Episode description

Ben Macintyre, author of Agent Sonya makes his debut on the Spybrary Spy Book podcast. Ben sits down with author, journalist, and special agent Tim Shipman to share more about his latest spy non-fiction book.

I am embarrassed to say I knew nothing about Soviet spy Ursula Burton. Though there are some very familiar names in this book, notables include Richard Sorge, Klaus Fuchs, Roger Hollis, Alexander Foote and many more.

As we have come to expect with Ben Macintyre's writing, Agent Sonya is filled with detail but told in the manner of a gripping spy novel rather than a dry academic tome.

Ben discusses how he is enjoying his role as a consultant on the new TV series about Kim Philby and how he is enjoying reading the script based on his book A Spy Among Friends.

Ben reveals his next project is a narrative history of Colditz which is due out in 2022