Allemagne Deception, A Novel of the Cold War, The

 Author's Summary

A friendship formed in World War II may be the only thing that can stop World War III… Berlin, 1945 — A U.S. Army Staff Sergeant and a Soviet Army Lieutenant comb through the bombed-out ruins of the Nazi capital, searching for evidence to be used in the war crimes trials at Nuremburg. They are two warriors from opposite sides of the Iron Curtain, drawn together by shared revulsion for the inhuman atrocities of the Third Reich. Two decades later, America is embroiled in the Vietnam war and the U.S.S.R. has become a ruthless empire of communist oppression. A team of U.S. military intelligence officers in Munich play deadly games against KGB operatives, traitors, and assassins. The Soviet military crashes across the border of Czechoslovakia, smashing all resistance beneath the treads of their tanks. The invasion of Western Europe has begun, and NATO is not ready for the assault. The Cold War is about to go hot…


MWSA Review

Engaged in a tense cat and mouse game with Soviet agents, the men attached to the 409th Special Investigations Detachment struggle to unmask a traitor in their midst and prevent an all-out war during the “Prague Spring” crisis of 1968.  This Cold war era novel of espionage and intrigue by Farinacci follows the fortunes of the personnel in one US Army military intelligence unit.  The well-crafted narrative moves along from action sequences to detailed explanations of military intelligence activities.  It is evident that the author, a Vietnam veteran, knows the 1960s era well and has done his research on intelligence work.  Farinacci uses dialogue well to bring out the personalities of his well-drawn characters – particularly the young newcomers Tollifierro and Berg, and the hardened unit commander, Reitenhauser – to carry forward his story.    The final sequence of events, in which a traitor is uncovered while Soviet tanks and troops are on the march to suppress the Czech bid for democracy, is taut and absorbing. 

Reviewed by: Terry Shoptaugh (September 2011)
Author(s) Mentioned: 
Farinacci, Donald
Reviewer: 
Shoptaugh, Terry
Work Type: