The Last Cambridge Spy: John Cairncross, Bletchley Park Mole and Soviet Agent

‘A riveting read.’ – Professor Richard Aldrich

The Last Cambridge Spy is not just a fascinating, well-paced book about an interesting individual, but it also invites us to re-appraise the very idea of the “Cambridge spy ring”.’ – Sir Dermot Turing

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 1943.

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 recently released material to tell the story of his life and espionage.

1130902713
The Last Cambridge Spy: John Cairncross, Bletchley Park Mole and Soviet Agent

‘A riveting read.’ – Professor Richard Aldrich

The Last Cambridge Spy is not just a fascinating, well-paced book about an interesting individual, but it also invites us to re-appraise the very idea of the “Cambridge spy ring”.’ – Sir Dermot Turing

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 1943.

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 recently released material to tell the story of his life and espionage.

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The Last Cambridge Spy: John Cairncross, Bletchley Park Mole and Soviet Agent

The Last Cambridge Spy: John Cairncross, Bletchley Park Mole and Soviet Agent

by Chris Smith
The Last Cambridge Spy: John Cairncross, Bletchley Park Mole and Soviet Agent

The Last Cambridge Spy: John Cairncross, Bletchley Park Mole and Soviet Agent

by Chris Smith

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Overview

‘A riveting read.’ – Professor Richard Aldrich

The Last Cambridge Spy is not just a fascinating, well-paced book about an interesting individual, but it also invites us to re-appraise the very idea of the “Cambridge spy ring”.’ – Sir Dermot Turing

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 1943.

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 recently released material to tell the story of his life and espionage.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780750991728
Publisher: The History Press
Publication date: 05/01/2019
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 256
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

DR CHRIS SMITH is a Lecturer in History at Coventry University. He is the author of The Hidden History of Bletchley Park (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) as well as several related articles that have been published in journals such as History of Science.

Table of Contents

Foreword Sir Dermot Turing 6

Foreword Professor Richard Aldrich 8

Acknowledgements 9

Introduction 11

1 Lesmahagow 20

2 The Red Generation 30

3 A Foreign Country 41

4 The Third Secretary 50

5 An Unsatisfactory Probationer 60

6 LISZT 70

7 KURORT: Bletchley Park and Ultra Intelligence 83

8 A Semi-Monastic Life 92

9 On His Majesty's Secret Service 103

10 The Venona Project 115

11 The 'Ealing' Spy 125

12 New Careers 138

13 Confession 149

14 The Hunt for the Fifth Man 162

15 Agent for the Duration 171

Afterword 180

Appendices - Interviews with John Cairncross 187

Notes 204

Bibliography 237

Index 252

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