Most Popular Books by David E. Hoffman

In this saga of brilliant triumphs and magnificent failures, David E. Hoffman, the former Moscow bureau chief for the Washington Post, sheds light on the hidden lives of Russia''s most feared power brokers: the oligarchs. Focusing on six of these ruthless men— Alexander Smolensky, Yuri Luzhkov, Anatoly Chubais, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Boris Berezovsky, and Vladimir Gusinsky—Hoffman shows how a rapacious, unruly capitalism was born out of the ashes of Soviet communism.

From the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning history The Dead Hand comes the riveting story of a spy who cracked open the Soviet military research establishment and a penetrating portrait of the CIA’s Moscow station, an outpost of daring espionage in the last years of the Cold War While driving out of the American embassy in Moscow on the evening of February 16, 1978, the chief of the CIA’s Moscow station heard a knock on his car window. A man on the curb handed him an envelope whose contents stunned U.S. intelligence: details of top-secret Soviet research and developments in military technology that were totally unknown to the United States. In the years that followed, the man, Adolf Tolkachev, an engineer in a Soviet military design bureau, used his high-level access to hand over tens of thousands of pages of technical secrets. His revelations allowed America to reshape its weapons systems to defeat Soviet radar on the ground and in the air, giving the United States near total superiority in the skies over Europe. One of the most valuable spies to work for the United States in the four decades of global confrontation with the Soviet Union, Tolkachev took enormous personal risks—but so did the Americans. The CIA had long struggled to recruit and run agents in Moscow, and Tolkachev was a singular breakthrough. Using spy cameras and secret codes as well as face-to-face meetings in parks and on street corners, Tolkachev and his handlers succeeded for years in eluding the feared KGB in its own backyard, until the day came when a shocking betrayal put them all at risk. Drawing on previously secret documents obtained from the CIA and on interviews with participants, David Hoffman has created an unprecedented and poignant portrait of Tolkachev, a man motivated by the depredations of the Soviet state to master the craft of spying against his own country. Stirring, unpredictable, and at times unbearably tense, The Billion Dollar Spy is a brilliant feat of reporting that unfolds like an espionage thriller.

This is a full account of how the Cold War arms race finally came to a close. The narrative history sheds light on the people who struggled to end this era of massive overkill, and examines the legacy of the nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons that remain a threat today.

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning Washington Post reporter David E. Hoffman comes the riveting biography of Oswaldo Payá, a dissident who dared to defy Fidel Castro, inspiring thousands of Cubans to fight for democracy. Oswaldo Payá was seven years old when Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba, promising to create a “free, democratic, and just Cuba.” But Castro instead created an authoritarian regime with little tolerance of free speech or thought. His secret police were trained to crush dissent by East Germany’s ruthless Stasi. Throughout Cuba’s 20th century history, the dream of democracy was often just within reach, only to be dashed by dictatorship and revived again by a new generation. Payá inherited this dream and it became his life’s work. As a teenager in Communist Cuba, he led a protest against the Soviet-led shattering of the Prague Spring. Before long, he was sent to Castro’s forced labor camps. Payá later became a leading voice of opposition and formed a pro-democracy movement. A devoted Catholic, he championed a simple, bedrock belief that rights are bestowed by God, and not the state. Every day, he witnessed these rights trampled in Cuba. He could not stay silent. Payá’s most daring challenge to the Cuban government was the Varela Project, a one-page citizen petition demanding free speech, a free press, freedom of association, freedom of belief, private enterprise, free elections and freedom for political prisoners. More than 35,000 people signed the Varela Project, an extraordinary outpouring of protest—with nothing more than pen and paper—against Castro’s decades of despotism. The regime responded by ignoring the petition, arresting dozens of Payá’s followers and sending them to prison for many years. After receiving multiple death threats, Payá was killed in a suspicious car wreck on a remote country road. Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter David E. Hoffman returns with an epic portrait of a lone individual who had the courage, faith, and persistence to struggle for democracy against an unforgiving dictator. At its heart, Give Me Liberty is a sweeping account of one country’s tragic and continuing struggle for its freedom.

Ao sair da embaixada americana em Moscovo na noite de 16 de fevereiro de 1978, o chefe de posto da CIA ouviu uma pancada na janela do seu carro. Um homem no passeio entregou-lhe um envelope cujo conteúdo aturdiu a inteligência americana: detalhes da investigação soviética ultrassecreta e desenvolvimentos na tecnologia militar que eram totalmente desconhecidos para os Estados Unidos. Nos anos que se seguiram, Adolf Tolkachev, engenheiro num gabinete de design militar soviético, usou o seu acesso de alto nível para entregar dezenas de milhares de páginas de segredos soviéticos. Tais revelações permitiram à América reformular os seus sistemas de armas para derrotar o radar soviético no solo e no ar, dando aos Estados Unidos uma quase total superioridade nos céus sobre a Europa. Durante anos, conseguiram iludir o temido KGB no seu próprio território, até que chegou o dia em que uma traição inesperada pôs tudo em risco. UM RELATO FASCINANTE DE ESPIONAGEM E TRAIÇÃO DURANTE OS ÚLTIMOS ANOS DA GUERRA FRIA Baseando-se em arquivos da CIA recentemente disponibilizados e em entrevistas com os protagonistas, David Hoffman criou um retrato sem precedentes e pungente de Tolkachev, um homem motivado pelas depredações do Estado soviético para dominar a arte de espiar contra o seu próprio país. Agitado, imprevisível e por vezes insuportavelmente tenso, esta é uma brilhante reportagem que se desenrola como um thriller de espionagem.

