Synopses & Reviews
In the history of Soviet espionage in America, few people figure more crucially than Harry Gold. A Russian Jewish immigrant who spied for the Soviets from 1935 until 1950, Gold was an accomplished industrial and military espionage agent. He was assigned to be physicist Klaus Fuchsand#8217;s and#8220;handlerand#8221; and ultimately conveyed sheaves of stolen information about the Manhattan Project from Los Alamos to Russian agents. He is literally the man who gave the USSR the plans for the atom bomb. The subject of the most intensive public manhunt in the history of the FBI, Gold was arrested in May 1950. His confession revealed scores of contacts, and his testimony in the trial of the Rosenbergs proved pivotal. Yet among his co-workers, fellow prisoners at Lewisburg Penitentiary, and even those in the FBI, Gold earned respect, admiration, and affection.
In The Invisible Harry Gold, journalist and historian Allen Hornblum paints a surprising portrait of this notorious yet unknown figure. Through interviews with many individuals who knew Gold and years of research into primary documents, Hornblum has produced a gripping account of how a fundamentally decent and well-intentioned man helped commit the greatest scientific theft of the twentieth century.
Review
"Astonishing. . . . The Invisible Harry Gold now joins other groundbreaking works published in the last 40 years that have described how far certain Americans. . . would go to betray their country. The story still has the power to shock."and#8212;Robert Leiter, Jewish Exponent
Review
"A welcome corrective. . . . Hornblum presents us with a balanced portrait, tracing Gold's hardscrabble young life, his slow entanglement with the Soviet espionage network and the many unhappy years he spent working on Moscow's behalf. . . . [A] finely crafted biography."and#8212;Michael Ybarra, Wall Street Journal
Review
"A riveting page-turner."Ron Radosh,
The Weekly Standard --Michael Ybarra - Wall Street Journal
Review
"A riveting page-turner."and#8212;Ron Radosh, The Weekly Standard
Review
"A riveting page-turner."—Ron Radosh, The Weekly Standard Ron Radosh
Review
"[A] fascinating psychological portrait."and#8212;Morton I. Teicher, The Buffalo Jewish Review
Review
"Allen Hornblum has succeeded in writing a critical study of a man for whom one cannot help but feel sympathy."and#8212;Ronald Radosh, The Weekly Standard
Review
"Hornblum goes into fascinating detail about Gold's motives, activities, relationships with his family, arrest, imprisonment, and post-prison life as a respected clinical chemist."and#8212;George M. Eberhart, Association of College and Research Libraries
Synopsis
In the history of Soviet espionage in America, few people figure more crucially than Harry Gold, a Russian Jewish immigrant who spied for the Soviets from 1935 until 1950. Journalist and historian Hornblum paints a surprising portrait of this notorious yet unknown figure.
About the Author
Allen M. Hornblum has been executive director of Americans for Democratic Action, chief of staff of the Philadelphia Sheriffand#8217;s Office, and a college lecturer. His previous books include Sentenced to Science, Acres of Skin, and Confessions of a Second Story Man. He lives in Philadelphia.