Agent Sonya: From the bestselling author of The Spy and The Traitor

(Paperback)

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The incredible story behind the greatest female spy in history from one of Britain's best historians, now in paperback 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 . . .

Reviews

Macintyre does true-life espionage better than anyone else -- John Preston * Evening Standard *
Think John le Carr at his early best - but fact not fiction * Daily Express *
This impeccably researched account of her double life spans continents and is brilliantly compelling * Sunday Mirror *
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 *

Author Bio

Ben Macintyre is the multimillion-copy bestselling author of books including Colditz, Agent Sonya, SAS- Rogue Heroes, The Spy and the Traitor, Agent Zigzag, Operation Mincemeat and A Spy Among Friends. He is a columnist and Associate Editor at The Times, and has worked as the newspaper's correspondent in New York, Paris and Washington. Several of his books have been made into films and television series, including Operation Mincemeat, A Spy Among Friends and SAS- Rogue Heroes.