La apogeul Războiului Rece, în cel mai periculos moment în care te-ai fi putut afla în Uniunea Sovietică, într-o seară, în timp ce șeful stației CIA la Moscova își umplea rezervorul cu benzină, un străin s-a apropiat de el și i-a lăsat un bilet în mașină. Temându-se de o capcană a KGB, americanul a ignorat această mișcare de deschidere. Dar bărbatul se hotărâse. Tentativele sale de a stabili contacte cu CIA aveau să fie refuzate de patru ori, înainte de a le face cadou un plic al cărui conținut avea să șocheze serviciile secrete americane. În anii care au urmat, bărbatul cu pricina, Adolf Tolkacev, va deveni unul dintre cei mai valoroși spioni ai SUA. Dar aceste activități ridicau problema unor amenințări personale de proporții la adresa lui Tolkacev și a supervizorilor săi americani. Aceștia aveau întâlniri clandestine în parcuri și la colțuri de stradă și foloseau camere spion, butaforie și coduri secrete, ascunzându-se de mereu prezentul KGB chiar sub nasul acestuia – până ce un act șocant de trădare le-a pus tuturor viața în pericol. Folosind documentele CIA anterior clasificate și interviuri cu participanți la evenimente, Un spion de miliarde este un exemplu magistral de reportaj și o cutremurătoare poveste adevărată despre ultimii ani ai Războiului Rece. Un spion de miliarde este una dintre cele mai bune povești cu spioni din timpul Războiului Rece și cu atât mai cutremurătoare cu cât... este adevărată. Se plasează perfect la intersecția dintre un thriller palpitant și istoria solid documentată... Este o carte magistrală. The Washington Post

Thinking about starting your own Hot Dog Cart Business? The hot dog cart is an instantly recognizable icon of the 60 second quick meal, and home of its star product - the ''venerable hot dog''. These profit powerhouses have been the ''go to'' remedy for many people throughout the decades who were willing to work hard, provide a quality product and earn a comfortable living to provide for their families. Veteran Enterpreneur David E. Hoffman Jr. shares his valuable tips on the "10 Things You Must Know BEFORE You Start A Hot Dog Cart Business", and how he learned these things just in time to nearly avoid going bust! While this book is not an "A to Z" everything hot dog business guide; it is absolutely CRUCIAL that any Hot Dog Vendor pay attention to these KEY INSIGHTS! If you''re starting a ''Hot Dog Cart Business'', then you absolutely don''t want to overlook the things Hoffman addresses in his book to get successful cash flow and remain PROFITABLE!

On the desolate steppe of eastern Kazakhstan, the Soviet Union carried out 456 nuclear explosive tests during the Cold War at the Semipalatinsk Test Site, which sprawls over an area approximately the size of Belgium. Some of these tests, particularly tests involving plutonium, did not vaporize the material in a nuclear blast. It remained in tunnels and containers, in forms that could be recovered and recycled into a bomb. In addition, the Soviet Union discarded equipment that included high-purity plutonium that would have provided materials and information that could lead to a relatively sophisticated nuclear device if it had been found. In October, 2012, at the foot of a rocky hillside, at a spot known as Degelen Mountain, several dozen Kazakh, Russian, and American nuclear scientists and engineers gathered for a small ceremony that marked the completion of a 17-year, $150 million operation to secure the plutonium in the tunnels of Degelen Mountain and in surrounding bore holes by filling portions of the tunnels and holes with a special concrete, greatly reducing one of the largest nuclear security threats since the collapse of the Soviet Union. This paper begins with a narrative reconstruction of the threat reduction work at Semipalatinsk. It is based on interviews with U.S., Russian, and Kazakh scientists and officials, conducted in the United States and Kazakhstan, and is supported by documents provided to the authors. It concludes with observations about the lessons for future efforts to reduce and ultimately eliminate the threat posed by nuclear weapons and the essential nuclear materials needed to construct them.

Mortgage industry expert David E. Hoffman Jr. with over 30 years of experience helps homeowners recover their surplus mortgage equity funds in the mortgage servicing sector. Mr. Hoffman''s LOANSMART® MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE RECOVERY GUIDE shares valuable tips, tricks and insights for anyone who has lost their home to foreclosure. Hoffman has sat on both sides of the table both as a foreclosing lender, and as a negotiator helping borrowers recover their equity, and rebuild their lives on a more stable financial foundation. He covers in detail in his book topics such as:- Understanding Foreclosure Sales & Surplus Mortgage Equity Funds- Understanding Your Rights In The Foreclosure Process- Identifying the Surplus Mortgage Equity Funds Available To You- Filing A Claim For Surplus Mortgage Equity Funds- Alternative Options For Claiming Mortgage Surplus Equity Funds Available To You- Working With An Attorney To Claim Mortgage Surplus Equity Funds- Filing A Lawsuit To Recover Your Mortgage Equity Funds- Managing Your Finances During The Process- Common Mistakes To Avoid- Options For Using Your Recovered Equity Funds To Rebuild Your Life and Re-Establish Your Financial Foundation- and more!Mr. Hoffman brings a depth of cases studies and is a highly sought after speaker in the Mortgage Finance Technology (#fintech) and mortgage surplus equity categories. He is an alumni of Capstone Institute of Mortgage Finance, has served public office as a Notary Public, as well as the Chief Election Officer of a voting precinct in one of the wealthiest counties in the United States. Mr. Hoffman is an author, investor, I.P. portfolio owner and guest speaker at homeownership seminars helping thousands become homeowners thru financial literacy. This book, the LOANSMART® MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE RECOVERY GUIDE is part of the financial literacy series.