Frenemies: How the CIA and Polish Spies Went from Bitter Rivals to Post-Cold War Comrades
From Warsaw With Love is a basket of entertaining spy stories with hard lessons for wannabe US allies
Fans of fast-paced international spy stories will enjoy author and journalist John Pomfret’s well-crafted book, From Warsaw With Love: Polish Spies, the CIA, and the Forging of an Unlikely Alliance, out this week from Henry Holt and Co.
Conceived in the early 1990s, during Pomfret’s two decades at The Washington Post covering wars, revolutions and China, From Warsaw With Love is much more than a spy story. The book portrays clandestine competition and partnerships between Poland and the U.S. that span five decades, from some of the harshest days of their Cold War intelligence battles through the post-communist government’s decision to host a CIA black site, and beyond. It’s a tale rich with historical accounts based on the highly regarded journalist’s interviews of former agents and officials and declassified Polish archives as well as contemporary observations of U.S.-Polish relations and the broader lessons of their secret partnership, includi…