232, 240–42, 249–50, 254, 257–58, 260, 262–66
American Peace Mobilization Committee, 147
Amtorg (Soviet trade group), 66
“Antenna.” See Rosenberg, Julius
antidraft rallies, 147
AQ-17 (airborne radar system), 154
Army Security Agency (ASA, Arlington Hall; formerly Signal Security Agency), 29, 31–41, 46–47, 49, 79–81, 83–86, 98, 106, 109–23, 153
Bob agrees not to reveal cracking of KGB codes (Venona), 131
Bob begins working with Meredith at, 112–23
Petsamo codebooks and, 100
Russian unit, 83–84
Army Signal Corps, 35, 38, 84, 109, 136, 143, 154, 163
Army Special Engineering Detachment (Los Alamos), 245
Arnold, Henry, 196, 198
Arzamas-16 (Soviet thermonuclear team), 197
atom bomb. See also Enormoz, Operation; Harwell Atomic Research Station; hydrogen bomb; Los Alamos; Manhattan Project; plutonium bomb; uranium; and specific individuals; and research units
Bob and Meredith’s search for KGB spies and, 152–59
British cabinet report on, 63
dropped on Japan, 169, 256