In his fascinating autobiography, THE MAN BEHIND THE ROSENBERGS Alexander Feklisov, 90, a longtime operative for the USSR in the United States and the United Kingdom, reveals for the first time his central role as the case officer of both American engineer Julius Rosenberg and nuclear physicist Klaus Fuchs. Fifty years after the Rosenbergs' trial took America by storm, leading to their execution in the electric chair, Feklisov's confessions put to rest any remaining questions about their involvement in atomic espionage. Writing with Moscow-based investigative journalist and espionage expert Sergei Kostin, Feklisov provides rare insight into Soviet foreign espionage methods, from recruiting operatives and selecting case officers to managing agents, and identifying and obtaining highly guarded information. His remarkable recollection of planning and executing these intelligence operations is both suspenseful and breathtaking. Former Communist Party member Ronald Radosh, author of The Rosenberg File (1983) and Commies (2001), contributes an introduction on the significance of Feklisov's revelations. Forty-five historical photos and documents serve to illustrate the memorable narrative. From being whisked away from his family to be trained as an intelligence officer to criss-crossing continents in search of valuable secrets, Feklisov's astounding real-life tale of encrypted communications, secret identities, and foiling counterespionage agents reads like a novel. Central to his operations in America was the spy ring organized by Julius Rosenberg, a man Feklisov paints as an idealist, deeply committed to the cause of Communism, seeking above all acceptance by the Soviet Union, and hoping to be eventually acknowledged as a fellow partisan fighting for the Communist future. Feklisov served as Rosenberg's case officer, and formed an attachment to his agent over the period of time they collaborated. He reports that Rosenberg was disinterested in financial gain when he delivered atomic secrets to the USSR, and only accepted funds to help his operatives escape as his network was being exposed. Feklisov recounts his deep distress when he learned of the execution of both Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Going beyond the Rosenberg case, Feklisov gives a gripping account of how he managed famous nuclear physicist Klaus Fuchs in the United Kingdom, obtaining priceless secrets that led the USSR to accelerate its nuclear weapons program. When Fuchs was unmasked in 1950, the FBI quickly exposed the Rosenberg network of atomic espionage. In the final part of his memoir, Feklisov discloses his fascinating role as ?Alexander Fomin,? the KGB Rezident in Washington, DC, who, working with ABC News reporter John Scali, acted as an intermediary between President John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev, helping to resolve the Cuban missile crisis ? a role recently described on-screen in the film Thirteen Days.