The Happy Traitor: Spies, Lies and Exile in Russia: The Extraordinary Story of George Blake
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- Create Date：2021-04-24 09:51:52
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Simon Kuper
- ISBN：1781259372
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Summary
'A deeply human read， wonderfully written， on the foibles of a fascinating， flawed， treacherous and sort of likeable character。' Philippe Sands
Those people who were betrayed were not innocent people。 They were no better nor worse than I am。 It's all part of the intelligence world。 If the man who turned me in came to my house today， I'd invite him to sit down and have a cup of tea。
George Blake was the last remaining Cold War spy。 As a Senior Officer in the British Intelligence Service who was double agent for the Soviet Union， his actions had devastating consequences for Britain。 Yet he was also one of the least known double agents， and remained unrepentant。
In 1961， Blake was sentenced to forty-two years imprisonment for betraying to the KGB all of the Western operations in which he was involved， and the names of hundreds of British agents working behind the Iron Curtain。 This was the longest sentence for espionage ever to have been handed down by a British court。
On the surface， Blake was a charming， intelligent and engaging man， and most importantly， a seemingly committed patriot。 Underneath， a ruthlessly efficient mole and key player in the infamous 'Berlin Tunnel' operation。 This illuminating biography tracks Blake from humble beginnings as a teenage courier for the Dutch underground during the Second World War， to the sensational prison-break from Wormwood Scrubs that inspired Hitchcock to write screenplay。
Through a combination of personal interviews， research and unique access to Stasi records， journalist Simon Kuper unravels who Blake truly was， what he was capable of， and why he did it。
Those people who were betrayed were not innocent people。 They were no better nor worse than I am。 It's all part of the intelligence world。 If the man who turned me in came to my house today， I'd invite him to sit down and have a cup of tea。
George Blake was the last remaining Cold War spy。 As a Senior Officer in the British Intelligence Service who was double agent for the Soviet Union， his actions had devastating consequences for Britain。 Yet he was also one of the least known double agents， and remained unrepentant。
In 1961， Blake was sentenced to forty-two years imprisonment for betraying to the KGB all of the Western operations in which he was involved， and the names of hundreds of British agents working behind the Iron Curtain。 This was the longest sentence for espionage ever to have been handed down by a British court。
On the surface， Blake was a charming， intelligent and engaging man， and most importantly， a seemingly committed patriot。 Underneath， a ruthlessly efficient mole and key player in the infamous 'Berlin Tunnel' operation。 This illuminating biography tracks Blake from humble beginnings as a teenage courier for the Dutch underground during the Second World War， to the sensational prison-break from Wormwood Scrubs that inspired Hitchcock to write screenplay。
Through a combination of personal interviews， research and unique access to Stasi records， journalist Simon Kuper unravels who Blake truly was， what he was capable of， and why he did it。
Reviews
Mike
，
I enjoyed the book， it posed a few new questions and took a different approach to the normal spy biography。 It also tried to answer some of the questions around the value of the material that was handed over to the Soviets。
Ellen Brunninkhuis
，
Zeer interessant verhaal maar niet echt lekker opgeschreven。 Honderden voetnoten maken het niet fijn leesbaar。
Mark Joyce
，
The title should arguably have a question mark in it， as the book is essentially an examination of the extent to which Blake was indeed happy and/or a traitor。 The first of these questions was for me the more interesting。 In his interview with Kuper the elderly Blake professes to be content with his major life decisions and to nurse few regrets。 Yet I don’t recall him using the word happy at any point， and there is a powerful undercurrent of sadness and longing for the England and Netherlands he The title should arguably have a question mark in it， as the book is essentially an examination of the extent to which Blake was indeed happy and/or a traitor。 The first of these questions was for me the more interesting。 In his interview with Kuper the elderly Blake professes to be content with his major life decisions and to nurse few regrets。 Yet I don’t recall him using the word happy at any point， and there is a powerful undercurrent of sadness and longing for the England and Netherlands he is permanently exiled from。 This is not （and is not intended to be） an edge of the seat espionage thriller of the Ben Macintyre type。 As those who are familiar with Simon Kuper’s journalism will expect， the style is flat and understated， with a keen eye for absurdity and hypocrisy （both Blake’s and of the societies that dismiss him as a traitor and/or celebrate him as a hero）。 On balance I think this is a worthwhile addition to a heavily ploughed stretch of historical terrain。 。。。more
piet van genderen
，
Viel me toch wat tegen。 Het verhaal over de ontsnapping van spion Blake （Nederlandse wortels） uit een Britse gevangenis was gedetailleerd en spannend。 De inhoud van zijn spionagewerk bleef daarentegen oppervlakkig。 Wel veel ruimte voor Blake's verblijf in Rusland。 De zeer uitvoerige literatuurlijst voegde weinig toe。 Viel me toch wat tegen。 Het verhaal over de ontsnapping van spion Blake （Nederlandse wortels） uit een Britse gevangenis was gedetailleerd en spannend。 De inhoud van zijn spionagewerk bleef daarentegen oppervlakkig。 Wel veel ruimte voor Blake's verblijf in Rusland。 De zeer uitvoerige literatuurlijst voegde weinig toe。 。。。more
Paul Watterson
，
This is a well-written book but still vaguely disappointing。 Maybe that is down to the character of Blake himself who lacked the flamboyance of the other top drawer UK spies that he is bracketed with。 He comes across as quite functional， not only in terms of his "career" but also his character。 Post the jail escape and the defection to Moscow， it all seems rather mundane in comparison to his earlier life but his coldness and Kuper's honest opinion of his true spirit and motivations， revealed in This is a well-written book but still vaguely disappointing。 Maybe that is down to the character of Blake himself who lacked the flamboyance of the other top drawer UK spies that he is bracketed with。 He comes across as quite functional， not only in terms of his "career" but also his character。 Post the jail escape and the defection to Moscow， it all seems rather mundane in comparison to his earlier life but his coldness and Kuper's honest opinion of his true spirit and motivations， revealed in the final pages， does come across。 。。。more
Duncan McKay
，
Anything Kuper writes is worth reading and the story of George Blake is a story worth trying to tell。
John
，
A well told tale exploring the complex character and motivations of one of the KGB’s most valuable double agents。 “Without [strong] attachment to [any one particular] country by birth， by growing up， by tradition， by education”， but rather having had each of those shaped by different countries， Blake became the quintessential ‘global citizen’ and learnt to adapt wherever fate took him， including Wormwood Scrubs。 He found jovial happiness anywhere - no doubt much to the chagrin of the forty or mo A well told tale exploring the complex character and motivations of one of the KGB’s most valuable double agents。 “Without [strong] attachment to [any one particular] country by birth， by growing up， by tradition， by education”， but rather having had each of those shaped by different countries， Blake became the quintessential ‘global citizen’ and learnt to adapt wherever fate took him， including Wormwood Scrubs。 He found jovial happiness anywhere - no doubt much to the chagrin of the forty or more British agents whose life he destroyed。 。。。more
Ekeim
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