FREE delivery Sunday, June 4 on your first order. Details

Or fastest delivery Tomorrow, June 1. Order within 10 hrs 19 mins. Details

In Stock

[{"displayPrice":"$22.00","priceAmount":22.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"22","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ffiUDv65aY80j%2FssvFm%2FeYAVKoi4DdgPvnd%2FLrTbFW8oO9KqdZwm7OqnPHbyaUYRSmNXTw1rqM7NHGLqxfaZ6kNx8DZHoi9vUHu2%2BSr708s2IYsr7oDUGNeqG5B4gLvLypf5k9v0XCk%3D","locale":"en-CA","buyingOptionType":"NEW"},{"displayPrice":"$10.00","priceAmount":10.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"10","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ffiUDv65aY80j%2FssvFm%2FeYAVKoi4DdgPyqsKa2TdmyRRkdTeGe2%2B%2B7zS3qh2O%2BSCCZeh%2F9fI9VgkAJ0YCqOSSJX79fUNIkyc6Qk3b9%2Fb4VAKmhveCuIqRvwULKeQF0qcv7KbUCccwJJFabtt0sYcHV0JmhuJmJcOwe4RitkI%2BpVkebZC6BDrfK3SD5TPxpxH","locale":"en-CA","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]

$$22.00 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Secure transaction

Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.

Return policy: Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Add gift options

FREE delivery Monday, June 5 on your first order. Details

Or fastest delivery Saturday, June 3. Order within 20 hrs 19 mins. Details

Select delivery location

Used: Acceptable | Details

Sold by Renew Crew Books

Fulfilled by Amazon

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

Ben Macintyre

The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War Paperback – Aug. 6 2019

by Ben Macintyre (Author)

4.6 29,014 ratings

See all formats and editions

Amazon Price

New from

Used from

Kindle Edition

"Please retry"

$13.99

—

Audible Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover, Import

"Please retry"

$74.71

$30.46

$16.32

Paperback

"Please retry"

$22.00

$10.00

Audio CD, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$36.36

—

$36.36

Great on Kindle

Great Experience. Great Value.

Enjoy a great reading experience when you buy the Kindle edition of this book. Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories.

View Kindle Edition

Purchase options and add-ons

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The celebrated author of A Spy Among Friends and Rogue Heroes returns with his greatest spy story yet, a thrilling Cold War-era tale of Oleg Gordievsky, the Russian whose secret work helped hasten the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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, The Spy and the Traitor may be Macintyre's 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.

Print length

384 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Signal
Publication date

Aug. 6 2019
Dimensions

13.16 x 2.16 x 20.52 cm
ISBN-10

0771060351
ISBN-13

978-0771060359
See all details

Frequently bought together

The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

$22.00

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.

+

Rogue Heroes: The History of the SAS, Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of

$22.00

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.

+

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal

$23.00

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Try again!

Details

Added to Cart

Choose items to buy together.

Ben Macintyre
8,096
Paperback
8 offers from $19.99
Ben Macintyre
10,414
Paperback
14 offers from $14.59
Ben Macintyre
1,995
Hardcover
10 offers from $17.98
Bill Browder
42,708
Paperback
in Ukrainian History
83 offers from $10.80
Bill Browder
7,373
Paperback
30 offers from $25.64
Sonia Purnell
19,342
Paperback
50 offers from $14.24

Product description

Review

“The best true spy story I have ever read.” —John le Carré

“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

“[A] swift-moving tale of true espionage in the most desperate years of the Cold War. . . . The closing pages of Macintyre’s fluent yarn find Gordievsky attempting to escape captivity and flee to the West in a scenario worthy of John le Carré. . . . Oddly timely, given the return of Russian spying to the front pages, and a first-rate study of the mechanics and psychology of espionage.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“[A] captivating espionage tale . . . In a feat of real authorial dexterity, Macintyre accurately portrays the long-game banality of spycraft—the lead time and persistence in planning—with such clarity and propulsive verve that the book often feels like a thriller. The book has a startling relevancy to the news of the day. . . . Macintyre has produced a timely and insightful page-turner.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Pick up any current true-crime spy book and you’ll probably see a version of this phrase on the cover: ‘The Greatest Spy Story Ever Told.’ Most of them don’t live up to the billing, but the latest by Ben Macintyre comes close. . . . What makes this read propulsive is the way Macintyre tells the story almost as a character-driven novel . . . Macintyre’s way with details, as when he explains exactly how the KGB bugged apartments, or when he delves into KGB training, is utterly absorbing. The action is punctuated with plenty of heart-stopping near-discoveries, betrayals, and escapes. Fascinating, especially now.” —Booklist (starred review)

