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The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
Series: Penguin Modern Classics
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Alex Leamas is tired. It's the 1960s, he's been out in the cold for years, spying in the shadow of the Berlin Wall for his British masters. He has seen too many good agents murdered for their troubles. Now Control wants to bring him in at last - but only after one final assignment.
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Description
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré was Le Carre's breakthrough work of 1963; an award-winning number one global bestseller that brought him international renown. It redefined the spy story as a gritty and terrible tale of men who are caught up in politics beyond their imagining.
Alex Leamas is tired. It's the 1960s, and he's been out in the cold for years, spying in Berlin for his British masters. He has seen too many good agents murdered for their troubles. Now, Control wants to bring him in at last—but only after one final assignment.
He must travel deep into the heart of Communist Germany and betray his country, a job that he will do with his usual cynical professionalism. But when George Smiley tries to help a young woman Leamas has befriended, Leamas's mission may prove to be the worst thing he could ever have done.
In Le Carre's breakthrough work of 1963, the spy story is reborn as a gritty and terrible tale of men who are caught up in politics beyond their imagining.
With a new introduction by William Boyd and an afterword by Le Carre himself.
Series: Penguin Modern Classics
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The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré was Le Carre's breakthrough work of 1963; an award-winning number one global bestseller that brought him international renown. It redefined the spy story as a gritty and terrible tale of men who are caught up in politics beyond their imagining. Alex Leamas is tired. It's the 1960s, and...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
The book is praised for its compelling narrative and atmospheric depth, described as expertly constructed and impactful by J.B. Priestley. Graham Greene regards it as the best spy story he has encountered, while A. N. Wilson notes le Carré's continued mastery in storytelling. Malcolm Gladwell finds it an extraordinary piece of fiction, and William Boyd highlights its profound ability to alter perceptions.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780141194523
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 29 July 2010
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Penguin Classics
Contributors:
- Introduction by William Boyd
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 18.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 226g
Pages: 304
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Series: Penguin Modern Classics
Spy & Espionage Thriller
About the Author
John le Carre (Author) John le Carre was born in 1931. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. His recent novels include A Most Wanted Man, Our Kind of Traitor and A Delicate Truth. William Boyd (Introducer) William Boyd was born in 1952 in Accra, Ghana and grew up there and in Nigeria. His first novel, A Good Man in Africa (1981), won the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Somerset Maugham Prize. His other novels are An Ice Cream War (1982, shortlisted for the 1982 Booker Prize and winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize), Stars and Bars (1984), The New Confessions (1987), Brazzaville Beach (1990, winner of the McVitie Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize), The Blue Afternoon (1993, winner of the 1993 Sunday Express Book of the Year Award), Armadillo (1998), Any Human Heart (2002, winner of the Prix Jean Monnet) and Restless (2006, winner of the Costa Novel of the Year Award). His latest novel is Ordinary Thunderstorms (2009). Some thirteen of his screenplays have been filmed, including The Trench (1999), which he also directed, and he is also the author of four collections of short stories: On the Yankee Station (1981), The Destiny of Nathalie 'X' (1995), Fascination (2004) and The Dream Lover (2008). He is married and divides his time between London and South West France.
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