English title: Gilbert – The True Story of a Hungarian Spy Who Was Brought Down
Publisher: Dela – 2006
It was through my work as a journalist that I came to know Ottó Gilbert, whose life story belongs not only in a book, but on the cinema screen as well. In 1980s America, he was described as one of the greatest intelligence catches of the century.
He was seen as a notorious spy from the communist bloc, although in reality he was simply a Hungarian vagabond: an adventurous young man from Budapest who was willing to face any danger in order to serve his country. But his country betrayed him.
After a failed intelligence operation, Ottó Gilbert spent ten years in American prisons for espionage. I spent long days in his living room, where he told story after story. This small book is the transcript of those conversations.