'A deeply human read, wonderfully written, on the foibles of a fascinating, flawed, treacherous and sort of likeable character.' Philippe Sands
Those people who were betrayed were not innocent people. They were no better nor worse than I am. It's all part of the intelligence world. If the man who turned me in came to my house today, I'd invite him to sit down and have a cup of tea.
George Blake was the last remaining Cold War spy. As a Senior Officer in the British Intelligence Service who was double agent for the Soviet Union, his actions had devastating consequences for Britain. Yet he was also one of the least known double agents, and remained unrepentant.
In 1961, Blake was sentenced to forty-two years imprisonment for betraying to the KGB all of the Western operations in which he was involved, and the names of hundreds of British agents working behind the Iron Curtain. This was the longest sentence for espionage ever to have been handed down by a British court.
On the surface, Blake was a charming, intelligent and engaging man, and most importantly, a seemingly committed patriot. Underneath, a ruthlessly efficient mole and key player in the infamous 'Berlin Tunnel' operation. This illuminating biography tracks Blake from humble beginnings as a teenage courier for the Dutch underground during the Second World War, to the sensational prison-break from Wormwood Scrubs that inspired Hitchcock to write screenplay.
Through a combination of personal interviews, research and unique access to Stasi records, journalist Simon Kuper unravels who Blake truly was, what he was capable of, and why he did it.
eBook - ePub
The Happy Traitor
Spies, Lies and Exile in Russia: The Extraordinary Story of George Blake
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
The Happy Traitor
Spies, Lies and Exile in Russia: The Extraordinary Story of George Blake
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- 1. Finding Blake
- 2. An Ordinary Dutch Boy
- 3. A Jewish Mansion in an Arab City
- 4. Deception Becomes Daily Habit
- 5. A Legendary Centre of Hidden Power
- 6. The Prisoner Converts
- 7. Lunchtime Spy
- 8. A Mole in Berlin
- 9. The Game Is Up
- 10. The Human Cost
- 11. Espionage, Balls and Rackets
- 12. Foreign Traitor
- 13. Headstands in Jail
- 14. Straight Out of Hitchcock
- 15. Someone Who Adjusts Easily
- 16. Henri Curiel, A Parallel Life
- 17. Cynicism and Christmas Pudding
- 18. ‘Tragic I Am Not’
- Afterword
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
- Select Bibliography
- Books and Articles
- List of Illustrations
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Yes, you can access The Happy Traitor by Simon Kuper in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Social Science Biographies. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.