Spy Hunter: Inside the FBI Investigation of the Walker Espionage Case

Although we know the outcome, this is a first-rate mystery story that pits the hunter against the hunted in a benchmark case against which all others are measured. It offers a front-row seat to history in the making as it reveals, with the accuracy and attention to detail only this author could provide, the events that led to Walker's arrest. That arrest at a motel in Maryland brought an abrupt halt to eighteen years of spying activities. In an unprecedented breach of Navy security, Walker had sold more than one million secrets to the Russians--vital information on codes, ship movements, weaponry, tactics, and plans so crucial that a top KGB official called the ring the most important operation in the KGB's history.

Walker's elaborate spy network included his son, who was a seaman on a nuclear aircraft carrier; his brother; and his best friend. This book is the first to discuss in detail the interviews with his wife (who first put the FBI onto the case) and his brother, and to explain why the agency never believed the brother told the entire truth about his involvement. This is the first book to include interviews with the KGB general who supervised Walker and with the judges and prosecutors involved in the case. It is also the only book to offer a close-up look at how the investigation was conducted and what the lead investigator was thinking as he attempted to bring down one of the biggest traitors in U.S. history.

I read this book over a weekend because I simply could not put it down. I enjoy the way the story was told. Our country should thank the FBI, Bob Hunter, and his team for their professionalism in catching America's most damaging spy.


excellent   July 31, 1999
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

Excellent true spy story from the justics side of the case. Other books ont his case don't cover this much at all. The author (and case agent) is a good, unpretentious storyteller.


Gripping True Spy Story   July 29, 1999
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Espionage stories like this are usually fiction! The author tells his story in a casual way, like he's talking to you personally over a glass of ale. He's a character himseld!


Good agent- not so good author!   July 22, 1999
 2 out of 6 found this review helpful

Having read few earlier books on this subject and served on-board a nuclear powered submarine during John Walker's "active years", I had high expectations for this book. I was disappointed! The book seemed to be simply an "off the cuff" recollection of the author's very significant experience with this case. It was a very surface, rambling treatment of a very complex story.


excellent factual insider recounting of true spy case   March 27, 1999
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

The author is the FBI agent in charge of this spy case, who actually arrested Walker and was present at trials and debriefings. It is the only actual insider book about the investigation. Hunter is the FBI counter intelligemnce agent who holds the record for the most spy convictions ever. Very exciting stuff.