The Spy and the Traitor

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

A gripping tale of foreign relations between the United States, Britain, and Russia, and the clash of ideologies.

Ben MacIntyre is a renowned historian and author, and this is his best book to date.

This is the true story of one of history’s most remarkable spies. In 1968, Oleg Gordeyevsky landed his first job with the Soviet KGB, and within a few years, he had become the Soviet Union’s top man in London, secretly working for MI6 from 1973 onward. No other spy has done more damage to the KGB or altered the course of the Cold War so profoundly.

The CIA wanted to identify this source at all costs; he was undoubtedly working at the highest levels. The intelligence officer tasked with identifying him was Aldrich Ames, the man who would later be revealed as a double agent secretly spying for the Soviets. But Oleg Gordeyevsky plays a central role in a cunning game between America, Britain, and the Soviet Union, culminating in a cinematic escape from Moscow in 1985. A highly engaging narrative, and one based on true events.