The Spy and the Traitor is essentially a biography of Oleg Gordievsky, a highly placed KGB agent who provided MI6 with reams of valuable intelligence during the 1970s and 1980s, until he was "burned" by Aldrich Ames (the traitor of the title).
The story is dramatic, especially once the Russians suspect Gordievsky and he needs to escape from Moscow. The best thing about the book, though, is how it presents the day-to-day operations of the spy agencies and shows how they are offices like any other, with the same combination of high performers, slackers, and screw-ups.
Gordievsky is the hero of the story, and my one complaint is that he comes across as too one-dimensionally heroic. Macintyre doesn't probe Gordievsky's motivations much. A few of the spy's actions feel questionable, but the author gives them the most charitable interpretation. The afterward mentions some "bones of contention" and hint at a prickly personality; I would have preferred to have that personality show in the story.
And one final question: Why did the KGB leave Gordievsky free in Moscow when they were pretty sure he had betrayed them?
The story is dramatic, especially once the Russians suspect Gordievsky and he needs to escape from Moscow. The best thing about the book, though, is how it presents the day-to-day operations of the spy agencies and shows how they are offices like any other, with the same combination of high performers, slackers, and screw-ups.
Gordievsky is the hero of the story, and my one complaint is that he comes across as too one-dimensionally heroic. Macintyre doesn't probe Gordievsky's motivations much. A few of the spy's actions feel questionable, but the author gives them the most charitable interpretation. The afterward mentions some "bones of contention" and hint at a prickly personality; I would have preferred to have that personality show in the story.
And one final question: Why did the KGB leave Gordievsky free in Moscow when they were pretty sure he had betrayed them?
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