In-Store Book Signing: Cold War Virginia and Spy Pilot
with author Gary Powers Jr.
Join us in the Spy Museum Store for a special book signing event for Cold War Virginia and Spy Pilot with author Gary Powers Jr.
Cold War Virginia:
The Old Dominion's defense of democracy…
The Commonwealth played a central role in United States involvement during the Cold War. With doomsday planning operations underway for World War III, the location of the Pentagon, CIA and other federal agencies established Northern Virginia as an epicenter of decision-making. As Virginia military bases readied for a potential surprise attack by the Soviet Union, local research facilities played a paramount role in the Space Race. In 1960, the Soviet Union's shoot-down of U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, a Virginia native, created a superpower crisis of epic proportions.
Cold War historians Francis Gary Powers Jr. and Christopher Sturdevant tell these and other tales of espionage, heroism and betrayal.
Spy Pilot:
Based on newly available information, the son of famed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers presents the facts and dispels misinformation about the Cold War espionage program that turned his father into a Cold War icon. One of the most talked-about events of the Cold War was the downing of the American U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960. The event was recently depicted in the Steven Spielberg movie Bridge of Spies. Powers was captured by the KGB, subjected to a televised show trial, and imprisoned, all of which created an international incident. Soviet authorities eventually released him in exchange for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. On his return to the United States, Powers was exonerated of any wrongdoing while imprisoned in Russia, yet, due to bad press and the government's unwillingness to heartily defend Powers, a cloud of controversy lingered until his untimely death in 1977. Now his son, Francis Gary Powers Jr. and acclaimed historian Keith Dunnavant have written this new account of Powers's life based on personal files that had never been previously available. Delving into old audio tapes, letters his father wrote and received while imprisoned in the Soviet Union, the transcript of his father's debriefing by the CIA, other recently declassified documents about the U-2 program, and interviews with the spy pilot's contemporaries, Powers and Dunnavant set the record straight. The result is a fascinating piece of Cold War history. This is also a book about a son's journey to understand his father, pursuing justice and a measure of peace. Almost sixty years after the fact, this will be the definitive account of one of the most important events of the Cold War.
About the Author
Born June 5, 1965, Gary holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy, a Master’s Degree in Public Administration, and a Master’s Degree in US History. Gary is the Founder and Chairman Emeritus of The Cold War Museum located at Vint Hill, VA. He is the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Cold War Theme Study which assists the National Park Service to identify historic Cold War sites for preservation. In 2015, he consulted for a Steven Spielberg thriller, Bridge of Spies, about the 1962 spy exchange between KGB spy Rudolph Abel and CIA U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers, Sr. Gary is the author of Letters from a Soviet Prison and Spy Pilot. He lectures internationally, appears regularly on news broadcasts, and is married with one son.
The Spy Museum does not endorse, approve, or support the opinions stated by guest speakers. Statements made by speakers do not represent the position or opinion of the International Spy Museum.