The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold WarNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The celebrated author of Double Cross and Rogue Heroes returns with a thrilling Americans-era tale of Oleg Gordievsky, the Russian whose secret work helped hasten the end of the Cold War. “The best true spy story I have ever read.”—JOHN LE CARRÉ Named a Best Book of the Year by The Economist • Shortlisted for the Bailie Giffords Prize in Nonfiction If anyone could be considered a Russian counterpart to the infamous British double-agent Kim Philby, it was Oleg Gordievsky. The son of two KGB agents and the product of the best Soviet institutions, the savvy, sophisticated Gordievsky grew to see his nation's communism as both criminal and philistine. He took his first posting for Russian intelligence in 1968 and eventually became the Soviet Union's top man in London, but from 1973 on he was secretly working for MI6. For nearly a decade, as the Cold War reached its twilight, Gordievsky helped the West turn the tables on the KGB, exposing Russian spies and helping to foil countless intelligence plots, as the Soviet leadership grew increasingly paranoid at the United States's nuclear first-strike capabilities and brought the world closer to the brink of war. Desperate to keep the circle of trust close, MI6 never revealed Gordievsky's name to its counterparts in the CIA, which in turn grew obsessed with figuring out the identity of Britain's obviously top-level source. Their obsession ultimately doomed Gordievsky: the CIA officer assigned to identify him was none other than Aldrich Ames, the man who would become infamous for secretly spying for the Soviets. Unfolding the delicious three-way gamesmanship between America, Britain, and the Soviet Union, and culminating in the gripping cinematic beat-by-beat of Gordievsky's nail-biting escape from Moscow in 1985, Ben Macintyre's latest may be his best yet. Like the greatest novels of John le Carré, it brings readers deep into a world of treachery and betrayal, where the lines bleed between the personal and the professional, and one man's hatred of communism had the power to change the future of nations. |
From inside the book
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The passport officer seemed to study his papers for an inordinate length of time before waving him through. Where was the official who was supposed to be meeting him, a minimal courtesy for a KGB colonel arriving back from overseas?
The passport officer seemed to study his papers for an inordinate length of time before waving him through. Where was the official who was supposed to be meeting him, a minimal courtesy for a KGB colonel arriving back from overseas?
Síđa
In repose, his expression seemed stern, but when his eyes flashed with dark humor, his face lit up. In company he was often convivial and comradely, but there was something hard and hidden inside. He was not lonely, or a loner, ...
In repose, his expression seemed stern, but when his eyes flashed with dark humor, his face lit up. In company he was often convivial and comradely, but there was something hard and hidden inside. He was not lonely, or a loner, ...
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The middle-aged woman who answered the door seemed unfazed by the sudden arrival of a young man holding a bunch of flowers. Over a cup of tea, she made it clear that she was prepared to continue cooperating with the KGB.
The middle-aged woman who answered the door seemed unfazed by the sudden arrival of a young man holding a bunch of flowers. Over a cup of tea, she made it clear that she was prepared to continue cooperating with the KGB.
Síđa
A job that had seemed to promise adventure and excitement had turned out to be humdrum in the extreme. The world beyond the Iron Curtain he had read about in Western newspapers seemed tantalizingly out of reach.
A job that had seemed to promise adventure and excitement had turned out to be humdrum in the extreme. The world beyond the Iron Curtain he had read about in Western newspapers seemed tantalizingly out of reach.
Síđa
To Gordievsky's famished eyes, the Danes seemed not just brighter and more alive, but culturally nourished. He was astounded by the range of books available in the first library he entered, but even more surprised to be allowed to ...
To Gordievsky's famished eyes, the Danes seemed not just brighter and more alive, but culturally nourished. He was astounded by the range of books available in the first library he entered, but even more surprised to be allowed to ...
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LibraryThing Review
Umsögn notanda - LynnB - LibraryThingAmazing book with great research and strong writing I didn't know anything about Mr. Gordievsky, so the story was a real page-tuner for me. It made me reflect on how the world of the people involved ... Read full review
LibraryThing Review
Umsögn notanda - charlie68 - LibraryThingA riveting story of a spy and his disillusion with the Soviet system and his dilemma in betraying it. Some of the situations are funny and perhaps 007 is not so fictional. And don't clean up around park benches too much you might be endangering world peace. Read full review
Ađrar útgáfur - View all
The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War Ben Macintyre Engin sýnishorn í bođi - 2018 |
The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War Ben Macintyre Engin sýnishorn í bođi - 2018 |
The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War Ben Macintyre Engin sýnishorn í bođi - 2019 |
Common terms and phrases
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Bókfrćđilegar upplýsingar
| Titill | The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War |
| Höfundur | Ben Macintyre |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Útgefandi | Crown, 2018 |
| ISBN | 1101904208, 9781101904206 |
| Length | 384 síđur |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |