Ruse: Undercover with FBI Counterintelligence

By Robert Eringer

For nearly ten years beginning in 1993, Robert Eringer lived a clandestine life of intrigue, conducting a spectrum of covert operations for the FBI's foreign counterintelligence division. His primary... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1597971898
• ISBN13: 9781597971898
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Potomac Books
• Length: 215 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Ruse-Would have worked but for Washington's bureaucratic ineptitude!!!

Robert Eringer's Book Ruse: Undercover with FBI Counterintelligence is a hell of a suspenseful ride! A good patriotic hustler, who risks his life for country and justice, Eringer goes after traitor Edward Lee Howard in post-communist Russia, assists in the capture of notorious killer Ira Einhorn in France, hoodwinks die-hard communist KGB Chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov in Moscow, and plays the Great Game skillfully with Cuban Intellingence in Washington and Havana. Kudos for Mr. Eringer's book, an excellent sequel and denouement for David Wise's Spy Who Got Away! Eringer closes his book by telling us what to expect from Putin's Russia, providing us another sequel to Alex Goldfarb's book, Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB. This book is highly recommended for those who, like me, prefer cold war, historic non-fiction, real-life spy thrillers to imaginary fiction, cloak and dagger potboilers!!! Miguel A. Faria Jr., M.D. is the author of Cuba in Revolution: Escape from a Lost Paradise.

Fantastic Read

An incredibly good read. In intelligence work, one of the most valuable talents is the ability to "think and act outside the box," which is often near impossible in rigid bureaucracies. This accounting shows there are no limits to achieving goals when imagination and creativity are given room to grow. In such an environment, the seemingly impossible comes to fruition and this book of factual intelligence events is proof. It will rank among the classics of good intelligence work. Moreover, a healthy sense of humor is an essential ingredient in success. There are valuable lessons to be learned here for those interested in spycraft.

A Must Read!

Ruse is fascinating! A page turner to the end. The author's keen intellect and abundant patience in setting up and orchestrating the various scenarios is intriguing and enlightening. There are several amusing, irreverent and even laugh-out-loud moments in the book. It is interesting to note that I have known the author personally for 7 years and knew very little about this part of his life. He lives the mystery that he is so practiced at masterminding.

Worthwhile, Irreverent

It's a first person narrative of the author's various stings and counterintelligence gambits working with, but outside of, the FBI. An interesting and worthwhile story in most respects. It's a quick, easy read, and it is immediately clear the author doesn't take himself too seriously. When it comes to the task at hand, however, the sting, or ruse, is pursued with a serious, inward diligence as he sets up the likes of Edward Lee Howard, Vladimir Kryuchkov and others without diplomatic immunity. I have a hard time not liking anyone who refers to Vladimir Kryuchkov as "Uncle Vlad"--wry, irreverent and metaphorically accurate. For readers of the intelligence/espionage genre, there are several takeaways. 1. It contains new information, if not in huge quantities, certainly from the original perspective as a freelancer outside of (but loyal to) the U.S. and its intelligence community. It begs the question of the future role of commercial intelligence providers. Give me Stratfor or give me death. 2. The author's anecdotes sum up the adage: "Counter-intelligence with penetration is like shooting fish in a barrel; counter-intelligence without it is like knife fighting in the dark." -JJA. 3. The onset of paralyzing, initiative and spirit crushing bureaucracy in the FBI's middle management is fatal. One hopes a copy of the book is sent to Robert Mueller, his Directors and Deputy Directors on down through the ranks of Division Five. And maybe a senator or three. Two last points. The story, by its nature, is hard to corroborate. The man whose cover and lure was a book publisher now publishes his own book...a last ruse? The editors can help by including a foreword or pithy endorsement on the jacket, perhaps by Former Spymaster or some such. Something to vouchsafe character and credibility. Trust but verify. Sadly, there is no index. - Note to Editors: it was Russian journalist Artyom Borovik, not Borovin, that died under suspicious circumstances (referenced in the epilogue). RIP.

Ruse

Fighting the good fight, writer warrior Robert Eringer has served his country well not only pursuing and gaining the confidence of the CIA traitor, Edward Lee Howard, who defected to the Soviet Union in 1985 giving up important US secrets to the KGB, but Eringer also managed to wind his way through the tangled bureaucracy of the FBI , to bring to American justice psychopath Ira Einhorn, who had been hiding out in a small town in France after murdering his wife,Holly Maddux, and, on top of that, to achieve his goals in his own wry way which included traveling first class,staying in the finest hotels, enjoying great wines and good food and laughs no matter that he sometimes faced the devil himself. His book RUSE, due out in April is a great read with a couple of laugh out loud moments and it proves once again that truth can be stranger than fiction.