Other editions of book The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by Le Carrã© John

On its publication in 1964, John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came in From the Cold forever changed the landscape of spy fiction. Le Carré combined the inside knowledge of his years in British intelligence with the skills of the best novelists to produce a story as taut as it is twisting, unlike any previously experienced, which transports anyone who reads it back to the shadowy years in the early 1960s, when the Berlin Wall went up and the Cold War came to life. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold was hailed as a classic as soon as it was published, and it remains one today.

In the shadow of the newly erected Berlin Wall, Alec Leamas watches as his last agent is shot dead by East German sentries. For Leamas, the head of Berlin Station, the Cold War is over. As he faces the prospect of retirement or worse – a desk job – Control offers him a unique opportunity for revenge. Assuming the guise of an embittered and dissolute ex-agent, Leamas is set up to trap Mundt, the deputy director of the East German Intelligence Service – with himself as the bait. In the background is George Smiley, ready to make the game play out just as Control wants.

Hailed as "the best spy story I have ever read" by Graham Greene, and "the best spy story ANYBODY has ever read" by The New York Times THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD (1962) cemented author John Le Carre's reputation as a master of the espionage novel, and elevated the genre to the same level as the best literary writing and political thinking. During The Cold War, a burned-out spy accepts a last assignment that involves him being intentionally recruited by East German intelligence. As he proceeds with his mission, he discovers that he's lost his taste for spying and now questions the rightness of rules he once obeyed without question. With its intricate twists and double-crosses, THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD works as a wonderful thriller--its authenticity heightened by Le Carre's work in Her Majesty's Secret Service--but it is the book's profound questioning of the moral consequences of covert operations in the name of "freedom" that has made it a classic.

A new hardcover edition of the book Graham Greene called “the best spy story I have ever read.” On its publication in 1964, John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came in From the Cold forever changed the landscape of spy fiction. Le Carré combined the inside knowledge of his years in British intelligence with the skills of the best novelists to produce a story as taut as it is twisting, unlike any previously experienced, which transports anyone who reads it back to the shadowy years in the early 1960s, when the Berlin Wall went up and the Cold War came to life.The Spy Who Came in From the Cold was hailed as a classic as soon as it was published, and it remains one today.

A #1 New York Times bestseller for 34 weeks and the book that launched John le Carré's career worldwideIn the shadow of the newly erected Berlin Wall, Alec Leamas watches as his last agent is shot dead by East German sentries. For Leamas, the head of Berlin Station, the Cold War is over. As he faces the prospect of retirement or worse€”a desk job€”Control offers him a unique opportunity for revenge. Assuming the guise of an embittered and dissolute ex-agent, Leamas is set up to trap Mundt, the deputy director of the East German Intelligence Service€”with himself as the bait. In the background is George Smiley, ready to make the game play out just as Control wants.Setting a standard that has never been surpassed, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a devastating tale of duplicity and espionage.