H. Keith Melton has spent more than 35 years as a historical consultant to the U.S. and international intelligence community. A frequent lecturer at the CIA, FBI, and NSA, he also advises allied intelligence services worldwide. Melton has produced or appeared in over sixty documentaries on espionage and is the owner of the world’s largest private collection of intelligence artifacts—including the infamous ice axe that killed Leon Trotsky. He is a founding board member of the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., where he continues to serve as a permanent member of the Board of Directors. Nigel West is the author of some forty works of non-fiction on security and intelligence-related topics. He has also edited or contributed to a further thirty titles. He was voted "the experts'' expert" by a panel of spy writer assembled by the Observer. He is a specialist, a question-setter BBC TV''s Mastermind. and writes the Daily Telegraph obituaries for the intelligence community. He appears regularly as a commentator on security issues on Sky News, GBTV, CNN and other news outlets. He has also contributed to many podcasts and TV documentaries. He was chairman of the judges for the St Ermin''s Intelligence Book of the Year award and is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence.

“This is the most compelling analysis of the new evidence!” –Oleg Kalugin, former KGB General and Chief of Counterintelligence“Experts in the art of espionage, West and Melton deliver a brilliant historical thriller on the most consequential and highest profile of Stalin's multitude of targeted political assassinations.  Their newly uncovered archival research exquisitely lifts the veil on a sophisticated Soviet global spy operation with tentacles reaching into the U.S.  A must-read for understanding how the Trotsky assassination spawned the Kremlin's playbook for creating a dictatorial regime full of fear and subjugation, which Putin follows to this day.” –Daniel O. Hoffman, retired CIA Senior Clandestine Services Officer"Readers may be excused for mistaking the engrossing account of THE ASSASSINATION OF LEON TROTSKY for a spy novel. This compelling narrative combines espionage intrigue, operational execution and never before documented evidence to establish the how and why of Stalin’s obsession with destroying his most feared rival. Melton and West meticulously reconstruct the decade-long conspiracy on three continents to track, harass and kill their target. For today’s audience, the relentless pursuit of Trotsky by Stalin’s operatives will mirror 21st century assassinations by Putin’s Russia. THE ASSASSINATION OF LEON TROTSKY presents a compelling example of how the best history informs the present."  –Robert Wallace, retired Director, CIA Office of Technical Service“For those who have worked in the intelligence profession, this book reads less like history and more like a case file. H. Keith Melton and Nigel West have produced a meticulously researched account, informed by decades of experience in the world of espionage. The authors illuminate how nation-states can weaponize tradecraft, access, and human relationships, with profound human consequences. It is a powerful reminder that these methods did not disappear—they continue to evolve.” –Alan E. Kohler, Jr., retired Assistant Director, Counterintelligence Division, FBI"In a superb new work, historians H. Keith Melton and Nigel West deliver the definitive account of Trotsky's murder, drawing on newly available archives and hundreds of sources to reconstruct the operation with remarkable clarity and authority. More than the story of one infamous assassination, The Assassination of Leon Trotsky is an essential study of the methods, mindset, and ruthless traditions of the Soviet security services—traditions that continue to echo in the operations of today's Russian intelligence services." —Sean Wiswesser, former CIA Senior Operations Officer, author of Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin's Secret War“

H. Keith Melton has spent more than 35 years as a historical consultant to the U.S. and international intelligence community. A frequent lecturer at the CIA, FBI, and NSA, he also advises allied intelligence services worldwide. Melton has produced or appeared in over sixty documentaries on espionage and is the owner of the world’s largest private collection of intelligence artifacts—including the infamous ice axe that killed Leon Trotsky. He is a founding board member of the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., where he continues to serve as a permanent member of the Board of Directors. Nigel West is the author of some forty works of non-fiction on security and intelligence-related topics. He has also edited or contributed to a further thirty titles. He was voted "the experts'' expert" by a panel of spy writer assembled by the Observer. He is a specialist, a question-setter BBC TV''s Mastermind. and writes the Daily Telegraph obituaries for the intelligence community. He appears regularly as a commentator on security issues on Sky News, GBTV, CNN and other news outlets. He has also contributed to many podcasts and TV documentaries. He was chairman of the judges for the St Ermin''s Intelligence Book of the Year award and is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence.

“This is the most compelling analysis of the new evidence!” –Oleg Kalugin, former KGB General and Chief of Counterintelligence“Experts in the art of espionage, West and Melton deliver a brilliant historical thriller on the most consequential and highest profile of Stalin's multitude of targeted political assassinations.  Their newly uncovered archival research exquisitely lifts the veil on a sophisticated Soviet global spy operation with tentacles reaching into the U.S.  A must-read for understanding how the Trotsky assassination spawned the Kremlin's playbook for creating a dictatorial regime full of fear and subjugation, which Putin follows to this day.” –Daniel O. Hoffman, retired CIA Senior Clandestine Services Officer"Readers may be excused for mistaking the engrossing account of THE ASSASSINATION OF LEON TROTSKY for a spy novel. This compelling narrative combines espionage intrigue, operational execution and never before documented evidence to establish the how and why of Stalin’s obsession with destroying his most feared rival. Melton and West meticulously reconstruct the decade-long conspiracy on three continents to track, harass and kill their target. For today’s audience, the relentless pursuit of Trotsky by Stalin’s operatives will mirror 21st century assassinations by Putin’s Russia. THE ASSASSINATION OF LEON TROTSKY presents a compelling example of how the best history informs the present."  –Robert Wallace, retired Director, CIA Office of Technical Service“For those who have worked in the intelligence profession, this book reads less like history and more like a case file. H. Keith Melton and Nigel West have produced a meticulously researched account, informed by decades of experience in the world of espionage. The authors illuminate how nation-states can weaponize tradecraft, access, and human relationships, with profound human consequences. It is a powerful reminder that these methods did not disappear—they continue to evolve.” –Alan E. Kohler, Jr., retired Assistant Director, Counterintelligence Division, FBI"In a superb new work, historians H. Keith Melton and Nigel West deliver the definitive account of Trotsky's murder, drawing on newly available archives and hundreds of sources to reconstruct the operation with remarkable clarity and authority. More than the story of one infamous assassination, The Assassination of Leon Trotsky is an essential study of the methods, mindset, and ruthless traditions of the Soviet security services—traditions that continue to echo in the operations of today's Russian intelligence services." —Sean Wiswesser, former CIA Senior Operations Officer, author of Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty Tricks: Russian Intelligence and Putin's Secret War“