The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

Description

A thrilling Cold War story about a KGB double agent, by one of Britain's greatest historians. 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. . .

Ben Macintyre is the multimillion-copy bestselling author of books including Agent Zigzag, Operation Mincemeatand 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. He regularly presents BBC series based on his acclaimed books.

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 *