“Fans of narrative nonfiction, the Cold War, spy stories, foreign relations among the United States, England, and Russia, and Macintyre’s previous works will greatly enjoy this incredible true account.” —Library Journal (starred review)

About the Author

Ben Macintyre is a writer-at-large for The Times (U.K.) and the bestselling author of Prisoners of the Castle, Agent Sonya, A Spy Among Friends, Double Cross, Operation Mincemeat, Agent Zigzag, and Rogue Heroes, among other books. Macintyre has also written and hosted five documentaries for the BBC based on his work, and three of his books have been adapted for the screen: Rogue Heroes under the title SAS: Rogue Heroes, A Spy Among Friends in a limited series, and a movie of Operation Mincemeat.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Signal (Aug. 6 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0771060351
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0771060359
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 340 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.16 x 2.16 x 20.52 cm

Best Sellers Rank: #5,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Espionage Biographies
- #4 in Military Intelligence & Espionage
- #37 in International Politics (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 29,014 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Ben Macintyre

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Ben Macintyre is a writer-at-large for The Times of London and the bestselling author of A Spy Among Friends, Double Cross, Operation Mincemeat, Agent Zigzag, and Rogue Heroes, among other books. Macintyre has also written and presented BBC documentaries of his work.

(Photo Credit: Justine Stoddart)

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

29,014 global ratings

5 star		73%
4 star		22%
3 star		3%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from Canada

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

mich

Great true factual

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 21, 2023

Verified Purchase

Very interesting book, realistic facts and situations.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Shirley C.

Brilliant True Story! Gripping unbelievable story!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 14, 2023

Verified Purchase

The book is well researched and beautifully written describing the unbelievable life of a man brought up in the strict regime of the KGB.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

J. C. Mareschal

The greatest espionage story of the cold war! Really?

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 14, 2019

Verified Purchase

The spy and the traitor relates the “true” story of Oleg Gordievski, a KGB colonel who betrayed to the British near the end of the cold war. It is a fascinating story and it comes with an almost incredible conclusion more thrilling than that of the best spy stories. After being promoted to chief of the London station, Oleg was recalled to Moscow where he fell under suspicion. He managed to alert British agents who activated a well prepared and rehearsed escape plan and exfiltrated him to Finland across one of the most guarded borders in the world.
This book might have made an exciting book to read, but despite its thrilling conclusion, it felt very short of exciting me because the author feels obliged to explain the obvious and often ends up being close to boring.
Oleg is presented as the most important Soviet defector of the cold war. He warned the UK and the US of the paranoia of the Soviet leaders who became convinced that NATO was preparing a surprise nuclear attack. It would be astonishing that the Western countries were not intending to provoke such panic in the Soviet leadership and that they were surprised at their reaction. Oleg may have provided some insightful information to Margaret Thatcher about Gorbachev (whom incidentally Oleg had never met). Oleg identified KGB agents in the UK and Scandinavia where he had been posted as well as some of their contacts and assets although it is likely that they were all very well known to MI5 and MI6. This operation lasted many years, involved many British agents, and used very large resources and, in fine, yielded rather modest information. Were these little spy games really useful and worth their cost?

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

Paul Hundal

Excellent read. Couldn't put it down

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 19, 2022

Verified Purchase

As an amateur historian, a true story like this has a strong appeal. Well researched, well written. Loved the story.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

CT

Incredible Story

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 10, 2022

Verified Purchase

I once referred to this book as a novel because it reads like fiction, and it requires an effort to remind yourself as a reader that it is in fact a true story, at least in terms of historical events and factual data from the declassified archives. As a child of the Cold War I am fascinated with the subject, and this was a real treat. Highly recommended reading.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Marc Dabros

Macintyre’s best book to date

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

I’ve read a number of the author’s books and have enjoyed them all, but The Spy and the Traitor, to me, is his best effort to date. Many of Macintyre’s books occur during or immediately after the Second World War, but this one takes place during the Cold War - 1960s to the 1980s mostly - and perhaps it resonated with me because I could relate personally to many of the events portrayed in the book. Meticulously researched, The Spy and the Traitor tells the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB officer spying for the UK’s MI6. It’s non-fiction history, but reads like a spy thriller. Great read!

