The Defection of A.J. Lewinter

On the Cold War chessboard, one pawn in the American military complex risks it all to change sides.

A spy thriller classic, reissued by Soho Crime.

American scientist A.J. Lewinter has been a cog in the machine for a long time. Stuck studying ceramic nose cones for ballistic missiles, he has spent most of his academic career being overlooked. When he rushes into the Russian Embassy offering to defect, however, he finds himself suddenly in the spotlight, caught in a deadly cat-and-mouse game between the Soviet Union and the United States. 

On the Soviet side, Moscow’s most powerful are hoarding resources, leaving the people hungry. In the US, public support is waning as more and more Americans protest the war. The deadlock has to end, but nobody wants to be the first to pull the trigger. Lewinter’s appearance is a wild card and neither the KGB nor the CIA knows what to expect from him, but both sides know this—if he’s telling the truth, his information could be the turning point of the Cold War. 

A darkly funny spy thriller that cemented longtime navy officer and foreign correspondent Robert Littell as one of the most brilliant voices of espionage fiction, The Defection of A.J. Lewinter is a shockingly prescient portrayal of international politics.