The Spy and the Traitor

The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

By: Ben Macintyre

Narrated by: Ben Macintyre

Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

*The No.1 Sunday Times Bestseller*
*Shortlisted for the 2018 Baillie Gifford Prize*
*Bill Gates' Top 5 Books for 2020*

'THE BEST TRUE SPY STORY I HAVE EVER READ' JOHN LE CARRÉ

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...

©2018 Ben MacIntyre (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

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)

Superb

Could not stop listening. Another brill Ben MacI book. Recommend highly. On the edge of my seat.

Leave a beer capsule under the bench in the park

This book is as good as it gets when it comes to spy stories. It starts out strong – diving straight into the story – and then it just keeps going. I can be a drifter, but it was impossible to drift away while reading this book. It keeps the reader engaged at all times.

The protagonist is Oleg Gordievsky. A real person! Indeed, an actual former KGB spy who defected and joined MI6, becoming one of the most important spies in the cold war. If you like the show “The Americans” then you are almost guaranteed to enjoy this book as well. I particularly appreciated the descriptions of how spies communicate with one another. It can go something like this: If spy X leaves an orange peel under the right side of a bench in the southwest corner of some park, then that means that someone is onto him. But if instead, he leaves a blue chalk mark on a light pole on street Y in SOHO, that means that he wants to meet.

The descriptions of spy communication are both fascinating and humorous. Indeed, as one would expect it can sometimes become confusing such as when one spy was supposed to drop a beer capsule instead dropped a ginger beer capsule. After a lengthy discussion it was decided that the spy probably did not distinguish between ginger beer and real beer.

Nevertheless, there is a lot more to this book. You get insight into the political atmosphere in the 1980s, You will encounter politicians as well as spies. Yet, first and foremost, you get a top-notch cat and mouse spy chase. And the best thing is that the story is, as far as I can tell, entirely factual. The author makes it clear when he is speculating, which I appreciate. If you are at all into these types of books, then you can’t go wrong with this book

Exciting!

Informative, exciting story. Well told & narrated. We listened during a long & boring drive. We could hardly wait to get in the car after each stop.

Absolute must Read / Hear ! excellent

gives great detail to the cold war period. how a KGB spy saved the world from nuclear war.

Fantastic book, and great audiobook.

Top notch thriller, excellent history and great performance. I have seldom enjoyed a title this much.

Nicely paced and stranger than fiction

Enjoyable and insightful look at the odd universe of old school spies and trade craft; the excitement and the banality. Ben MacIntyre is a fine writer and narrator.

Brilliant Audio Book

This book is brilliant well worth reading ,it gave a great insight on the workings of the KGB and how fragile relations were between east and west

Superb!

What an enthralling saga.Was embroiled in the spy craft of the era from page 1.
A must listen

Who knew?

Quite the most extraordinary story.
Bravery and ideology from a time not so long ago.
Beautifully written, researched and read.
Couldn’t put it down.

Enjoyable

Historically, the book may actually not reflect the real facts. Nonetheless, the storyline is interesting, structured and well read, and I enjoyed it. It intrigued me into futher research about the character and the particular period of time.