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Suzanne

An excellent read

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on August 1, 2021

Verified Purchase

Pick up this book and write off the day. It is an engrossing account of one man's struggle with his conscience and the length that he will go to in order to find a better life for himself, one in keeping with his morals. Exciting, enlightening and full of harrowing adventure, this book provides a fascinating glimpse at life in the USSR. If you are intrigued by the lives of spies and double agents, you will not be disappointed.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Dawn Ross

Gripping ending

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 22, 2021

Verified Purchase

This is a very interesting book. I really didn't know anything about the Cold War era. It is a very good historical account, with many interesting facts. The last past of the book was very gripping
It is definitely not historical fiction, which a am a fan. But it is well written so you want to find out what happens next.
I would definitely recommend this book

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Bluecashmere.

A "Wilderness of Mirrors."

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 2, 2019

Verified Purchase

I came to this book via “A Spy Among Friends”, Ben McIntyre’s fine book on Kim Philby with extensive references to the Cambridge spy ring. Although there is no-one of the extraordinary, and charismatic nature of Guy Burgess here, the book is utterly compelling. Quite apart from its deadly serious matter, the book is an enthralling read. I cannot think of a spy novel to rival it.
Essentially it concerns the remarkable Oleg Gordievsky, but we also learn a great deal about the KGB and British and American espionage and counter espionage.
Gordievsky’s father was a dyed in the wool KGB agent, and as such Oleg grew up in a family that was “well-fed, privileged and secure”. He seemed to be ideally set to follow his father and his older brother, Vasily, into the party machine, and indeed the talented young Oleg joined the Komsomol, with his brother already established as a rising figure in the KGB. All seemed to be set fair for the future. Yet even in his early years he is sensitive to divisions and secrets within the family. His mother, Olga, keeps remote from her husband’s political world and beneath the man for whom the Party was God, Oleg detects in his father, Anton, a “small, terrified man”.
With the death of Stalin, Khruschev assumes power in the Soviet Union. At first there is much talk of the Khruschev Thaw, but the new leader is a tough man, who while purging the Party of many Stalinists and releasing political prisoners, has no intention of loosening the hold on the Soviet bloc. During this time Oleg is beginning to cultivate his yearning for foreign travel and becomes a regular listener to the BBC’s World Service. He is beginning to see a world beyond the confines of the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, he idolises his elder brother and his prospects in the party machine are further enhanced by his acceptance at the KGB’s elite training school, specialising in the preparation of “illegals”, the secret, undercover agents as opposed to those who openly hold positions in consulates etc.
In the early 1960s we have the Molody/Lonsdale affair, the Portland Spy Ring and most importantly, perhaps, the defection of Kim Philby. Philby was the highest in rank of all the spies that emerged in these years. His defection was a major blow to the morale of British and American intelligence and the trust between the two countries in this area.
Success in the upper echelons of the KGB presupposed a stable marriage and Gordievsky makes what in effect is a marriage of convenience with Yelena, who is totally committed to the communist cause. While prospering in his KGB career, Oleg is deeply affected by his friendship with the cultivated Czech, Kaplan, by his experiences in East Germany and most of all his time in Denmark, where he delights in the freedom and opens himself to the wonders of classical music and western literature forbidden in Moscow. Vague alienation turns to loathing of the drab conformity of his homeland. Informal contacts are made with the Danish intelligence service PET and Oleg is now disillusioned with his life at home and nourished by western values. He is ripe for turning.
At the same time his career is forging ahead. He is promoted to the rank of Major in the KGB, even as he suffers withdrawal symptoms on returning to Moscow. Key events move things on: the defection of Kaplan, the death of his brother, the appearance of Bromhead, who is to initiate Oleg’s defection as the codename SUNBEAM is born, a secret kept from the CIA.
Mcintyre now picks up the intrigue that leads to the overcoming of suspicions within the intelligence services and the British government and eventually launches PIMLICO, the escape plan should it be necessary to get Gordievsky out of the USSR in a hurry. There are major obstacles ahead. Oleg’s re-marriage is one of them. The activities of an at first unpromising CIA agent, Aldrich Ames is a far more dangerous one. We are also approaching the 1982 nuclear crisis and Andropov’s assumption of supreme power – an old -fashioned, inward -looking ex-KGB officer.
It is not long before Ames will uncover a key KGB agent working for British intelligence, even if his exact identity remains unknown for some time. Ames himself is to rise to become the chief of the CIA’s Soviet counter-intelligence unit and himself to desert to the Soviet cause. Gordievsky is promoted to become Rezident in London, the highest-ranking officer in the KGB in the UK. He is in a position now to pass almost all secret KGB documents to his new friends. Then comes the summons to Moscow. No pressure is placed on Gordievsky but in the end he elects to return. PIMLICO goes on to high alert.
Amazingly, despite their knowledge via Ames, the KGB do no more than question Oleg and his new wife before sending the former to an expensive health resort. PIMLICO is now triggered and the exciting finale to the book is under way. McIntyre, sustains the suspense via precise detail while relentlessly turning the screw till it reaches unbearable tension.
McIntyre deals fully with the aftermath, the meeting with Mrs Thatcher at Chequers, the conviction for treason and the death sentence passed on Gordievsky, the world tour that McIntyre describes as a “one man intelligence roadshow”, through to Gorbachev’s refusal to discuss the issue of Oleg’s family joining him in Britain. Not least is the loneliness that a man in hiding is unable to avoid.
McIntyre, both directly and indirectly gives us a profound insight into the life of an illegal and the lives of espionage agents in general. From early on we see that spies are motivated in many different ways: for ideology, money, sex, blackmail and other far more confused needs. Whereas Ames sends at least 25 people to their deaths for money, others, Gordievsky and Philby among them, were ideologically motivated. As McIntyre tells us at the end, Oleg Gordievsky “is one of the bravest men I have ever met and one of the loneliest.” We are reminded of Kim Philby, who attempted to kill himself. The two, have much in common. Though Philby may have had the sharper intellect and the icier nerve, Gordievsky comes across as the more human figure, a man tortured by his conscience and his personal feelings.
McIntyre is a first-rate writer, lucid and forever not just presenting events, but reaching beyond to the human realities that affect his subjects and all of us. This is a remarkable book. I cannot recommend it too highly.

