Redwood : The Untold Story of the Cold War’s Most Extraordinary Spy by Macintyre, Ben

Description

‘The pre-eminent historian of the secret world . . .’ Mick Herron, author of Slow Horses

From the multi-million copy bestselling historian, the remarkable, unknown Cold War story of how one spy saved the world from nuclear war

The year is 1981. Tehran is in violent turmoil in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. The Soviets are planning to overthrow the Ayatollah s fledgling Islamist regime. If they do so, one response from America

unknown to the public

would be to use nuclear weapons. This is the story of how at the height of the Cold War, one mysterious double agent, known to MI6 as Redwood , revealed the Kremlin s secret plot and prevented Armageddon.

This unsung, hitherto unknown hero of the Cold War, a six-foot-four Russian intelligence officer, had a problem, a sexual secret, one that if revealed, would turn his life upside-down. So he reached out to MI6, believing it to have the only solution

in return for the KGB s deepest secrets. And then, facing exposure, he demanded that the British try to smuggle him out of Iran in a high-stakes escape plan.

This is the gripping tale of one man s courage; about friendship, marriage, betrayal and sexual dysfunction; and about how decisions made in secret can have huge, long-term ramifications.
Drawing on never-before-seen material from archives in multiple countries, and interviews with officers from MI6 and MI5, the KGB and CIA, Redwood lifts the lid on how espionage really works, and on an unknown and highly significant Cold War victory. For without Redwood, our world would be very different

‘Ben Macintyre has a knack for finding the most fascinating storylines in history’ David Grann, author of The Wager