The Spy who came in from the cold, by John le Carre was first published more than 50 years ago in 1963. I decided to read it for a second time after reading Ben Macintyre’s account of the deeds of Oleg Gordievsky at round about the same time period. The book is a classic, of course, and has already received much praise from all who have read it. I simply concur with the best of those reviews. I think, having read the factual account of Gordievsky’s life, immediately followed by John le Carres novel, showed what a knowledgeable master of the genre he was. It is probably now out of print but I suspect your local Oxfam shop might be able to source a copy as would Amazon. If you could also read Macintyre’s excellent book first, an extra dimension of realism is created.

Bernard Gallivan