Review of Memoirs of a Spymaster: The Man Who Waged a Secret War Against the West

This is an excellent primer for anyone interested in how intelligence services developed their tradecraft during the Cold War. Written by the former head of East German Intelligence (HVA) it details his early life, ideological motivations and the incredible success his department had despite being woefully underfunded and technologically disadvantaged.

Conducting operations on a shoestring Wolf managed to refine the art of intelligence gathering by exploiting a much-overlooked component; people. Wolf pioneered and extended PSYOPS techniques, some of which have been in use since before Sun Tzu's treatise The Art of War.

An engrossing book that teaches as much about human nature and its frailties as it does about one of the most turbulent times in recent history.