Helpful Score: 1
It is really a straight forward old fashioned, chronological biography of an extraordinarily complicated life. It is hard to imagine how many cover stories and aliases the author had to blow up to get this story told.
Sonya (her code name) was born Ursula Kuczinsky, a German Jew who quickly aligned herself with the Russian Communists as a way to fight fascism. That decision took her to Shanghai, Mukden, Moscow and during WWII to England. She continued to spy for the Soviet Union after the war, all while raising two children as a mostly single mother.
Oddly, male chauvinism opened some doors for her. Almost no one could get their heads around the idea of a woman being a threat. Her first husband was caught using forged passports of the same quality as hers, which were accepted. And when MI5 finally caught onto her, the investigation was sparked by the only woman in the department.
Certainly she was committed to the cause, and risked everything to fight fascism. But I have a hard time believing her protestations that she had no knowledge of the Stalinist purges during the 30s. That sounds like, well an agent's cover story. The book does detail the crisis of confidence that occurred in her circle when Communist Russia and Nazi Germany signed a non aggression pact at the beginning of WWII.
Really a page turning thriller. Highly recommended, as is all of MacIntyre's work.
Sonya (her code name) was born Ursula Kuczinsky, a German Jew who quickly aligned herself with the Russian Communists as a way to fight fascism. That decision took her to Shanghai, Mukden, Moscow and during WWII to England. She continued to spy for the Soviet Union after the war, all while raising two children as a mostly single mother.
Oddly, male chauvinism opened some doors for her. Almost no one could get their heads around the idea of a woman being a threat. Her first husband was caught using forged passports of the same quality as hers, which were accepted. And when MI5 finally caught onto her, the investigation was sparked by the only woman in the department.
Certainly she was committed to the cause, and risked everything to fight fascism. But I have a hard time believing her protestations that she had no knowledge of the Stalinist purges during the 30s. That sounds like, well an agent's cover story. The book does detail the crisis of confidence that occurred in her circle when Communist Russia and Nazi Germany signed a non aggression pact at the beginning of WWII.
Really a page turning thriller. Highly recommended, as is all of MacIntyre's work.
