Tag: non-fiction (Page 2 of 2)

John le Carré is a masterful storyteller and listening to his voice telling the stories of his life is epic. In The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life, he covers his short years of service in British Intelligence and how that paved the way for the writer he became and the opportunities he had to meet politicians and leaders around the world.

This type of memoir could be a bit of a brag but instead it’s like your worldly uncle telling you his crazy stories. I loved it.

There are funny asides and mishaps, like a certain parrot meeting his end due to alcohol in his feed and wrong number phone calls that lead to late-night bar dates. Then there are serious tales of interviewing terrorists and navigating the security around Yasser Arafat. At every turn, le Carré is giving us glimpses into his life and how you might connect real life people to his story characters.

You can hear the wisdom and humility in his voice, along with the cheek.

The greatest espionage story of the Cold War.

Description: Macintyre’s real-life spy thriller is a slow start with a fast-paced finish. I loved it. The spy and traitor here is Oleg Gordievksy, a senior KGB officer who spies for MI6 from 1974 . That seems like an understatement. His secrets are priceless. And the book is full of name dropping to demonstrate the breadth of information Gordievsky shared and the impact on bringing the Cold War to its end.

Gordievsky advised Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady, on Britain’s Cold War policies. He outted a number of spies and identified networks throughout Europe so those posing as diplomats were ejected. In the end, Gordievsky received the Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and Saint George from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace where he was recognized for services to UK security.

The book is based on more than 140 hours of taped interviews with Oleg Gordievksy, who appears to have an infallible memory. Names like Putin and Aldrich Ames come up, and it’s easy to see how yesterday’s Russian playbook of fake news and mistrust are still unfolding today.

Favourite moment: Oleg is summoned back to Russia and fears that he has been exposed. The chapter “Cat and Mouse” opens with this:

In Moscow, Gordievsky checked the locks again, praying he might be mistaken. But no, the third lock, the dead bolt he never used and had no key for, had been turned. The KGB was on to him.

chapter 12, The spy & the traitor by ben mcintyre

Perfect read for fans of John Le Carré or In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. The Spy and the Traitor is full of ideologies, betrayal, and intrigue. The glorious days of the Cold War spy — harrowing.