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The Useful Idiot

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The Useful Idiot

By: John Sweeney
Narrated by: John Sweeney
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About this listen

Moscow, 1932. Gareth Jones, a young Welsh reporter, arrives in the Soviet Union excited to see for himself how Josef Stalin is forging a new civilization.

He meets American and British journalists who acclaim Stalin's great experiment-but when Jones witnesses people starving to death in Ukraine, his belief in the Soviet revolution is shattered.

He must decide whether to report the truth or become just another useful idiot, saying only what the Communist secret police allow and smothering the evidence of his own eyes.

In this special kind of hell, anyone could be an informer, and Jones knows his life will be at risk if he is even thought to be defying Stalin. And when the woman he loves falls under the suspicion of the secret police, everything Jones values is in danger.

Can he reveal the terrible truth about the Ukrainian famine to the world, or will he be silenced forever?

The Useful Idiot is the secret history of the first great Soviet lie - wrapped up in an electrifying novel perfect for fans of Robert Harris, Ken Follett, Frederick Forsyth, John le Carre, and Kate Atkinson.

As Vladimir Putin rewrites the Nazi-Soviet pact, and with the horrors of Chernobyl and the Cold War so recent, this thriller of fake news in 1932 is real storytelling of enormous significance.

©2020 John Sweeney (P)2020 Tantor
Historical Mystery Thriller & Suspense Fiction Russia Soviet Union Stalin
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I really enjoyed this book. Having John Sweeney narrate it makes it even better. I think the story could have done without the sexual references as I don't think they add anything to it but they only take place in the last quarter or so of the book.

Excellent listen

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Great story, exceptionally well read.
Thank you John Sweeney, for this brilliant and captivating story.

The best book I have read for a long time.

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Minor love interest was unconvincing. Narration was very distracting to the story. Would have been better if it was another reader.

Story primary plot and characters was ok

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