In 1974 John Barron, a former intelligence officer and a senior editor of Reader's Digest, received money and researchers from his bosses to write KGB: The Secret Work of Secret Agents. Most of the book relates the ugly exploits of KGB assassins and disinformationists in typical Digest idiom, based on the debriefings of various defectors. This material was not indexed in NameBase. Of more interest was the appendix of 1,600 names of alleged KGB and GRU officers posted abroad under diplomatic cover. This appendix was a retaliation for Who's Who in CIA, published in East Germany in 1968 by Julius Mader. Barron told the New York Times (1977-12-25, p. 12) that he received "quite a bit of help" from the CIA.
After 11 printings of the 1974 book, Barron followed up with KGB Today in 1983. The Digest knows a mass market when it sees one. This new volume had an appendix of 200 names of Soviets expelled from foreign countries for espionage activities.