THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
Discover the incredible true story of WW2's most extraordinary spy - from the bestselling author of The Spy and the Traitor.
From planning an assassination attempt on Hitler in Switzerland, to spying on the Japanese in Manchuria, to preventing nuclear war (or so she believed) by stealing the science of atomic weaponry from Britain to give to Moscow, Ursula Kuczynski Burton conducted some of the most dangerous espionage operations of the twentieth century.
Born to a German Jewish family, as Ursula grew, so did the Nazis' power. A fanatical opponent of the fascism that ravaged her homeland, she was drawn to communism as a young woman, motivated by the promise of a fair and peaceful society. She eventually became a spymaster, saboteur, bomb-maker and secret agent.
In Agent Sonya, Britain's most acclaimed historian vividly reveals the fascinating tale of a life that would change the course of history. Classic Ben Macintyre - a gripping ride, based on meticulous research, that reads like a novel - this is the greatest spy story never told.
'His best book yet' The Times
'Macintyre has found a real-life heroine worthy of his gifts as John le Carré's nonfiction counterpart' New York Times
'This book is classic Ben Macintyre . . . quirky human details enliven every page' Clare Mulley, Spectator
'She is the strongest character of all in Macintyre's bestselling series of wartime tales . . . I raced through the pages to keep up with the plot' Julian Glover, Evening Standard
© Ben MacIntyre 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020
About the Author :
Ben Macintyre (Author, Reader)
Ben Macintyre is the multimillion-copy bestselling author of books including Colditz, Agent Sonya, SAS: Rogue Heroes, The Spy and the Traitor, Agent Zigzag, Operation Mincemeat and A Spy Among Friends. He is a columnist and Associate Editor at The Times, and has worked as the newspaper's correspondent in New York, Paris and Washington. Several of his books have been made into films and television series, including Operation Mincemeat, A Spy Among Friends and SAS: Rogue Heroes.
Review :
Macintyre does true-life espionage better than anyone else
Think John le Carré at his early best - but fact not fiction
This impeccably researched account of her double life spans continents and is brilliantly compelling
Macintyre's page-turner is a dazzling portrait of a flawed yet driven individual who risked everything (including her children) for the cause
The best true spy story I have ever read
Thrilling...Macintyre will have you hooked to her life's every twist and turn
Macintyre has found a real-life heroine worthy of his gifts as John le Carré's nonfiction counterpart
This book is classic Ben Macintyre...quirky human details enliven every page... it is Macintyre's own vivid retelling of her perilous professional, personal and political life that make Agent Sonya such an accessible spy story.
He has the unerring gift of uncovering those astonishing truths that make even the best novelists of espionage seem both earthbound and artificial in comparison
His best book yet
