A Very Expensive Poison: The Assassination of Alexander Litvinenko and Putin's War with the West

I am not a fast reader and generally have several books going at the same time according to my mood. But I couldn't put this book down. I was late to the office when I could be. It hooked me from the first page. The most incredible part of the book was the incredibly thorough job that Scotland Yard did in tracing every movement of the assassins some time after the event. If you ever thought Putin or the Russian state was warm and cuddly this book will certainly reverse that impression. The assassination of Alexander Litvenenko was meant to be undetectable because polonium, the substance used to poison him, does not register on a geiger counter. Nevertheless it was discovered and the assassins' trails tracked with incredible precision. You will not be able to tear yourself away from this story. Luke Harding wrote a gripping tale about an astonishing assassination by Putin's inept agents who were handsomely rewarded while Russia adamantly denied any misdeeds. The overall book leaves no doubt as to Putin's intentions toward the West.

One of the scariest books I have ever read, and saddest. Because it's true. The author makes it very clear that the Russian government is corrupt and uses poison and murder to get rid of people who talk. The man that they killed had a wife and a young son, he had even moved away from Russia and was still murdered. Sad..I would have give this 5 stars, but the difficulty of reading the Russian names, sometimes I would have to back track, to understand who the author was talking about it. I am glad I read this, its not good to go through life in the dark.

There are a wide variety of books that are well written and researched. It is possible this book is as believable as anything available. Luke Harding lived it and was involved. He writes from the perspective of a researcher and reporter through being on the scene and covering everything possible. He also offers mood and color. It adds to the belief it has added to my being well informed. In a complimentary manner he is similar to Alexander Litvinenko, "Sasha". This person appreciates this type of offering because it feeds a tell me more, learn more, mentality.

Sobering and comprehensive account of the dastardly assassination of Litvinenko by bungling Putin stooges. If you have any doubt as to the criminality of the Russian state and it's connection to organized crime (not that we are necessarily any better) this is the read for you. A superb piece of investigative journalism.

It is serious stuff, well researched, story of poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London with plutonium. I have to give a lot of credit to the brits for thorough investigation that does not leave any doubt who is responsible. Kudos to Luke Harding for telling this story so well. You should also read "Red notice" by Bill Browder. These two books is all you need to know about Russia of today.

The cast of characters in this book was occasionally extremely hard to keep up with... but the action of the book was riveting and horrifying. More people need to know about Putin and his antics. The fact that these actions aren't common knowledge is even more terrifying than the actions themselves.

Learned a lot about the Russian tactics about how they handle their disadents. Either there murdered or if they live out of the country there poisoned. A true eye opener into how Russia deals with people that disagree with them. Well written, and the pace is one you can keep up with.

This one will scare you a lot, it is all true and makes you realize what awful things are going on in the world.

Really enjoyed this fantastic book: what an eye opener!!! Would definitely recommend!!