The Spy and the Traitor
The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War
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The Spy and the Traitor
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Narrated by:
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Ben Macintyre
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By:
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Ben Macintyre
About this listen
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...
Critic Reviews
What listeners say about The Spy and the Traitor
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stuart Griffiths
- 31-07-2019
Drama and intrigue
Fascinating story, told in a very suitable way. Captivating listening to the very end. Makes us appreciate the freedoms we take to granted.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 14-09-2021
Superb Book!
An excellent book very well written with extremely interesting and exciting content. Beautifuully presented in the audible context.
Would recommend to anybody interested in historical non-fiction material. Hope you enjoy as much as I did.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lars Skovbjerg Klint
- 09-05-2020
You can't make this up
Amazing and gripping story of how one man changed the world and helped end the cold war. Highly recommended and a must read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gareth Hall
- 22-10-2019
Great synopsis of cold war espionage
Really grear and interesting read on the background of the cold war and espionage. Also interesting to explain why currently Russia is a very paranoid place. Excellent read.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Eddie May
- 12-11-2019
exciting story
Difficult read at first, went into a lot of bavk ground incormation.But became thrilling as the story ptogressed. Great narrator
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Christine
- 14-11-2019
Great Listen
I really enjoyed this story. It was engaging, exciting, an interesting recap of spy history and very well narrated.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Wombat
- 20-07-2020
Exceptional
A riveting true story focussing on the life of this amazing spy in the 1970s and 1980s and many leading political figures of the time .. some of whom have dark secrets laid bare by Gordesky's work. The author reads his own story with the same passion as the writing itself. Simply exceptional.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. Edwin Watson
- 10-11-2020
Ben Macintyre strikes again! One of his very best!
Wow, beautifully told and an outstanding tale of cold war espionage at its very best. Ben Macintyre spills this amazing yarn superbly and whilst there are cold war books aplenty, none reach the fever pitch of Oleg's life in the former Soviet stronghold. I urge you to listen, it does not disappoint.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 17-01-2022
Can I give it 6 stars?
Astonishing, moving, riveting and all true.
Ben Macintyre’s writing is concise, thrilling and perfectly narrated. Why bother with spy fiction. Perfect!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Liz Abrahams
- 04-02-2022
Outstanding
Wow what a book - it is so incredible that this thrilling and at times impossible story was all true - i learnt an enormous amount about history, the KGB, MI6 and MI5 but mostly I remain in awe of the bravery and determination of the main hero Oleg and his British handlers.
I highly recommend this book
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