The Spy and the Traitor

The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

De: Ben Macintyre

Narrado por: John Lee

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The celebrated author of Double Cross and Rogue Heroes returns with a thrilling Americans-era tale of Oleg Gordievsky, the Russian whose secret work helped hasten the end of the Cold War.

“The best true spy story I have ever read.”—JOHN LE CARRÉ

Named a Best Book of the Year by The Economist • Shortlisted for the Bailie Giffords Prize in Nonfiction

If anyone could be considered a Russian counterpart to the infamous British double-agent Kim Philby, it was Oleg Gordievsky. The son of two KGB agents and the product of the best Soviet institutions, the savvy, sophisticated Gordievsky grew to see his nation's communism as both criminal and philistine. He took his first posting for Russian intelligence in 1968 and eventually became the Soviet Union's top man in London, but from 1973 on he was secretly working for MI6. For nearly a decade, as the Cold War reached its twilight, Gordievsky helped the West turn the tables on the KGB, exposing Russian spies and helping to foil countless intelligence plots, as the Soviet leadership grew increasingly paranoid at the United States's nuclear first-strike capabilities and brought the world closer to the brink of war. Desperate to keep the circle of trust close, MI6 never revealed Gordievsky's name to its counterparts in the CIA, which in turn grew obsessed with figuring out the identity of Britain's obviously top-level source. Their obsession ultimately doomed Gordievsky: the CIA officer assigned to identify him was none other than Aldrich Ames, the man who would become infamous for secretly spying for the Soviets.

Unfolding the delicious three-way gamesmanship between America, Britain, and the Soviet Union, and culminating in the gripping cinematic beat-by-beat of Gordievsky's nail-biting escape from Moscow in 1985, Ben Macintyre's latest may be his best yet. Like the greatest novels of John le Carré, it brings readers deep into a world of treachery and betrayal, where the lines bleed between the personal and the professional, and one man's hatred of communism had the power to change the future of nations.

©2018 Ben Macintyre (P)2018 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Every bit as exciting as my favorite spy novels.”—Bill Gates, GatesNotes

“Readers seeking a page-turning spy story, look no further. The author of A Spy Among Friends and Agent Zigzag, among others, does it again, this time delivering a Cold War espionage story for the ages… another can’t miss account of intrigue and intelligence.” —Boston Globe

“The subtitle of Macintyre’s latest real-life spy thriller calls it ‘The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War.’ Like pretty much everything in this fine book, the description is accurate… Macintyre is fastidious about tradecraft details… [he] has become the preeminent popular chronicler of British intelligence history because he understands the essence of the business.” —Washington Post

Amazing Story!

Well-researched history of a unique and extremely important spy working within the KGB for the Brits. The twists and turns of the story, and the extremely professional handling of this KGB officer, Oleg Gordievsky, made this book more exciting than any fictional spy novel. Not much on the CIA turncoat, Aldrich Ames, the "Traitor" in the book, but enough where you learned how and when and why Ames gave up so many key agents, including Gordievsky. The story is exciting to the end, including the implausible exfiltration of Gordievsky from the Soviet Union in a plan that could have gone wrong — and almost did — in so many ways.

John Lee is a top-notch narrator, with all the right attributes of diction, emphasis, fluidity, and drama one would want for a book with this continuing level of excitement.

Patriotism Supercedes Stupid Cultists

Communism was a cult of beliefs. Tyranny is a cult of personality. The first was undermined by patriots who realized the danger. The latter is more dangerous because the believers swallow lies with relish but don't see them as lies. We need more patriots to overcome tyranny. Gordievski should be the model to destroy tryants.

Outstanding!

This ‘audiobook’ has been narrated in a way all audiobooks should be.
John Lee has done an outstanding job. He is someone who knows how to read/narrate prose. I have enjoyed listening to several, but not all, audiobooks. The latter were all returned simply because of ‘narrator assault’ on my ears, and insult to my intelligence. I recently returned Roland Philipp’s “A Spy Named Orphan” for this very reason. Unless I buy a hard copy of that book I will never know if the book was well written and poorly narrated, or badly written and badly narrated.
However, Ben Macintyre’s “The Spy and The Traitor” is only been well written, but outstandingly (if this word exists) narrated.
Anyone taking notice of this review should keep an eye open for more Ben Macintyre, and more John Lee. I don’t think I have enjoyed an audiobook more than this one.
Simply outstanding!

Wow

Found this book so informative and thrilling to the end
I did not know anything about this spy and had a renewed appreciation for what these brave people risk for their ideals and love of country and freedom
Wonderfully written and performed. 5 stars

There is so much more

When you read of the remarkable risks and personal sacrifice one takes for their beliefs, you can only marvel.

Profound

This man’s story deserves to be heard. A page turner, if you will. Maybe my favorite by the author.

recommended for any Le Carre fan

This is a fabulous story wonderfully written and read. It revisits the Cold War from an unusual perspective. Margaret Thatcher plays a "walk on" role that reflects amazingly well on her. My only problem with the audio version is that it's difficult to keep the Russian names straight, and it omits some of the photos that appear in the printed version. Otherwise, it was one of those books where I was sad when it ended.

AMAZING BOOK

I highly recommend this book to everyone. The world of espionage is beautifully presented in this book.

Awesome!

Can't say enough good about it! Listened to it while working and it was easy enough to follow.. but complex enough it had me skipping back to make sure I heard it right. Loved this book!

Wow! Very relevant and Interesting story!

Really enjoyed the story, it was long but gripping and kept my attention all the way through. I think everyone should here this story as it is very relevant to today.