The Terminal Spy

作者:Cowell, Alan S.

页数:0

出版时间:2008-8

价格:CDN$ 34.00

isbn号码:9780739370544

具体描述

In a page-turning narrative that reads like a thriller, an award-winning journalist exposes the troubling truth behind the world’s first act of nuclear terrorism.

On November 1, 2006, Alexander Litvinenko sipped tea in London’s Millennium Hotel. Hours later the Russian émigré and former intelligence officer, who was sharply critical of Russian president Vladimir Putin, fell ill and within days was rushed to the hospital. Fatally poisoned by a rare radioactive isotope slipped into his drink, Litvinenko issued a dramatic deathbed statement accusing Putin himself of engineering his murder. Alan S. Cowell, then London Bureau Chief of the New York Times, who covered the story from its inception, has written the definitive story of this assassination and of the profound international implications of this first act of nuclear terrorism.

Who was Alexander Litvinenko? What had happened in Russia since the end of the cold war to make his life there untenable and in severe jeopardy even in England, the country that had granted him asylum? And how did he really die? The life of Alexander Litvinenko provides a riveting narrative in its own right, culminating in an event that rang alarm bells among western governments at the ease with which radioactive materials were deployed in a major Western capital to commit a unique crime. But it also evokes a wide range of other issues: Russia's lurch to authoritarianism, the return of the KGB to the Kremlin, the perils of a new cold war driven by Russia's oil riches and Vladimir Putin's thirst for power.

Cowell provides a remarkable and detailed reconstruction both of how Litvinenko died and of the issues surrounding his murder. Drawing on exclusive reporting from Britain, Russia, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the United States, he traces in unprecedented detail the polonium trail leading from Russia's closed nuclear cities through Moscow and Hamburg to the Millenium Hotel in central London. He provides the most detailed step-by-step explanation of how and where polonium was found; how the assassins tried on several occasions to kill Litvinenko; and how they bungled a conspiracy that may have had more targets than Litvinenko himself.

With a colorful cast that includes the tycoons, spies, and killers who surrounded Litvinenko in the roller-coaster Russia of the 1990s, as well as the émigrés who flocked to London in such numbers that the British capital earned the sobriquet “Londongrad,” this book lays out the events that allowed an accused killer to escape prosecution in a delicate diplomatic minuet that helped save face for the authorities in London and Moscow.

A masterful work of investigative reporting, The Terminal Spy offers unprecedented insight into one of the most chilling true stories of our time.

用户评价

我必须承认，在读到中段时，我一度感到有些喘不过气来，不是因为情节太快，而是信息量实在太丰富了！作者似乎对全球政治格局有着百科全书般的了解，他构建的世界观极其宏大且严谨。书中涉及到大量的历史背景、地缘政治分析以及情报机构的运作模式，这些元素被无缝地嵌入到叙事之中，非但没有拖沓，反而极大地增强了故事的可信度。阅读体验就像是上了一堂生动、惊险的国际关系选修课。真正让我着迷的是，作者似乎在暗示，真正的权力运作远比我们想象的更为隐秘和去中心化。那些传统意义上的“坏人”和“好人”的界限变得模糊不清，每个人都有自己的立场和不得不做的选择。这种对道德相对性的探讨，使得故事的余味悠长，读完很久之后，我还在琢磨某个关键决策背后的深层逻辑。

从纯粹的文笔风格来看，这本书拥有极其鲜明的个人色彩，读起来非常过瘾。作者擅长使用短促、有力的句子来构建紧张感，但在描述内心独白时，笔锋又会变得内敛而富有层次。这种张弛有度的节奏控制，让读者的大脑始终处于高效运转的状态，既能跟上情节的飞速发展，又能捕捉到角色细微的情感波动。特别是对话部分，精炼到极致，每一句话都像是经过精密计算的，绝无废话。如果用一个词来形容，那就是“精准”。它不像某些作品那样追求华丽的辞藻堆砌，而是追求用最恰当的词语，在最短的时间内达成最大的叙事冲击力。对于那些追求阅读效率和信息密度的读者来说，这本书无疑是上乘之作，读起来酣畅淋漓，绝不拖泥带水。

这部小说的叙事节奏简直是扣人心弦，作者对情节的掌控力令人叹为观止。故事从一个看似平淡无奇的开端迅速切入核心冲突，角色们似乎总是在与时间赛跑，每翻一页都能感受到那种日益紧绷的压力。我尤其欣赏作者如何巧妙地布局那些看似无关紧要的细节，最终将它们编织成一张巨大的、令人拍案叫绝的网。那些复杂的国际阴谋，涉及到的权谋斗争，都被描绘得丝丝入扣，让人仿佛置身于那个充满谎言与背叛的地下世界。尽管情节错综复杂，但作者的文字却异常清晰有力，即便是那些涉及高科技和复杂情报的桥段，也处理得流畅自然，丝毫没有晦涩难懂的感觉。我常常在阅读过程中忍不住停下来，回味一下刚才发生的转折，那种智力上的博弈，远比单纯的动作场面更引人入胜。这本书成功地将冷峻的间谍美学与深刻的人性探讨融合在一起，让人在享受惊险刺激的同时，也对“忠诚”与“背叛”的本质进行反思。

这本书最成功的一点，在于它对“信任”这个主题的解构与重塑。在一个所有人都戴着面具的行业里，主角必须依靠直觉和极少数的盟友生存。作者通过不断地设置背叛和反转，不断地考验读者对角色的判断，让我们和主角一样，学会用最怀疑的眼光去看待每一个微笑。我特别喜欢其中关于“身份认同”的探讨——当一个人长期扮演间谍角色时，他究竟还剩下多少真实的自我？这种哲学层面的追问，被作者巧妙地融入到日常的特工行动中，使得故事的深度大大增加。它不只是一部关于抓捕和逃亡的故事，更是一部关于自我认知危机的史诗。最终的结局处理得高明之处在于，它没有提供一个廉价的圆满答案，而是留下了一个开放式的、充满张力的尾声，让人在合上书本后，依然能感受到故事的涟漪久久不散。

初读时，我原本以为这会是一部标准的类型小说，充斥着固有的套路和刻板印象，但很快我就发现我错了。这位作家的笔触带着一种近乎诗意的克制与冷峻，尤其是在描绘人物的内心挣扎时。主角的性格塑造极其立体，他不是那种无所不能的超级英雄，而是一个充满缺陷、时常感到疲惫和迷茫的普通人，被迫卷入他人的棋局。正是这种“人味儿”，让故事拥有了强大的共鸣力。很多时候，最精彩的对抗并不是发生在枪林弹雨中，而是发生在一次眼神的交锋、一句试探性的问话里。作者对场景的氛围营造更是炉火纯青，无论是昏暗的东欧酒吧，还是灯火辉煌的跨国会议室，那种特有的压抑感和疏离感都扑面而来。我能清晰地“听见”空气中弥漫的紧张，感受到那些隐藏在微笑背后的刀光剑影。这是一次非常成熟且富有文学性的商业小说尝试，远超出了我对传统间谍故事的预期。