In the Enemy's House Audiobook By Howard Blum cover art

In the Enemy's House

The Secret Saga of the FBI Agent and the Code Breaker Who Caught the Russian Spies

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In the Enemy's House

By: Howard Blum
Narrated by: David Colacci
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About this listen

The New York Times best-selling author of Dark Invasion and The Last Goodnight once again illuminates the lives of little-known individuals who played a significant role in America's history as he chronicles the incredible true story of a critical, recently declassified counterintelligence mission and two remarkable agents whose story has been called "the greatest secret of the Cold War".

In 1946, genius linguist and codebreaker Meredith Gardner discovered that the KGB was running an extensive network of strategically placed spies inside the United States, whose goal was to infiltrate American intelligence and steal the nation's military and atomic secrets. Over the course of the next decade, he and young FBI supervisor Bob Lamphere worked together on Venona, a top-secret mission to uncover the Soviet agents and protect the Holy Grail of Cold War espionage - the atomic bomb.

Opposites in nearly every way, Lamphere and Gardner relentlessly followed a trail of clues that helped them identify and take down these Soviet agents one by one, including Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. But at the center of this spy ring, seemingly beyond the American agents' grasp, was the mysterious master spy who pulled the strings of the KGB's extensive campaign, dubbed Operation Enormoz by Russian Intelligence headquarters. Lamphere and Gardner began to suspect that a mole buried deep in the American intelligence community was feeding Moscow Center information on Venona. They raced to unmask the traitor and prevent the Soviets from fulfilling Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's threat: "We shall bury you!"

A breathtaking chapter of American history and a head-turning mystery that plays out against the tense, life-and-death gamesmanship of the Cold War, this twisting thriller begins at the end of World War II and leads all the way to the execution of the Rosenbergs - a result that haunted both Gardner and Lamphere to the end of their lives.

©2018 Howard Blum (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers
History & Theory Intelligence & Espionage Russia United States Espionage Cold War War

What listeners say about In the Enemy's House

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Pretty darn good

This was fascinating story and an interesting glimpse into a very intriguing part of our history. I enjoyed the story as a whole but since I listen to books while I am doing something else - I had to "rewind" several times as the story jumps around occasionally and I would get a little lost. This is no fault of the writing - just my listening.
I guess what I am trying to say is that the details matter in this story, hence the rewinding.

I initially thought I would have liked a little more detail and/or clarity on some of the "spies", but after reflecting on the book I believe further detail on the spies would have been misplaced. This book is about the two guys and their path not about the spies.
It really is a fascinating story but not quite compelling.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

4 stars - a lot going on.

I’m giving the overall rating 4 stars just because it was difficult to pick back up where leaving off. If you listen straight through you may enjoy it better. The story deals with a lot of characters and has a lot going on. Stay focused if you don’t wanna miss anything. Good listen!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Narration drags

Narration: slow, cumbersome, boring.

Story: might be good story, but the narration is uninspiring. I'm returning this book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not my favorite narrator

The story was interesting but the narrator mispronounced more than one word and the audio skipped a few beats on a regular basis. Was annoying.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Story is fascinating

The story of two American heroes is the gem of this book! Performance is ok.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Riveting and frighteningly contemporary

Narrator is wonderful. Story is incredibly compelling. I'd heard bits and pieces of spy stories growing up in the 70s but never realized how much I would enjoy the whole story. The author's point in the epilogue regarding how this hasn't changed is spot on. Dasvidania.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

I hope there’s not a test later...

Sounds exactly like an FBI training lecture. Good, logical, historical ... but if you’re not taking notes, you just might fall asleep.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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An absolute ‘page turner’

I purchased this book to listen to on a recent vacation. I did not want to stop listening, and found myself researching and learning alot—well done! And thank u for making wearisome travel fly by..

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Pretty good read

I found it to be quite interesting and would definitely recommend to others. Good book

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A thrilling nonfiction title

Blum has written yet another totally absorbing nonfiction title ... Colacci does the book proud with his narration ... great storytelling

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4 people found this helpful