The Defection of A.J. Lewinter - Hardcover

"'A perfect little gem, the best cold-war thriller I've read in years.' - Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times 'If Robert Littell didn't invent the American spy novel, he should have.' - Tom Clancy"

The legendary spy thriller from bestselling author Robert Littell - whose latest book The Company received rave reviews and acclaim and became an international bestseller - is finally back in print. The Defection of A. J. Lewinter is a masterpiece of irony and intrigue, an unconventional and gripping anatomy of a defection. A.J. Lewinter is an American scientist, for years an insignificant cog in America's complex defence machinery. While at an academic conference in Tokyo, he contacts the KGB station chief and tells him he wants to defect. He tantalizes the Russians with U.S. military secrets he claims to possess, but is his defection genuine? Neither the Russians nor the Americans are sure and Lewinter is swept up in a terrifying political chess-match of deceit and treachery. Each side struggles to anticipate its opponents next move and the superpowers are locked in a deadly contest that exploits friendships, destroys loyalties, and manipulates human beings as expendable pawns. Deft and dazzlingly plotted, this is the book that introduced Robert Littell - the opening shot of a brilliant career.