According to reviews from many experts and the press, this is one of the most thorough and closest to the truth works of the early 2000s. on the history of intelligence. The author is a career intelligence officer who spent the last years of his career as head of the CIA's Soviet/East European Division, and a renowned journalist covering national security issues for the New York Times. The book provides a fascinating chronicle of the "spy battles" between the CIA and the KGB, focusing on 1985. -1986. The reader will learn about CIA agents from among the employees of Soviet intelligence services and defense enterprises, about KGB agents in the US intelligence services and about the secrets given out by both. In this regard, the story of the “under defector” - KGB Colonel Yurchenko and, on the other hand, the actions of the “mole” in the CIA Aldrich Ames are touched upon. The role of the CIA in carrying out covert operations to assist Afghan rebels is shown. The story of the historical duel between the CIA and the KGB ends with chapters devoted to changes in their relationship during the collapse of the USSR and the entire socialist system.