The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I heard the author being interviewed on radio. I am trying to write this in a way not to give too much away. The story of Oleg Gordievsky is fascinating and, in many ways, mirrors a Le Carre spy novel. The big difference is that it actually happened. It’s just fascinating with so many twists and turns and turns. Oleg Gordievsky is from KGB aristocracy his father and brother both were in the service. This makes his eventual defection to MI6 really intriguing. Much of what happens follows a maxim if you have to choose between “a stuff up and a conspiracy always go for a stuff up”.
Ben Macintyre has put together an easy to read and entertaining book straight form the annals of the cold war. It provides and insight into how some of the KGB operations worked and the machinations of its bureaucracy. I thoroughly enjoyed the spy and the Traitor.
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