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The Last Cambridge Spy

John Cairncross, Bletchley Codebreaker and Soviet Double Agent

Chris Smith
A shy intellectual, John Cairncross (1913–95) was the last of the ‘Cambridge Five’ to be exposed, in 1979. Reconstructing his life from official files, letters and diaries, this profile describes his upbringing in a distinguished Scottish family, his recruitment by the KGB, and the Bletchley leak that assisted the 1943 Soviet victory at Kursk. Slightly off-mint
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Product information:
  • Publisher: History Press
  • Year: 2019
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 256pp
  • Illustrated: No
  • Dimensions: 240x163mm
  • ISBN: 9780750981477
  • Condition: New - Very Good
  • Weight: 0.5kg
Product code:
543987
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Product information
Full publisher description
John Cairncross was among the most damaging spies of the twentieth century. A member of the infamous Cambridge Ring of Five, he leaked highly sensitive documents from Bletchley Park, MI6 and the Treasury to the Soviet Union - including the first atomic secrets and raw decrypts from Enigma and Tunny that influenced the outcome of the Battle of Kursk. In 2014, Cairncross appeared as a secondary, though key, character in the biopic of Alan Turing's life, The Imitation Game. While the other members of the Cambridge Ring of Five have been the subject of extensive biographical study, Cairncross has largely been overlooked by both academic and popular writers. Despite clear interest, he has remained a mystery - until now. The Last Cambridge Spy is the first ever biography of John Cairncross, using newly released material to tell the story of his life and espionage.
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