An Impeccable Spy: Richard Sorge, Stalin’s Master Agent
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Overview
SHORTLISTED FOR THE PUSHKIN HOUSE PRIZE
’The most formidable spy in history’ IAN FLEMING
’His work was impeccable’ KIM PHILBY
’The spy to end spies’ JOHN LE CARRÉ
Born of a German father and a Russian mother, Richard Sorge moved in a world of shifting alliances and infinite possibility. In the years leading up to and during the Second World War, he became a fanatical communist – and the Soviet Union’s most formidable spy.
Combining charm with ruthless manipulation, he infiltrated and influenced the highest echelons of German, Chinese and Japanese society. His intelligence proved pivotal to the Soviet counter-offensive in the Battle of Moscow, which in turn determined the outcome of the war itself.
Drawing on a wealth of declassified Soviet archives, this is a major biography of one of the greatest spies who ever lived.
’A superb biography ... More than a hundred books have been written about him and this is undoubtedly the best’ Ben Macintyre
Lauded as a brilliant story of Russia from within, Stalin’s Children sold in twenty-three languages and was selected as one of the books of the year by Camilla Long in the Sunday Times, Robert Salisbury in the Spectator and Antony Beevor in the Sunday Telegraph.
Matthews has been shortlisted for a number of awards for his works on Russia – the Orwell Prize, Pushkin Prize and the Guardian First Book Award
Draws on hitherto unpublished files from the Soviet archives, as well as the memoirs of Boris Gudz, one of Sorge’s controllers at the Fourth Department. Matthews has enlisted the services of Dr Lyubov Vinogradova, an expert guide into Russian archives who worked with Anthony Beevoer (Stalingrad)
A fascinating biography ... Owen Matthews tells the story of Sorge’s extraordinary life with tremendous verve and expertise and a real talent for mise en scène ... The portrait of Sorge himself that emerges is richly authentic
Gloriously readable … Every chapter of Matthews’s superbly researched biography reads like something from an Eric Ambler thriller
A superb biography … More than a hundred books have been written about him and this is undoubtedly the best: detailed, wry, sympathetic and occasionally oddly moving
A vividly told story, thoroughly researched and well-crafted ... I love a thrilling spy story, especially one as superbly narrated as this, full of Bond-like drama about Sorge’s brushes with death, his love of fast cars and women ... A highly relevant book for today
Magnificently written … An Impeccable Spy is packed with humour and insight and all served up with a rare lightness of touch … Ben Macintyre and John le Carré fans alike will find themselves very much at home
Vivid and revealing ... Within a few pages, it is clear that An Impeccable Spy is going to be a very good read ... Better than any previous biography
A gripping human story with the complexity of a political thriller … An excellent history, which sheds new light on Sorge and his work. Unless something significant turns up about him in the German Nazi-era intelligence archives, it is likely to be the definitive work on him in English
Brilliant ... A clear-eyed, deeply researched and finely-judged portrait
[An] impressive biography … Matthews captures all the drama of Sorge’s story … The complexities of Soviet, German and Japanese politics and infighting of the time are skilfully navigated and the personalities brought vividly to life. With this book as our evidence, we can say that Sorge was an impeccable spy, and also that Matthews is an impeccable biographer
Riveting ... An eye-rubbing story
Anyone praised by John le Carré deserves a meticulously researched and atmospheric biography such as Own Matthews’ An Impeccable Spy
Riveting … Owen Matthews sticks to the facts and gives a vivid portrayal of the man and his times … A cut above
- Title: An Impeccable Spy: Richard Sorge, Stalin’s Master Agent
- Author: Owen Matthews
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Pages: 448
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781408857809, 9781408857816, 1408857812, 1408857804
- Resource ID: LLS:9781408857809
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T11:48:44Z
Owen Matthews studied Modern History at Oxford University before beginning his career as a journalist in Bosnia. He has written for the Moscow Times, The Times, the Spectator and the Independent. In 1997, he became a correspondent at Newsweek magazine in Moscow where he covered the second Chechen war, Afghanistan, Iraq and the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. His first book on Russian history, Stalin's Children, was translated into twenty-eight languages and shortlisted for The Guardian First Books Award and France's Prix Médicis.