As one of the highest-ranking officers in the post–Soviet Union Russian foreign intelligence service, Sergei Tretyakov was privy to many secrets. None, however, were as startling as the secret that was discovered after Tretyakov—known as “Comrade J”—defected in 2000: For the previous two years, he had actually been a double agent working for the FBI. In Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia’s Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold War, author Pete Earley recounts Tretyakov’s story of “growing up in a family of agents dating back to the revolution; of how Russia molded him into one of its most high-flying operatives; of the day-to-day perils of living a double, then triple, life.” After disappearing from the public eye, Tretyakov has come out of hiding: Both to give Earley 126 hours’ worth of face-to-face interviews and to attend this reading—during which he will discuss his work as a spy, and how the corruption of the “New Russia” drove him to switch sides. Earley discusses and signs copies of his work at 7 p.m. at Olsson’s Books & Records, 418 7th St. NW. Free. (202) 638-7610.