Spionul lui Stalin

Andrew Lownie tells the life story of Guy Burgess. This British spy served Stalin. He belonged to a group of men born to high rank. They went to Britain's top schools. They later held high posts in politics and the security services. Yet they passed state secrets to Moscow. The book asks what drove them. It asks how they went so long without raising doubts.

This life story suits fans of spies and British history. It looks at loyalty and betrayal in the early twentieth century. Lownie shows how Burgess's traits often clashed. He knew much and had a sharp wit. He also drank hard. He held ideals but lived to excess. His frank manner hid secrets. His sex life broke the rules of his time. Some people loved him, while others scorned him. He troubled people in Britain and the Soviet Union alike.

Lownie spent thirty years on his study of Burgess. He uses archives and memoirs to tell the story. He draws on voices from several lands with a range of views. The book tells facts with the pace and suspense of crime fiction.