content: Tass is Authorized to Announce is the Soviet version of any spy thriller you have ever read (or seen on the big screen) - but with the KGB as the good guys, attempting to foil the sinster plots of the CIA. However, Semenov lacks the semantics of say, a Tom Clancy. The plot is razor thin, the anti-semitism is revolting, and the the resolution of the conflict is laughable.While the book is certainly dated, (Cold War intrigue in Africa is so passe), it is an entertaining read if only to see how the USSR understood detente and cold war politics. Other than that, the book is tripe - not recommended.