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Stalin's Englishman
- The Lives of Guy Burgess
- Narrated by: Simon Shepherd
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
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Stalin's Englishman
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Summary
'MORE RIVETING THAN A SPY NOVEL': THE GRIPPING TRUE STORY OF CAMBRIDGE SPY GUY BURGESS
Guy Burgess was the most important, complex and fascinating of 'The Cambridge Spies' - Maclean, Philby, Blunt - all brilliant young men recruited in the 1930s to betray their country to the Soviet Union. An engaging and charming companion to many, an unappealing, utterly ruthless manipulator to others, Burgess rose through academia, the BBC, the Foreign Office, MI5 and MI6, gaining access to thousands of highly sensitive secret documents which he passed to his Russian handlers.
In this first full biography, Andrew Lownie shows us how even Burgess's chaotic personal life of drunken philandering did nothing to stop his penetration and betrayal of the British Intelligence Service. Even when he was under suspicion, the fabled charm which had enabled many close personal relationships with influential Establishment figures (including Winston Churchill) prevented his exposure as a spy for many years.
Through interviews with more than a hundred people who knew Burgess personally, many of whom have never spoken about him before, and the discovery of hitherto secret files, Stalin's Englishman brilliantly unravels the many lives of Guy Burgess in all their intriguing, chilling, colourful, tragi-comic wonder.
PUBLISHED TO GREAT CRITICAL ACCLAIM:
Winner of the St Ermin's Intelligence Book of the Year Award.
'One of the great biographies of 2015.' The Times
Fully updated edition including recently released information.
A Guardian Book of the Year. The Times Best Biography of the Year. Mail on Sunday Biography of the Year. Daily Mail Biography of Year. Spectator Book of the Year. BBC History Book of the Year.
'A remarkable and definitive portrait ' Frederick Forsyth
'Andrew Lownie's biography of Guy Burgess, Stalin's Englishman ... shrewd, thorough, revelatory.' William Boyd
'In the sad and funny Stalin's Englishman, [Lownie] manages to convey the charm as well as the turpitude.' Craig Brown
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Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Alexander A.
- 23-09-22
Interesting but repetitive
Many interesting parts but found the narrative repeated itself, so some parts were a bit boring.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Trebor
- 06-11-15
Fascinating
Always been interested in the Cambridge spy ring so I really enjoyed this book.
The reader was excellent.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. R. D. Cox
- 06-12-16
Eton Blinders
this book shows house silly some people can be. Was Burgess the Spy because of his conviction or because his Love of daring? book explores this but leaves the question suitably open
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mary Carnegie
- 20-02-20
Defector with old Etonian tie
It is difficult to believe that the outrageous Guy Burgess could maintain a career with access to sensitive intelligence for so long, spying for USSR, in spite of his erratic behaviour. He was a promiscuous gay man when that could lead to imprisonment as well as disapproval, a notorious drinker, indiscrete, open about his Communist beliefs. BUT he was also “Establishment”! Eton, Cambridge, Reform Club, “good family” knew everyone of influence, wealth or celebrity. And always wore his old school tie, even after his defection to USSR. At one point he seemed to be about to marry Churchill’s niece. An extraordinary life, too fantastic for fiction.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Allan Robb-McLeod
- 21-12-15
Beilliant
Having just finished Ben MacIntyre's brilliant book on Kim Philby "A Spy among Friends" I found myself interested in that other Cambridge Spy, Guy Burgess, and was pleased to see this recommended by Audible. Like MacIntyre's book, this book does a brilliant job of showing more of the infamous man. Burgess, of all the spies, has had the worst reputation but Lownie describes a compellingly flawed and ideologically naive man. A particular strength of this book is that it does not, as so many do, treat Burgess's life after his defection as an epilogue but rather show the impact that his decision to defect had on Burgess and those close to him. A really great book for all spy aficionados and cold warriors!
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Nick Drew
- 04-10-16
An interesting if repetitive account
A fascinating re-assessment of Guy Burgess, putting him at the centre of the Cambridge spies
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. E. M. Paterson
- 21-12-16
Interesting perspective
I enjoyed this book but as it is a listen I found the number of characters difficult to remember and distinguish. I resorted to searching them via the Internet. Burgess comes over as persuasive but self destructive - very much a user of people. Not sure that I agree that he was the most important figure in the Cambridge spy ring but I did change my view from the one I held after reading "An Englishman Abroad". I will probably listen to this again at some future date.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Simon Zohhadi
- 17-02-16
Patriotism v Treachery
Enjoyed this biography of Guy Burgess. Less has been said about this Cambridge Spy than Philby & Blunt. How he wasn't uncovered as a traitor until his defection beggars belief. I have also read about Philby and neither he nor Burgess were "perfect" spies. Both were under suspicion by their bosses and/or friends. Burgess, Maclean & Philby all mysteriously escaped to the Soviet Union at the time of exposure. Were they allowed to leave ? Were they surrounded by people who knew of their guilt but didn't want to believe it? Were there many more intelligence officers who leaned more to the communists than to capitalist America? Many questions remain unanswered. It appears though that Burgess regretted going to the Soviet Union as did Philby although he would never have admitted it. Remain loyal to Britain - the greatest country on earth !
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- sophie
- 29-02-20
Kim Philby
Very well told, well researched, and great detail. My only issue might be that Philby remains emotionally elusive. I cannot really be persuaded he was politically motivated and Lownie does little to uncover his psychological motivations. However that might be for another book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Hazel M
- 07-06-16
well researched and interesting
So informative. This book has stimulated my interest in espionage history at that time. The author gives a well researched and balanced account.
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1 person found this helpful