In this new edition of his classic 1970 memoir about the notorious U-2
incident, pilot Francis Gary Powers reveals the full story of what
actually happened in the most sensational espionage case in Cold War
history. After surviving the shoot-down of his reconnaissance plane and
his capture on May 1, 1960, Powers endured sixty-one days of rigorous
interrogation by the KGB, a public trial, a conviction for espionage,
and the start of a ten-year sentence. After nearly two years, the U.S.
government obtained his release from prison in a dramatic exchange for
convicted Soviet spy Rudolph Abel. The narrative is a tremendously
exciting suspense story about a man who was labeled a traitor by many of
his countrymen but who emerged a Cold War hero.