Ben Macintyre is a writer-at-large for The Times of London and the bestselling author of A Spy Among Friends, Double Cross, Operation Mincemeat, Agent Zigzag, and Rogue Heroes, among other books. Macintyre has also written and presented BBC documentaries of his work.
"Every bit as exciting as my favorite spy novels."--Bill Gates, GatesNotes
"Readers seeking a page-turning spy story, look no further. The
author of A Spy Among Friends and Agent Zigzag, among
others, does it again, this time delivering a Cold War espionage
story for the ages... another can't miss account of intrigue and
intelligence." --Boston Globe
"The subtitle of Macintyre's latest real-life spy thriller calls it
'The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War.' Like pretty much
everything in this fine book, the description is accurate...
Macintyre is fastidious about tradecraft details... [he] has become
the preeminent popular chronicler of British intelligence history
because he understands the essence of the business." --Washington
Post "The Spy and the Traitor [is] a fast-paced and
fascinating biography of Russian-spy-turned-British-asset Oleg
Gordievsky... It's nonfiction, but it reads like the best of
thrillers... The toll spying takes on Gordievsky's personal life is
enthralling, and the details of how deep the effects of one KGB
agent's deception can go are, in these days of Russian election
meddling, quite frightening." --San Francisco Chronicle
"Who was the most important spy of the Cold War era? Ben
Macintyre convincingly nominates Oleg Gordievsky... Readers should
rejoice in a very readable book by a skilled story-teller. Although
an intelligence outsider, Mr. Macintyre enjoys the trust of MI6...
Mr. Macintyre's account of how the officer known as Bromhead
recruited Mr. Gordievsky as a spy is a textbook study of
intelligence reality; indeed, these pages alone are worth the price
of the book... In terms of suspense, the flight through Russia is
of thriller-quality." --Washington Times "Oleg Gordievsky was the
most significant British agent of the cold war... The result is a
dazzling non-fiction thriller and an intimate portrait of
high-stakes espionage." --The Guardian "Even a reader not enamored
of spy stories will have trouble putting this one down... [The
story] unfolds with a pace and drama that recall the novels of John
le Carre." --Foreign Affairs "[A] swift-moving tale of true
espionage in the most desperate years of the Cold War... The
closing pages of Macintyre's fluent yarn find Gordievsky attempting
to escape captivity and flee to the West in a scenario worthy of
John le Carre... Oddly timely, given the return of Russian spying
to the front pages, and a first-rate study of the mechanics and
psychology of espionage." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"[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. The book has a startling relevancy to the news of the
day... Macintyre has produced a timely and insightful page-turner."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Pick up any current
true-crime spy book and you'll probably see a version of this
phrase on the cover: 'The Greatest Spy Story Ever Told.' Most of
them don't live up to the billing, but the latest by Ben Macintyre
comes close...What makes this read propulsive is the way Macintyre
tells the story almost as a character-driven novel... Macintyre's
way with details, as when he explains exactly how the KGB bugged
apartments, or when he delves into KGB training, is utterly
absorbing. The action is punctuated with plenty of heart-stopping
near-discoveries, betrayals, and escapes. Fascinating, especially
now." --Booklist (starred review)
"Fans of narrative nonfiction, the Cold War, spy stories, foreign
relations among the United States, England, and Russia, and
Macintyre's previous works will greatly enjoy this incredible true
account." --Library Journal (starred review)
![]() |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
![]() |