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The Spy and the Traitor
- Author
- Ben Macintyre
- Narrator
- Ben Macintyre
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Publish Date
- 20 September 2018
- Run Time
- 14 hours 33 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Espionage and secret services, Biography: historical, political and military, Cold wars and proxy conflicts, Military history
- Rating
- 5.0 (3 reviews)
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What to expect
BEN MACINTYRE'S NEXT AUDIOBOOK, REDWOOD, IS AVAILABLE TO BUY NOW
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!
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 best true spy story I have ever read' John le Carré
'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 2018 (P) Penguin Audio 2018
Critics Review
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An incredible true life spy story...Every word ramps up the tension as you're drawn deeper into the danger
Mail on Sunday
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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
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He writes like a novelist. One of the last chapters is as tense as any thriller. No wonder le Carré liked it
Daily Express
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Meticulously researched, splendidly told, immensely entertaining and often very moving
John le Carré on 'Agent Zigzag'
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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Impeccably researched, superbly told - by far the best book on the SAS in World War II
Antony Beevor on 'SAS'
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Thrilling. Ben Macintyre is the ideal narrator
Spectator on 'SAS'
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Thorough and highly entertaining. It would be nigh on impossible to praise it too highly
Daily Express on 'SAS'
User Reviews
Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
-
5.0 5.0
Another brilliant book by Ben Macintyre. Thoroughly engrossing. Would be unbelievable if it was fiction.
PBee 2025-09-04 -
5.0 5.0
Very interesting, a true spy story!
peterstod 2024-04-22
Details
- Author
- Ben Macintyre
- Narrator
- Ben Macintyre
- Duration
- 14 hours 33 minutes
- Release Date
- 20 September 2018
- ISBN
- 9780241982754
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Genre
- Espionage and secret services, Biography: historical, political and military, Cold wars and proxy conflicts, Military history
- Rating
- 5.0(3 reviews)
- Narration
- 5.0(3 reviews)
Synopsis
BEN MACINTYRE'S NEXT AUDIOBOOK, REDWOOD, IS AVAILABLE TO BUY NOWTHE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERAn 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!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 best true spy story I have ever read' John le Carré'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 2018 (P) Penguin Audio 2018
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