This is a history of various Cold War intelligence operations from both sides,exploring things from a technical point of view, particular spy rings and descriptions of the personalities involved.

This is really good for someone who doesn't know much about what happened. It was good looking at the personalities involved and why they agreed to spy for the Soviets such as the Cambridge ring. It has really made me want to look at a part of history I didn't know much about.

An interesting book covering the infiltration of the West by Soviet spies in the 1950's as well as the covert operations in East Germany and Berlin during the years of the cold war.
The book opens with a detailed breakdown of people, groups and links to the KGB which is a little heavy at times due to the large volume of names. The book then goes onto the 1950's and the development of the nuclear bomb and how the Soviets infiltrated the West and stole all the secrets to build their own version.
The book then moves onto the various missions in Berlin and East Germany with emphasis on the BRIXMIS mission of the British Army and RAF.
I am not sure the book brings anything new to the subject matter as most of what is written is well known but it was a pleasant read.

An overview that primarily focuses on the early days of the Cold War, especially early Cold War spies. The book does not break any new ground but does provide a good introduction of this era.

Excellent work, I already knew about some espionage in the cold war, this book made me aware of others I did not know about.
A really good read which explains the workings of the KGB and forerunners. It covers Russian infiltration of the Manhattan project, the Portland spy ring, George Blake and others. It also describes how the networks worked and what happened to the people involved in the espionage.
If you are interested in the Cold war and espionage, this is an informative book to read, it is not a in depth detailed textbook and if you wish to look into an episode in depth there are other books, but as a brief overview and taster it is excellent.
Highly readable, I will read more from Andrew Long

Thanks to the publisher and Net galley for the ARC of this book.

The first half of this book was a detailed and intriguing account of the atomic spies, such as Fuchs, and other traitors, as well as wonderfully brave spies who made great sacrifices to spy on the Soviet Union, such as Greville Wynne. There were also exciting stories about defectors. I found the lack of security and the reliance on upper-class men, such as Philby, being trustworthy because they were 'gentleman' absolutely amazing. I knew about this before, of course, but this book really brings it home to readers. I also liked the descriptions of the James Bond-ish equipment that the spies used, such as the tiny mini-cameras. Some would use these extremely quickly, while their boss was nearby!

However, the second half became a bit too technical for me.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is a comprehensive historical account that appears to cover everything it needs to and more.

I found it engaging and informative and would recommend it to anyone who wants to expand their knowledge of the Cold War.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.