A thrilling Cold War story about a KGB double agent, by one of Britain's greatest historians.
Ben Macintyre is the multimillion-copy bestselling author of books including Agent Zigzag, Operation Mincemeat A Spy Among Friends andSAS. He is a columnist and Associate Editor at The Times, and has worked as the newspaper's correspondent in New York, Paris and Washington. He regularly presents BBC series based on his acclaimed books.
The best true spy story I have ever read
*John le Carré*
Macintyre does true-life espionage better than anyone else. He has
a remarkable ability to construct a narrative that is as taut and
urgent as it is carefully nuanced. Here the pace never slackens and
the focus never drifts, while Macintyre's insight into his
subject's tangle of contradictions never loses its sharpness. It's
a tough call, but The Spy and the Traitor may well be his best book
yet.
*Evening Standard*
A real-life thriller, as tense as John le Carré's novels, or even
Ian Fleming's
*Economist*
A dazzling non-fiction thriller and an intimate portrait of
high-stakes espionage
*Guardian*
[A] captivating espionage tale. In a feat of real authorial
dexterity, Macintyre accurately portrays the long-game banality of
spycraft-the lead time and persistence in planning-with such
clarity and propulsive verve that the book often feels like a
thriller. Macintyre has produced a timely and insightful
page-turner.
*Publishers Weekly*
It has become a cliché to say that real-life spy stories read like
John le Carré, but Gordievsky's personal history makes the
comparison irresistible... Macintyre tells the story brilliantly.
His book's final third is superbly done
*Sunday Times*
The fact that parts of The Spy and the Traitor read like a pacey
thriller is a bonus, but it is based on serious research, including
interviews with Gordievsky and anonymous British Secret
Intelligence Service (SIS) officers... This is a remarkable story
of one man's courage, and of the skill of our much traduced
security services. Ben Macintyre tells it very well indeed
*The Times, Book of the Week*
You can always rely on this author to tease out fascinating details
on the second oldest profession
*Sunday Express*
Writing about cases of British espionage success that the public
knows little about, he says - 'It takes an investigator of
consummate talent and a narrator of equal skill to unearth one of
these triumphs and explain it clearly. Ben Macintyre, who is both,
has done exactly that.
*Literary Review*
Macintyre's account brings it to life in vivid technicolor with
fascinating new details. He tells it with all the verve we have
come to expect from such an accomplished writer
*Spectator*
[An] exceptionally rewarding book
*Observer*
He writes like a novelist, introducing richly drawn characters
whose lives intersect with Gordievsky's. One of the last chapters
is as tense as any thriller. No wonder Le Carré liked it
*Daily Express*
Thrilling... A real heart-in-the-mouth book
*New Statesman*
Reads like a thriller. . . truly nerve-jangling
*The Times Books of the Year*
One of the most exciting things I have ever read
*Evening Standard, Books of the Year*
An impeccably researched, compelling read
*Independent*
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
