The Spy and the Traitor
The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War
Published on 30. May 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-0-241-97213-7 (ISBN)
Description
THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
An exciting Cold War story about a KGB double agent, by one of Britain's greatest historians and the ultimate gift for anyone who loves a good spy thriller!
'The best true spy story I have ever read' John le Carre
________________
On a warm July evening in 1985, a middle-aged man stood on the pavement of a busy avenue in the heart of Moscow, holding a plastic carrier bag. In his grey suit and tie, he looked like any other Soviet citizen. The bag alone was mildly conspicuous, printed with the red logo of Safeway, the British supermarket.
The man was a spy. A senior KGB officer, for more than a decade he had supplied his British spymasters with a stream of priceless secrets from deep within the Soviet intelligence machine. No spy had done more to damage the KGB. The Safeway bag was a signal: to activate his escape plan to be smuggled out of Soviet Russia. So began one of the boldest and most extraordinary episodes in the history of spying.
Ben Macintyre reveals a tale of espionage, betrayal and raw courage that changed the course of the Cold War forever . . .
________________
'The world's most important spy since the Second World War. Mercilessly gripping' Sunday Times
'Extraordinary. His best book yet' John Preston, Evening Standard
'A remarkable story of one man's courage' The Times, Book of the Week
Ben Macintyre, Sunday Times bestseller, August 2023
An exciting Cold War story about a KGB double agent, by one of Britain's greatest historians and the ultimate gift for anyone who loves a good spy thriller!
'The best true spy story I have ever read' John le Carre
________________
On a warm July evening in 1985, a middle-aged man stood on the pavement of a busy avenue in the heart of Moscow, holding a plastic carrier bag. In his grey suit and tie, he looked like any other Soviet citizen. The bag alone was mildly conspicuous, printed with the red logo of Safeway, the British supermarket.
The man was a spy. A senior KGB officer, for more than a decade he had supplied his British spymasters with a stream of priceless secrets from deep within the Soviet intelligence machine. No spy had done more to damage the KGB. The Safeway bag was a signal: to activate his escape plan to be smuggled out of Soviet Russia. So began one of the boldest and most extraordinary episodes in the history of spying.
Ben Macintyre reveals a tale of espionage, betrayal and raw courage that changed the course of the Cold War forever . . .
________________
'The world's most important spy since the Second World War. Mercilessly gripping' Sunday Times
'Extraordinary. His best book yet' John Preston, Evening Standard
'A remarkable story of one man's courage' The Times, Book of the Week
Ben Macintyre, Sunday Times bestseller, August 2023
Reviews / Votes
An incredible true life spy story...Every word ramps up the tension as you're drawn deeper into the danger * Mail on Sunday * If any spy writer were to put it in a novel, it would not be believed. But, blow by blow, trick by trick, it is all in Macintyre's book -- Fredrick Forsyth He writes like a novelist. One of the last chapters is as tense as any thriller. No wonder le Carre liked it * Daily Express *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
315 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-97213-7 (9780241972137)
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
09/2018
1st Edition
Penguin Books Ltd
€9.49
Available for download
Person
Ben Macintyre is the multimillion-copy bestselling author of books including Colditz, Agent Sonya, SAS: Rogue Heroes, The Spy and the Traitor, Agent Zigzag, Operation Mincemeat and A Spy Among Friends. He is a columnist and Associate Editor at The Times, and has worked as the newspaper's correspondent in New York, Paris and Washington. Several of his books have been made into films and television series, including Operation Mincemeat, A Spy Among Friends and SAS: Rogue Heroes.