Do You like book Death Of A Dissident: The Poisoning Of Alexander Litvinenko And The Return Of The KGB (2007)?
What is it about power that drives people no end? That and money - billions of dollars worth (or oil ...). It is something that can destroy innocent lives just by snapping one's fingers. Why? Why is it so necessary to build your pyramid (which just goes to show for how many millennia man has been holding onto these two things). Putin didn't fit in anywhere until he got the taste of both of them: 1. Power. 2. Money. Now he can't let go, because letting go means you're not in control. That means losing power.Sasha (as he was known to friends) Litvinenko was an honest, down to earth, happily married man. He did his work as best he could, but it seems three little letters started hating him: (those in power) at the K-G-B. I doubt that the book was written to say: "This person did it!" or "No, it was THIS one!". The evidence speaks for itself - and Sasha can be grateful that he was such a superfit security officer. If he had've died any earlier, no-one would know that it was Polonium-120 that killed him - something that is only produced in Russia, of which one needs a 1000th of a milligram to kill you (1g can kill half a million people: he was exposed to 3 gigabecquerels of radioactivity = 100 lethal doses, p 336). This is staggering stuff: To obtain this amount of polonium from the end product available on the market, one would have to purchase hundreds of recently manufactured static-electricity devices and develop a technology for extracting, concentrating and handling polonium, which would be virtually impossible for an amateur freelancer. His death could be aligned with that of someone at the epicentre of Hiroshima. Why did they kill him? Because they felt their money; their power was being threatened by his honesty. If he saw anything that didn't seem right, he had to talk about it. He needed to find the core of it - which is what made him such a good detective. He didn't stop until he found the answer. Unfortunately he found himself in a country filled with scoundrels, where honesty cannot survive. So he had to leave ... and they hunted him down and poisoned him in the UK. 'For no reason?', you ask. Well, we don't know that yet. The facts are all locked up in Scotland Yard.This book answers so many questions I've had about "spies"; that is, real-life ones. It's not all the fiction writers cracks it up to be. It's a heart-rending tale of life and death (and fraud). With this book, keeping track of the Russian names is quite some task (luckily a comma usually appears after to remind you of where the person fits in). In addition, there are so many things you need to understand about politics and the people at "the top" (of governments)/background, that it's no wonder it needs almost 400 pages to tell it's intriguing story. But once you've started, you too would want to get to the bottom of it.
—Ilze
Alelksa Goldfarba un Marinas Ļitviņenko grāmata "Disidenta nāve - Aleksandra Ļitviņenko noindēšana un čekas atgriešanās" ir darbs, kurš man lika atvērt acis plašāk un noticēt neticamajam. Šī grāmata ir par skarbo realitāti, par to, kas notiek mums apkārt. Tas ir patiess stāsts par kirevu spiega A.Ļitviņenko noslepkavošanu. 2006. gada novembrī teju pār visu pasauli pārlaidās ziņa, ka ir miris bijušais krievu spiegs Aleksandrs Ļitviņenko. Nāvi izraisījis radioaktīvais polonijs, kas dažu nedēļu laikā 43 gadus veco vīrieti pārvērta par rēgu. Izmeklēšanas laikā tika izvirzīta teorija par to, ka inde ir atvesta no Krievijas. Aizdomas krita uz Putinu. Kas Ļiviņenko nogalināja? Ko viņš zināja, kāpēc viņu nogalināja?Šī grāmata rada ieskatu procesos, kuri notiek Krievijā. Tajā ir par lielajām naudas summām un cilvēku dzīvībām, ar kurām tiek riskēts. Pavisam patiesi tiek stāstīts par to, kā Ļitviņenko ģimene meklēja brīvību, bēguļoja, kas beidzās ar Aleksandra nāvi. Izlasot šo grāmatu tiek līdz saknei iznīcināts steriotips, ka nauda un vara padara dzīvi vieglāku, ka arī pazudina jebkādas domas par to. ka pasaule ir godīga vieta. "Disidenta nāve" nav viegli lasāms materiāls. Lai to izlasītu un pienācīgi saprastu ir nepieciešamas priekšzināšanas par Krievijas "galvenajiem" cilvēkiem un vēstures notikumiem. Lasot bez sapratnes par Krievijas situāciju ir grūti izsekot līdzi visiem uzvārdiem un organizāciju nosaukumiem. Bet arī to nezinot, grāmata parāda sevi kā ļoti noderīgu un izglītojošu lasāmvielu.Ņemot vērā to, ka manas dzimtenes, Latvijas, vēsturē Krievijai ir liela nozīme, lasīt šo grāmatu bija ļoti interesanti un aizraujoši. "Disidenta nāvi" iesaku izlasīt ikvienam, kuru interesē vēsture un politiskie procesi, kā arī tiem, kuriem patīk zināt patiesību.
—Elina Baltskara
This amazing biography was an intriguing insight into the grimy underground of the Kremlin and the KGB.. I was so lucky to find it at the bottom of a pile in our local second hand bookshop - the best AU$2 I have ever spent. By the end of it, I was so devastated at the lengths that the Russian Government went to to silence its defectors and 'enemies', but at the same time, in awe of Alexander Litvinenko and his commitment to making the country honest. He is an inspiration. HIGHLY recommended to anyone interested.
—Abby