176 people found this helpful

Gentoo

John Le Carre was right - it's a great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 30, 2018

Verified Purchase

He describes it as the best spy story he had ever read and I agree. I read it over three days, it is a captivating story very well written. The author must have access to some good MI6 material and their support.

It is gripping, all the more for recalling the period in which the events took place.

In the epilogue the book continues right up to the poisoning of the Skripals.

86 people found this helpful

James oneill

The spy and the traitor

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 26, 2018

Verified Purchase

Wow! What an absolutely fantastic book. They say that sometimes real life is stranger than fiction . Read this book and you will see just that. The author has went to extraordinary lengths to collate all these facts , and to write them down without hyperbole . If you never read another book, read this, it will blow you away.

54 people found this helpful

gcranshaw

Better than any fiction

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 3, 2018

Verified Purchase

This is a completely unputdownable read. The narrative hooks you from the start and it really is difficult to remember that you're reading about something that actually happened; it's better than any James Bond. The author has completely captured the real world of our security services and the incredibly resilient people who man them but the driving force is Gordievsky. You live every minute with him and the dilemmas he faces. What I found particularly engrossing was the real effect he had on the cold war and the subsequent thawing of relations between east and west. I now want to read more by this author.

51 people found this helpful

Fly Me To The Moon

Learn to use Chapters correctly.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

Hugely long winded chapters that should be broken down by changes in time, from one sentence to the next you can skip months and stops the book from flowing.

I’m rating this 2 stars for the outright bias shown against Labour and British socialism. I don’t particularly sit either side of the fence but the author would do well to provide some balance when attempting to relay supposed factual content. Calling out Labour MP’s, trade Unionists and Guardian journalists constantly just smacks of childish point scoring and not skilled writing. If we were to believe this book then the KGB were only interested in infiltrating one half of the government and a bunch of Liverpool dock workers, I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions but logically it’s difficult to buy into.

27 people found this helpful

See all reviews

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	Amazon Advertising Find, attract and engage customers	Amazon Business Everything for your business	Amazon Drive Cloud storage from Amazon	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	Amazon Photos Unlimited Photo Storage Free With Prime	Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands

Warehouse Deals Open-Box Discounts	Whole Foods Market We Believe in Real Food	Amazon Renewed Like-new products you can trust	Blink Smart Security for Every Home

Buy new: $22.00$22.00 FREE delivery: Sunday, June 4 Ships from: Amazon.ca Sold by: Amazon.ca

Buy used: $10.00

Follow the Author

The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War Paperback – Aug. 6 2019

Purchase options and add-ons

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Product description

Review

About the Author

Product details

About the author

Ben Macintyre

Customer reviews

Top reviews from Canada

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy new:

$22.00

FREE delivery: Sunday, June 4

Ships from: Amazon.ca

Sold by: Amazon.ca

Buy used:

$10.00