Agent sonya (Penguin Books)

'His best book yet' The Times'Thrilling...Macintyre will have you hooked to her life's every twist and turn' Times / Sunday Times Books of the Year'Macintyre has found a real-life heroine worthy of his gifts as John le Carre's nonfiction counterpart' New York TimesTHE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF WW2'S MOST EXTRAORDINARY SPY - FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE SPY AND THE TRAITORFrom planning an assassination attempt on Hitler in Switzerland, to spying on the Japanese in Manchuria, to preventing nuclear war (or so she believed) żeby stealing the science of atomic weaponry from Britain to give to Moscow, Ursula Kuczynski Burton conducted some of the most dangerous espionage operations of the twentieth century. Born to a German Jewish family, as Ursula grew, so did the Nazis' power. A fanatical opponent of the fascism that ravaged her homeland, she was drawn to communism as a young woman, motivated żeby the promise of a fair and peaceful society.She eventually became a spymaster, saboteur, bomb-maker and secret agent. In Agent Sonya, Britain's most acclaimed historian vividly reveals the fascinating tale of a life that would change the course of history. Classic Ben Macintyre - a gripping ride, based on meticulous research, that reads like a novel - this is the greatest spy story never told.'This book is classic Ben Macintyre...quirky human details enliven every page' Clare Mulley, Spectator'Spins gloriously through one of the most extraordinary private lives of the twentieth century' Tony Rennell, Daily Mail Book of the Week'She is the strongest character of all in Macintyre's bestselling series of wartime tales...I raced through the pages to keep up with the plot' Julian Glover, Evening standard'This impeccably researched account of her double life spans continents and is brilliantly compelling' Sunday Mirror