This book describes how one February night crystalized the values and personal risks that shaped the life of the author of this book. The frigid Moscow night in question was in 1984, and the author, a Washington Post correspondent, reported signs that Soviet leader Yuri Andropov had died. The CIA at first dismissed the reporting, saying that “Doder must be smoking pot.” When Soviet authorities confirmed Andropov's death, journalists and intelligence officials questioned how a lone reporter could scoop the multibillion-dollar US spy agency. The stage was set for Cold War-style revenge against t ... More

This book describes how one February night crystalized the values and personal risks that shaped the life of the author of this book. The frigid Moscow night in question was in 1984, and the author, a Washington Post correspondent, reported signs that Soviet leader Yuri Andropov had died. The CIA at first dismissed the reporting, saying that “Doder must be smoking pot.” When Soviet authorities confirmed Andropov's death, journalists and intelligence officials questioned how a lone reporter could scoop the multibillion-dollar US spy agency. The stage was set for Cold War-style revenge against the journalist. After emigrating to the United States from Yugoslavia in 1956, the author committed himself to the journalist's mission. He knew that reporting the truth could come at a price, something driven home by his years of covering Soviet dissidents and watching his Washington Post colleagues break the Watergate story. Still, he was not prepared for a cloaked act of reprisal from the CIA. Taking aim at the author, the CIA insinuated a story into Time magazine suggesting that he had been co-opted by the KGB. His professional world collapsed and his personal life was shaken as he fought Time in court. In this book, the author reflects on this attempt to destroy his reputation, his dedication to reporting the truth, and the vital but precarious role of the free press today.