Operation Whisper: The Capture of Soviet Spies Morris and Lona Cohen

by Barnes Carr Narrated by John Pruden

Overview

Born and raised in the Bronx and recruited to play football at Mississippi State, Morris Cohen fought for the Loyalists in the Spanish Civil War and with the U.S. Army in World War II. He and his wife, Lona, were as American as football and fried chicken, but for one detail: they'd spent their entire adult lives stealing American military secrets for the Soviet Union. And not just any military secrets, but a complete working plan of the first atomic bomb, smuggled direct from Los Alamos to their Soviet handler in New York. Their associates Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who accomplished far less, had just been arrested, and the prosecutor wanted the death penalty. Did the Cohens wish to face the same fate? Federal agents were in the neighborhood, knocking on doors, getting close. So get out. Take nothing. Tell no one.



In Operation Whisper, Barnes Carr tells the true story of the most effective Soviet spy couple in America, a pair who vanished under the FBI's nose only to turn up posing as rare book dealers in London, where they continued their atomic spying. The Cohens were talented, dedicated, worldly spies-an urbane, jet-set couple loyal to their service and their friends. Most people they met seemed to think they represented the best of America. The Soviets certainly thought so.

Editorial Reviews

The Intelligencer: Journal of U.S Intelligence Studies

The Cohens were the most effective Soviet spy couple in America, and vanished under the FBI's nose, turning up as rare book dealers in London, where they continued their atomic spying. This is their story.

From the Publisher

"Narrator John Pruden's gravely voice is pleasant to listen to, easy to understand, and free from distracting nuances." ---Sound Commentary Starred Review

From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY

"Narrator John Pruden's gravely voice is pleasant to listen to, easy to understand, and free from distracting nuances." —Sound Commentary Starred Review

Library Journal

06/01/2016
Shortly after the arrest of Americans Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1950, Morris and Lona Cohen, suspected of pro-Soviet activities, walked out of their New York City apartment with only the clothes on their backs, never to return. In 1961, the quiet London suburb of Ruislip, Middlesex, was astonished when their friendly neighbors Peter and Helen Kroger, antiquarian booksellers from Canada, were arrested and convicted of stealing nuclear secrets from the Portland Royal Navy Yard. Before sentencing, British counterintelligence officers dropped a bombshell—Peter and Helen were none other than Morris and Lona Cohen, wanted in the United States for stealing nuclear plans from Los Alamos and information about the development of radar for the Soviet Union. Journalist Carr meticulously documents the astonishing life and times of these anything but average Americans. He vividly evokes the tedium and deceit, interspersed with bursts of terror, that make up the life of a spy. VERDICT Fans of fictional and true espionage, and readers interested in the history of the 20th-century communist movement and the Cold War, will enjoy this intricate chronicle.—Laurie Unger Skinner, Coll. of Lake Cty., Waukegan, IL

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171213930
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	08/08/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos