Remember when I read this not too long ago? Well, it is a loose biography of Robert Hanssen and the story about being caught as a spy for the Russian in 2001. It was written not long after the arrest, so only can include what was known at that time. A Spy in Plain Sight: The Inside Story of the FBI and Robert Hanssen–America’s Most Damaging Russian Spy was published earlier this year and has the benefit of hindsight. Wiehl interviews tons of people and digs into how Hanssen did what he did, but also how the FBI enabled it and until they were eventually able to catch him.

-Spoiler Alerts Ahead-

Honestly, when I first picked this up, I was expecting it to be extremely repetitive after the David Wise book. But, I was happily proven wrong. Wise really does focus on everything from Hanssen’s perspective so I went into this book with a very good understanding of his biography, how he became a spy, and the major players. Wiehl takes the opposite perspective and really looks at this from the FBI’s point of view. She still includes a lot about Hanssen’s biography throughout the book, but focuses more on the people Hanssen was working with and the men and women who ultimately caught him.

The two books together really do give a more complete picture of everything that happened in this complicated story. Even after learning about it, it still feels almost too fanciful to be true. But, unfortunately it is. And the only way we prevent things like this happening in the future is by learning about and from them.

I won’t say too much more about this story other than that it is worth the read.

5/5 stars

Book 27/50 for 2022 goal