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The Spy and the Traitor

The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

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The Spy and the Traitor

Written by: Ben Macintyre
Narrated by: John Lee
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About this listen

 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the celebrated author of Operation Mincement and The Siege comes the 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 has crafted an electrifying account of an international hero. Like the greatest novels of John le Carré, The Spy and the Traitor 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. 20th Century Freedom & Security Military Military & War Modern Politics & Government True Crime Espionage Russia War Soviet Union Cold War Exciting Socialism Imperialism Eastern Europe Historical Nonfiction Political Biographies
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Starts slow but keep listening ! Definitely worth your time and effort and should be required listening if you have any interest in the Cold War.

Starts slow but keep listening!

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Loved it. Well written, engaging, exciting.

I was captivated for the last third. Very good book.

First rate spy story

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Unbelievably well-written. Narrator crushes it. One of those books you wish lasted longer. Amazing!

10/10

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The cadence of the narrator’s voice was annoying. Many many many times his dropped pitch at the end of phrases became monotonous.

Annoying narration

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Great Cold War Slow burn that keeps you listening.

This book reflects the chill and politics of the 70s and 80s. Dramatic with No over the the top flair. Just a good honest historical recap of how cold warriors impacted history, navigating the ins and outs of their own corrupt organizations. Both sides had double, even triple crosses— it gets entertainingly confusing- not really; I wish we had more Cold War narratives like this.

Honest spy thriller; no 007/Bourne flashiness

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