An Impeccable Spy

Richard Sorge, Stalin’s Master Agent

By: Owen Matthews

Narrated by: Mike Grady

Bloomsbury presents An Impeccable Spy by Owen Matthews, read by Mike Grady.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE PUSHKIN HOUSE PRIZE

'The most formidable spy in history' IAN FLEMING
'His work was impeccable' KIM PHILBY
'The spy to end spies' JOHN LE CARRÉ

Born of a German father and a Russian mother, Richard Sorge moved in a world of shifting alliances and infinite possibility. In the years leading up to and during the Second World War, he became a fanatical communist – and the Soviet Union’s most formidable spy.

Combining charm with ruthless manipulation, he infiltrated and influenced the highest echelons of German, Chinese and Japanese society. His intelligence proved pivotal to the Soviet counter-offensive in the Battle of Moscow, which in turn determined the outcome of the war itself.

Drawing on a wealth of declassified Soviet archives, this is a major biography of one of the greatest spies who ever lived.

©2019 Owen Matthews (P)2019 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Brilliant.

If you’re a World War II buff at all this is a great insightful read into the German Japan Russian end of the global conflict. Really really good.

awsome

A wonderful masterpiece of espionage. Better than any James Bond's books. packed with real life situation. Mesmerazing. Impossible to let it down.

a wonderful book

Even if you have no interest in spying, you'll learn a great deal about World War II events and particularly the perfidy of Stalin and how one man determined the outcome of World War II by discouraging Japan from attacking the USSR in 1941 which would likely have caused the German conquest of Russia and then possibly of the UK too. An enthralling book.

Best book on Richard Sorge, his activities and era!

This is the most comprehensive and informative monograph on master spy Richard Sorge ever produced. It is marred only by the narrator’s dogged and neigh-on 100% success in mispronouncing every single foreign name, geographical location and word! What a tour de force, that! Even Sorge’s name, which he begins by, correctly pronouncing the “S” as a “Z” in the German fashion but botches the end, making him ZorgAY” instead of “ZORgeh”.
Oh, well, other than those irritating pin-pricks, Mr. Grady is a good narrator. Clearly monolingual, how one wishes he had done his homework for this very important, superbly researched and written book!

Truth better than fiction

Great bio. Many new facts about WWII. Better than most spy fiction I’ve read, excepting Tinker Tailor, of course.