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Agent Sonya

Agent Sonya

By Ben Macintyre

Moscow’s Most Daring Wartime Spy. Crown, 2020.

0.0 / 0

16 mins read

14 Key insights

A brief summary of Agent Sonya

The twisting tale of Ursula Kuczynski, code name “Sonya,” a German communist who worked as one of the Soviet Union’s most successful spies while evading the authorities in Britain, China, Poland and Switzerland, all who underestimated her at every turn on the basis of her sex.

Key insights in Agent Sonya

1
What do you get from this book? The life of one of the most important—and effective— spies in history
2
Even when young, Ursula Kuczynski dreamed—and wrote—of adventure and risk, and held firm communist convictions
3
In Shanghai, Ursula learned the trade of squeezing important people for secrets and met the great love of her life
4
Ursula was given the codename “Sonya” when she became the bookkeeper in Sorge’s network and learned how to extract info from intelligence targets
5
In Mukden, Ursula dodged the Japanese and started a new romance with fellow agent Johann Patra
6
Though her next mission to Poland was dull, she gave birth to Johann’s child and dodged Stalin’s purges
7
Switzerland saw Ursula finally head her own operation, fall in love again and even plot an assassination of Hitler
8
Amidst the eruption of WWII, Ursula married again, and Ollo’s subsequent actions threatened all their lives
9
World War II had made Britain the Soviet Union’s ally—but that didn’t prevent Ursula from spying there
10
Ursula’s most significant espionage achievement saw her pass Britain and America’s most powerful weapon—the nuclear bomb—to Russia
11
Dodging an incompetent MI5 and retiring to communist East Germany, Ursula assumed another new identity
12
Summary of the key insights
13
Selected critiques in brief
14
Final word

Who should read Agent Sonya

Thrill seekers • historians • political enthusiasts • lovers of a great tale • John le Carré fans

About the author of Agent Sonya

Ben Macintyre is an author, columnist and journalist from the UK whose previous spy history books include Double Cross (2012) and A Spy Among Friends (2014), for which he won the Spear’s Book Award. He is an associate editor with The Times and a history graduate of St John’s College, Cambridge.

author avatar

Ben Macintyre

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