Read more
A riveting, true-life thriller—as well as a moving memoir—from the daughter of an American intelligence officer, Spies in the Family is the astonishing story of two spies and their families on opposite sides of the Cold War.
During the summer of 1975, seventeen-year-old Eva Dillon was living in New Delhi when her father was exposed as a CIA spy. Long believing that he was a U.S. State Department employee, Dillon had no idea that her father was handling the CIA’s highest-ranking double agent, Soviet general Dmitri Fedorovich Polyakov. Code-named TOPHAT, the Russian provided a prolific flow of top secret intelligence that offered the CIA an unfiltered view into the vault of Soviet intelligence. But it wasn’t solely espionage: Dillon’s father and Polyakov had a close friendship that went back years, to their first meeting in Burma in the mid-1960s. At the height of the Cold War, their collaboration helped ensure that tensions between the two nuclear superpowers did not escalate into a shooting war.
Spanning fifty years and three continents, Spies in the Family is a deeply researched account of two families on opposite sides of the lethal espionage campaigns of the Cold War, and of the two agents whose devoted friendship blurred the lines between enemies, until the devastating final days of the men’s lives. With impeccable insider access to both families as well as to knowledgeable CIA and FBI officers, Eva Dillon goes beyond the fog of secrecy to craft an unforgettable story of allegiances and betrayals, double agents and clandestine lives. In revealing what the Cold War cost two families, she challenges our notions of patriotism and sheds light on the commonality between peoples of rival political economic systems.
Both a gripping tale of spy craft and a powerful personal story, Spies in the Family is an invaluable and wholly fresh look at one of the most extraordinary episodes in American history.
About the author
Eva Dillon spent twenty-five years in the magazine publishing business in New York City, including stints at Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, The New Yorker, and as president of Reader’s Digest, U.S. Dillon and her six siblings grew up moving around the world for her father's CIA assignments in Berlin, Mexico City, Rome, and New Delhi. She holds a bachelor’s in Music from Virginia Commonwealth University and lives in Charleston, South Carolina.
Summary
A riveting true-life thriller and revealing memoir from the daughter of an American intelligence officer—the astonishing true story of two spies and their families on opposite sides of the Cold War.
In the summer of 1975, seventeen-year-old Eva Dillon was living in New Delhi with her family when her father was exposed as a CIA spy. Eva had long believed that her father was a U.S. State Department employee. She had no idea that he was handling the CIA’s highest-ranking double agent—Dmitri Fedorovich Polyakov—a Soviet general whose code name was TOPHAT. Dillon’s father and Polyakov had a close friendship that went back years, to their first meeting in Burma in the mid-1960s. At the height of the Cold War, the Russian offered the CIA an unfiltered view into the vault of Soviet intelligence. His collaboration helped ensure that tensions between the two nuclear superpowers did not escalate into a shooting war.
Spanning fifty years and three continents, Spies in the Family is a deeply researched account of two families on opposite sides of the lethal espionage campaigns of the Cold War, and two men whose devoted friendship lasted a lifetime, until the devastating final days of their lives. With impeccable insider access to both families as well as knowledgeable CIA and FBI officers, Dillon goes beyond the fog of secrecy to craft an unforgettable story of friendship and betrayal, double agents and clandestine lives, that challenges our notions of patriotism, exposing the commonality between peoples of opposing political economic systems.
Both a gripping tale of spy craft and a moving personal story, Spies in the Family is an invaluable and heart-rending work.
Spies in the Family includes 25 black-and-white photos.
Additional text
"With detail and technique that are almost novelistic, Dillon weaves the personal stories of the two families: her own and that of Polyakov. Reads like a fine spy novel whose ending we know but whose story transports us nonetheless."
