Soldier, Spy
A Survivor's Tale
Published on 3. November 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-4088-6786-0 (ISBN)
Description
Soldier, Spy is the astonishing memoir of one ordinary man and soldier, Victor Gregg, as he resumes civilian life after the Second World War. As for so many others, picking up where he had left off proved far from simple for Gregg; he had fought many battles, lost many friends and been deeply damaged psychologically by his experiences as a prisoner of war in Dresden.
To escape the memories and the emotional trauma, he moved from one job and distraction to the next: from immersing himself in the adrenaline-fuelled competitive cycling to working as a long distance lorry driver, from becoming a Communist Party member to becoming a spy and, by his seventieth birthday, helping bring about the fall of the Berlin Wall.
This honest and gritty account is the third book in a remarkable trilogy that both explores the permanent and damaging consequences of a life at war and tells the story of one ordinary man who went on to lead the most extraordinary life.
To escape the memories and the emotional trauma, he moved from one job and distraction to the next: from immersing himself in the adrenaline-fuelled competitive cycling to working as a long distance lorry driver, from becoming a Communist Party member to becoming a spy and, by his seventieth birthday, helping bring about the fall of the Berlin Wall.
This honest and gritty account is the third book in a remarkable trilogy that both explores the permanent and damaging consequences of a life at war and tells the story of one ordinary man who went on to lead the most extraordinary life.
Reviews / Votes
A gripping life-story: an incident-packed account of heartache, violence and cunning by a man whose will to survive and unbreakable optimism are a true inspiration * Independent, on Rifleman * Completely fascinating ... It has an immediate power throughout that makes war fiction a shadow of the real thing * Conn Iggulden on Rifleman * As action-packed as any fiction, and yet this is no novel ... His is truly an astonishing story * James Holland on Rifleman * Evocative, detailed and unsentimental - gets us wonderfully close-up to the London of the 1930s viewed through the unblinking eyes of a working-class boy relishing every new experience * David Kynaston on King's Cross Kid * This guy's incredible * Piers Morgan *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Weight
185 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4088-6786-0 (9781408867860)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2015
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
€12.49
Available for download
Persons
Victor Gregg was born in London in 1919 and joined the army in 1937, serving first in the Rifle Brigade in Palestine and North Africa, notably at the Battle of Alamein, and then with the Parachute Regiment, at the Battle of Arnhem. As a prisoner of war he survived the bombing of Dresden to be repatriated in 1946. The story of his adult years, Rifleman, was published by Bloomsbury in 2011, and the prequel, King's Cross Kid, in 2013. Both were co-written with Rick Stroud. Victor Gregg died in 2021, aged 102.
Rick Stroud is a writer and film director. As well as working with Victor Gregg on Rifleman and King's Cross he is the author of The Book of the Moon, The Phantom Army of Alamein and, most recently, Kidnap in Crete. He lives in London.
Rick Stroud is a writer and film director. As well as working with Victor Gregg on Rifleman and King's Cross he is the author of The Book of the Moon, The Phantom Army of Alamein and, most recently, Kidnap in Crete. He lives in London.