An Impeccable Spy: Richard Sorge, Stalin's Master Agent is both admiring and sharply critical of its subject. Owen Matthews, author of Stalin's Children, begins the introduction by writing that Sorge "was a bad man who became a great spy--indeed one of the greatest spies who ever lived." As a famous spy, Sorge presents distinct challenges for the author, not only to say something new but also to penetrate the web of deceptions and self-deceptions that spies inhabit. Matthews's vast research and some highly educated guesswork allow readers glimpses of Sorge's beliefs and character. It is not always a flattering portrait, but Matthews convincingly argues for the importance of Sorge's espionage to the Soviet Union at a time when the course of World War II, and of history, was far from certain.
Sorge was born in Baku, in what was then a part of the Russian Empire, near the turn of the 20th century to a German mother and a Russian father. Matthews does not go into great detail on Sorge's childhood, positioning World War I as the first pivotal experience of Sorge's life. By then, his family had moved to Berlin, and Sorge was part of an entire generation that had their ideals upended by the Great War. His experiences put him on a path to Communism, and he became a part of the great ideological conflicts roiling Germany after the World War I. Moving from an agitator to party cadre, Sorge was eventually summoned to Moscow at the behest of the Comintern, or Third International, through which Moscow promoted world revolution. Over time, Sorge's talents were recognized, and he was recruited by Soviet military intelligence to work as a spy.
Sorge's career trajectory makes An Impeccable Spy a solid introduction to the political turmoil gripping much of the world at the time. The bulk of the book, however, is spent on Sorge's most significant posting, in Japan, where power seemed constantly to shift between different factions. Here, Sorge developed one of the most effective spy rings in history. His information was enormously valuable to the Soviet Union, eventually helping to convince Stalin that a Japanese invasion was not forthcoming in time to move troops to counter the German threat.
Matthews credits much of Sorge's success as a spy to his exceptional social skills. He seemed to be able to make friends of anyone after a night of drunken carousing, even an infamous Nazi. Contrary to the title, however, Sorge's tradecraft was not always impeccable. Sorge had a daredevil streak that led him to take unnecessary risks, including seducing the wives of key assets and riding his motorcycle at dangerous speeds and crashing on more than one occasion. He was also a master manipulator, using people callously to get what he wanted. More than anything, though, Sorge was an enigma. Matthews does an admirable job trying to peel back his mask, but Sorge's many contradictions remain. A devout Communist living an impressively dissolute lifestyle, Sorge was a complicated man but an undeniably excellent spy. --Hank Stephenson, manuscript reader, the Sun magazine
Shelf Talker: An Impeccable Spy is a biography of Richard Sorge, a raconteur, womanizer and a spy for the Soviet Union who provided intelligence that helped change the course of World War II.