Ernest Hemingway: Dud KGB Spy?
A new book, "Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America," reveals that the beloved American novelist was a spy in the service of the KGB -- but failed miserably at the job.
A new book, “Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America,” reveals that the beloved American novelist was a spy in the service of the KGB — but failed miserably at the job.
The book was written by John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr and Alexander Vassilev. It is based on notes that Vassilev, a former KGB officer, made when he was given access in the ’90s to Soviet-era intelligence archives in Moscow.
A number of international figures who made their reputation in the Spanish Civil War have had their legacies complicated by details uncovered long after that 1930s conflict. The Guardian reports that George Orwell was shown to have provided a list of public figures who were “crypto-communists” to a Foreign Office propaganda arm in 1949. The most famous photo of that war, taken by Hungarian photographer Robert Capa, has been accused of being a fake. And Martha Gellhorn, Hemingway’s wife, has been outed as having been hostile to Arabs.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
WAIT, BEFORE YOU GO…The Guardian:
Its section on the author’s secret life as a “dilettante spy” draws on his KGB file in saying he was recruited in 1941 before making a trip to China, given the cover name “Argo”, and “repeatedly expressed his desire and willingness to help us” when he met Soviet agents in Havana and London in the 40s. However, he failed to “give us any political information” and was never “verified in practical work”, so contacts with Argo had ceased by the end of the decade. Was he only ever a pseudo-spook, possibly seeing his clandestine dealings as potential literary material, or a genuine but hopelessly ineffective one?
The latter reading would chime with his attempts to assist the US during the second world war in his fishing boat El Pilar, patrolling waters north of Cuba in search of U-Boats, making coded notes but only one sighting.
If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
Film
The ABC made-for-tv film is a stark reminder that nuclear deterrence is a strategy that can and will fail someday.
Book Review
The nuclear genie can never be stuffed back into the bottle. But are we condemned to live forever on the edge of annihilation?
Democratic socialism might just be about to have its moment in America, and it's thanks to none other than Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Chris Matthews abruptly resigned from MSNBC this week, but not before revealing how party elites really feel about the Vermont senator.
During World War II, the organization launched a campaign tying our national identity to capitalism. We're still living with its effects.
In his relentless red-baiting of Bernie Sanders, Chris Matthews reveals just how divorced he and his ilk are from our political moment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.