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The Spy Who Was Left Out in the Cold

The Secret History of Agent Goleniewski

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The Spy Who Was Left Out in the Cold

By: Tim Tate
Narrated by: Tim Tate
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Spring 1958: a mysterious individual believed to be high up in the Polish secret service began passing Soviet secrets to the West.

His name was Michal Goleniewski, and he remains one of the most important yet least known and most misunderstood spies of the Cold War. Even his death is shrouded in mystery, and he has been written out of the history of Cold War espionage - until now.

Tim Tate draws on a wealth of previously unpublished primary source documents to tell the dramatic true story of the best spy the West ever lost - of how Goleniewski exposed hundreds of KGB agents operating undercover in the West, from George Blake and the 'Portland Spy Ring' to a senior Swedish Air Force and NATO officer and a traitor inside the Israeli government. The information he produced devastated intelligence services on both sides of the Iron Curtain.

Bringing together love and loyalty, courage and treachery, betrayal, greed and, ultimately, insanity, here is the extraordinary true story of one of the most significant but little known spies of the Cold War.

©2021 Tim Tate (P)2021 Penguin Audio 20th Century Espionage Freedom & Security Modern Politics & Government True Crime Soviet Union Military Middle East Russia War Cold War
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This book is probably the best audiobook I have ever listened to, and I have listened to a lot. It is in the same league as any John LeCarre novel, Which makes it even more astounding, because this story is true. It is beautifully written and beautifully read, I couldn’t recommend it enough. Thank you for writing it

An Amazing but True Story

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If you like a deep dive into the life of a single spy then this is a great book for you.

Excellent

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I've read & listened to a lot of books on the subject of the Cold War & espionage & a fair few have been superbly researched & written.
This book, however, is a new pinnacle amongst them.
The story is simply astonishing. It stitches together several previous, well known tales of spies & their actions whilst revealing what are, at times, jaw dropping events.
It's forensically detailed & but in all but a few places, keeps a great pace. The author is also a great reader & chapter names on the recording make this a perfect listening experience.
But there's more. The writing style is near perfect in its objectivity & the summary & acknowledgments at the end bring fantastic closure to what has been for me, another great, roller-coaster ride of the strangest & fascinating events of the 20th century.
I'd not come across Tim Tate or his works before, but like with so many of the books on this subject, I consider myself fortunate to have found this one. It's an outstanding work, I thoroughly recommend it.

It's the little things

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Sometimes blizzare as found it amazing that the US intelligence agency's could be so gullible and mixed up. disappointing that the agencies turned on themselves and lost a lot of information being tied up accusing each other!!

Mixed feelings

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Well written, well read. A page turner of an audiobook! Recommended for anyone interested in the Cold War and in the unglamorous reality of espionage,

Fascinating story

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