Agent Sonya

Lover, Mother, Soldier, Spy

De: Ben Macintyre

Narrado por: Ben Macintyre

Brought to you by Penguin

A TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'His best book yet' The Times

'Macintyre's page-turner is a dazzling portrait of a flawed yet driven individual who risked everything (including her children) for the cause' Sunday Times

DISCOVER THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF THE SPY WHO ALMOST KILLED HITLER - FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE SPY AND THE TRAITOR

Ursula Kuczynski Burton was a spymaster, saboteur, bomb-maker and secret agent. Codenamed 'Agent Sonya', her story has never been told - until now.

Born to a German Jewish family, as Ursula grew, so did the Nazis' power. As a fanatical opponent of the fascism that ravaged her homeland, Ursula was drawn to communism as a young woman, motivated by the promise of a fair and peaceful society.

From planning an assassination attempt on Hitler in Switzerland, to spying on the Japanese in Manchuria, to preventing nuclear war (or so she believed) by stealing the science of atomic weaponry from Britain to give to Moscow, Ursula conducted some of the most dangerous espionage operations of the twentieth century.

In Agent Sonya, Britain's most acclaimed historian Ben Macintyre delivers an exhilarating tale that's as fast-paced as any fiction. It is the incredible story of one spy's life, a life that would alter the course of history . . .

'Macintyre does true-life espionage better than anyone else' John Preston

'Macintyre has found a real-life heroine worthy of his gifts as John le Carré's nonfiction counterpart' New York Times

'This book is classic Ben Macintyre . . . quirky human details enliven every page' Spectator

© Ben MacIntyre 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Reseñas de la Crítica

Macintyre does true-life espionage better than anyone else (John Preston)

Think John le Carré at his early best - but fact not fiction

This impeccably researched account of her double life spans continents and is brilliantly compelling

Macintyre's page-turner is a dazzling portrait of a flawed yet driven individual who risked everything (including her children) for the cause

The best true spy story I have ever read (John le Carré on 'The Spy and the Traitor')

Thrilling...Macintyre will have you hooked to her life's every twist and turn (Lucy Knight)

Macintyre has found a real-life heroine worthy of his gifts as John le Carré's nonfiction counterpart

This book is classic Ben Macintyre...quirky human details enliven every page... it is Macintyre's own vivid retelling of her perilous professional, personal and political life that make Agent Sonya such an accessible spy story.

He has the unerring gift of uncovering those astonishing truths that make even the best novelists of espionage seem both earthbound and artificial in comparison

His best book yet (The Times)

Excellent

A fascinating story, beautifully read by the author. All the more interesting because it’s all true.

Gripping and thoroughly well researched

Incredible story that has been very well researched by the author. Thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to anyone interested in espionage

Excellent

Like all of Ben's books, well written, detailed and compelling from start to finish.

Interesting story of a dedicated communist spy

This story is interesting and presents a sympathetic history of Ursula Hamburger (code name Sonya). Sympathetic, because her ideals were sincere, her dedication was sincere, and the ills of society that would inspire someone to become a communist were real and still are. Only we know how it turned out, how it is truly hard to build a just society with freedom but also with a fairer distribution of wealth. Fighting fascism was a big part of her noble effort, and we can’t deny her heroism on that account. The story also touches on how someone copes with betrayal - in Sonya’s case, the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, so that her beloved Moscow formed an alliance with the fascists. How could they?! The invasion of Finland by the Soviets was also a big disappointment to Sonya. And, Stalin’s evil. Sonya’s reactions and ways of coping with these betrayals of her values are interesting. People are often faced with such a sense of betrayal of values (clergy who prey on young victims comes to mind). How do we reconcile the ideal with the reality? Sonya made some difficult choices to do so, not necessarily admirable, but they make for a fascinating story. The ineptitude of some of the very important espionage organizations is also interesting (even if we already know about it from other books). The writing was good, overall, though sometimes the jumping around in time for the various characters could be confusing. Also, here and there some facts were repeated, so a better editing would be in order. For example, we learn about Ursula getting a 2nd Red Banner once somewhere in the middle of the book, and then at the very end, when telling some last details. Ben Macintyre is a reasonable narrator for his own work, but a professional narrator might have made it more dramatic.

Fascinating story of a successful spy

I have enjoyed every one of Ben Macintyre's books thus far, he excels in taking a fairly obscure character and event in spycraft and turning it into an enjoyable and insightful tale. Ursula Kuczynski led an interesting life as spy for Communist Russia across two continents in a time when she could easily have been killed for her role. Male assumptions of female capabilities in the era certainly helped her, but she was a remarkable person in her own right. The narration was as usual excellent.