Agent Sonya: Lover, Mother, Soldier, Spy

Paperback Published on: 17/09/2020
Price: £14.99
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Synopsis

A TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'His best book yet' The Times

'Macintyre's page-turner is a dazzling portrait of a flawed yet driven individual who risked everything (including her children) for the cause' Sunday Times

DISCOVER THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF THE SPY WHO ALMOST KILLED HITLER - FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE SPY AND THE TRAITOR

Ursula Kuczynski Burton was a spymaster, saboteur, bomb-maker and secret agent. Codenamed 'Agent Sonya', her story has never been told - until now.

Born to a German Jewish family, as Ursula grew, so did the Nazis' power. As a fanatical opponent of the fascism that ravaged her homeland, Ursula was drawn to communism as a young woman, motivated by the promise of a fair and peaceful society.

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 conducted some of the most dangerous espionage operations of the twentieth century.

In Agent Sonya, Britain's most acclaimed historian Ben Macintyre delivers an exhilarating tale that's as fast-paced as any fiction. It is the incredible story of one spy's life, a life that would alter the course of history . . .

**'Macintyre does true-life espionage better than anyone else' John Preston

'Macintyre has found a real-life heroine worthy of his gifts as John le Carre's nonfiction counterpart' New York Times
'This book is classic Ben Macintyre . . . quirky human details enliven every page' *Spectator***

Publisher information

  • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
  • ISBN: 9780241408513
  • Number of pages: 400
  • Dimensions: 240 x 162 x 37 mm
  • Weight: 667g

Customer Reviews

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Agent Sonya
A True Story
The captivating story of the secret agent who travelled the world with kids in tow, fooled MI5 and passed atomic secrets to the USSR
Treid
Agent Sonya
Agent Sonya by Ben McIntyre
Highly recommend this excellent read, Ben MacIntyre's thoroughly engaging true-to-life story of a remarkable woman, lover, mother and spy. The notes, sour... READ MORE
Linda Yong
Agent Sonya
Agent Sonya
Absolutely fantastic gave a full insight into how Soviet spy’s operated. It is well written and once you start it you can’t put it down
AT
Agent Sonya
So good, I read it twice
Read twice. Bought this one as gift.
Robert Calcutt
Agent Sonya
Not quite the full story?
The book is very good but for me skips blithely around one major issue as to the extent of her dealings, if any, with Roger Hollis. There is strong circums... READ MORE
Robert Edwards
Agent Sonya
Couldn’t put it down
What an extraordinary life. I’m amazed she was so successful in her dying career. Then again the chauvinistic attitudes of the British top brass didn’t hel... READ MORE
John Wells
Agent Sonya
Very interesting and readable
I enjoyed this book. The book is written in the usual brilliant, fast-paced and detailed style by Macintyre. It reads as a history of the Cold War and ... READ MORE
Canuck Abroad
Agent Sonya
Completely absorbing: the life and times of a notorious spy
Ben Macintyre has pulled it off again, this time sharing with us the riveting story of 'Sonya' - German-born, British-naturalised, Ursula Kuczynski - whose... READ MORE
Robert of Canterbury