Solidly researched, comprehensive and insightful, this is an illuminating and informative biography of double agent George Blake. Author Simon Kuper is a journalist, so it’s not surprising that he takes a more journalistic approach to his subject rather than writing a more scholarly cradle-to-grave biography, but it’s no less worthwhile for that. Kuper spent some time with Blake and these interviews are completely fascinating, adding to a more rounded portrait of an ultimately inscrutable man. Engaging, accessible and a really enjoyable read.

So much attention has been given to Kim Philby and the rest of the Cambridge Five, George Blake is often overlooked since he wasn't in their group and wasn't in the right "class" (his father was a Jewish man from Egypt and his mother was Dutch). It's a shame his story is not better known, as it is much more interesting, and he lived until 2020(!). He was an MI6 officer, but accepted Communist ideology while imprisoned by North Korea during the Korean War. He was hailed as a hero after being released, then sent to Berlin to recruit KGB officers...and promptly started sharing confidential information with the Soviets. Unlike the Cambridge spies, he was sent to prison for espionage, but...I'll stop there because you need to read this excellent book about a "star" of cold war espionage. I'll just say he starts to strongly resemble a Soviet James Bond and leave it at that. Highly recommended.

For those of my generation, the Cold War cast a huge shadow over every corner of the globe, all the way from 1945 till 1991. One one side you had the US, the UK and their allies and on the other you had the erstwhile Union of Soviet Socialist Republics( USSR) and its Communist satellite countries. Spying and counter spying was the order of the day. As a result we grew up reading many spy thrillers by writers like John Le Carre, Ian Fleming, Joe Weisberg, Karen Cleveland amongst others.

The story of George Blake was not as well known as others of his ilk such as Kim Philby, Donald Maclean, and Guy Burgess. He was born in Rotterdam in The Netherlands, in 1922, the son of Albert Behar, a Jew and his Dutch wife, Catherine Beijderwellen. During his childhood he was known more by his Dutch pet name of Poek. His father who had fought for the British in the First World War had a British passport, so his son was born a British citizen though he saw himself as being more of a Dutch boy.

During the Second World War, Poek fought the invading Nazis by joining the Dutch Resistance as a teenager. He then undertook a long and complex route until he reached England, where his mother and sisters had taken shelter years ago. Here he joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve but was soon selected by the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) His British father having been a veteran of World War 1 , his own contributions fighting the Germans during World War II and his flair for languages made him a good choice for a career- as a spy! He joined the Dutch section of the SIS and after the War spent a few years in The Netherlands.
His dramatic escape, after 5 years of captivity, from the British prison at Wormwood Scrubs, how he reached Russia and stayed there for the rest of his long life make up the rest of the story.

In the course of the book, you get an understanding of how Blake’s mind worked; what drove him to do what he did; and why people sometimes make – what most would consider -unusual career and life choices.

Spies, Lies and Exile by Simon Kuper

I very much looked forward to this book and I was not disappointed. Mr. Kuper has honed his clear writing style as a journalist and George Blake is a spy of very interesting background. I have previously read The Many Sides of George Blake by E.H. Cookridge, The Greatest Traitor by Roger Hermiston as well as George Blake’s, No Other Choice. All of these are quite good but Mr. Kuper’s book is by far the best as he proposes convincing why Blake spied for the Soviets. He suggests he was influenced by his religion as well as the convictions of his cousin in Egypt Henri Curiel with whom he lived for a brief period during WW II. Both Henri and George felt a duty to assist the common man vs. the crippling powers of capitalistic governments.
I have not seen the British version of the book but only the American version and the Preface is quite interesting. He suggests spying is a valuable way to discover the intentions of both sides. Perhaps only partially joking he suggests their might be spies posing as waiters at Mar-A-Lago. Not sure if he meant communists or Democrats.
One point that struck me was Blake was a man without a single country but rather one who adapted well to wherever he was. For this reason, he succeeded in living the longest period of his life happily in Russia. (1966-2020)
One last point of note, like Blake, Kuper is Dutch and was successful in meeting Blake in Russia and having a long conversation about his like in Dutch which seemed to allow Blake to be less guarded.
I think this make a very good addition to anyone who is interested in the people involved with espionage during the Cold War.
Spies chose to spy for many reasons, in Blake’s case, I think it felt justified to me.

True stories on espionage and double agents have always fascinated me, but sadly a lot of the biographies and history books written on them disappoint. Not this one though, I love the way Simon Kuper explores the complexities and motivations of George Blake, one of the KGB’s most valuable double agents, in a way that even the least knowledgeable of people can understand.

To think that this actually happened in real life is incredible, and to know he could never have cared less about the lives of the 40+ British Agents he ruined is just something else.

An interesting novel about a spy during the Cold War. The first hand accounts and personal interviews really brought great depth to the book. It was interesting to understand why the individual did what he did.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Cannot review this book as only got through a few chapters.
The letter “f” missing from most words: word “or” shows as o, word “of” shows as o. Words with two f showed > difference = dierence, officer showed as oicer. Has to often guess what words were supposed to be.
A particular time period was described but dates were just left out. Those sentences ended with commas, as though the author meant to go back and enter the date.
Very interested in reading this book once it is edited. As is I could not focus on storyline.

I knew of the author through his football titles but he clearly demonstrated his versatility in this fascinating and well researched biography of one of the forgotten spies of the 60s, George Blake.

Sharing his Dutch heritage with the author, Blake opened up to Kuper providing an in-depth account of his spying and why he became a traitor.

In reality he did not see himself as British and was a communist ideologue.

I was shocked by his apparent naivety and lack of perception- or was it concern - about the consequences of his treachery.

The book is fast paced and revealing, particularly about his escape from Wormwood Scrubs.

A good and interesting read.