The Spy and the Traitor The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War Synopsis
A thrilling Cold War story about a KGB double agent, by one of Britain's greatest historians - now with a new afterword.
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...
Thorough and highly entertaining. It would be nigh on impossible to praise it too highly - Daily Express on 'SAS'
Thrilling. Ben Macintyre is the ideal narrator - Spectator on 'SAS'
Impeccably researched, superbly told - by far the best book on the SAS in World War II -- Antony Beevor on 'SAS' Meticulously researched, splendidly told, immensely entertaining and often very moving -- John le Carre on 'Agent Zigzag' [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
The best true spy story I have ever read -- John le Carre -
Author
About Ben Macintyre
Ben Macintyre is a columnist and Associate Editor on The Times. He has worked as the newspaper's correspondent in New York, Paris and Washington. He is the author of eight previous books including Agent Zigzag, shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award and the Galaxy British Book Award for Biography of the Year 2008, and the no. 1 bestseller Operation Mincemeat. He lives in London with his wife and three children.
