Hanako ishii

A devastating example of a brilliant success of espionage.

- Douglas MacArthur,
General of the Army

His work was impeccable.

- Kim Philby, Soviet spy at the
heart of British Government

In my whole life, I have never met anyone as great as he was.

- Mitsusada Yoshikawa, Prosecutor
who obtained Sorge's death sentence.

The 20th Century has been the century of espionage, and Richard Sorge was probably its most fascinating exemplar - a spy of unparalleled charm, nonchalance, courage, impudence, and brilliance. What a story!

- Arthur M. Schlesinger, jr.
Historian

The spy to end spies! He was a comedian in the sense of Graham Greene, an artist in the sense of Thomas Mann.

- John Le Carré

Sorge was the man whom I regard as the most formidable spy in history.

- Ian Fleming

Richard Sorge was the best spy of all time.

- Tom Clancy

The spy who changed the world.

- Lance Morrow

Somehow, amidst the Bonds and Smiley's people, we have ignored the greatest of 20th century spy stories - that of Stalin's Sorge, whose exploits helped change history.

- Carl Bernstein

Richard Sorge's brilliant espionage work saved Stalin and the Soviet Union from defeat in the fall of 1941, probably prevented a Nazi victory in World War Two and thereby assured the dimensions of the world we live in today.

- Larry Collins

The spies in history who can say from their graves, the infomation I supplied to my masters, for better or worse, altered the history of our planet, can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Richard Sorge was in that group.

- Frederick Forsyth

Few espionage coups have resulted in such spectacular tide-turnings.

- Army Times

Stalin's James Bond.

- Le Figaro

A real life spy story... as fantastic in its operations as those envisioned by Ian Fleming and John Le Carré.

- The Christian Science Monitor

What Sorge did is astounding. He is one of the few spies who have helped to change the course of history.

- Daily Telegraph