
Agent M
The Lives and Spies of MI5's Maxwell Knight
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Narrated by:
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Henry Hemming
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By:
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Henry Hemming
About this listen
The fascinating, improbable true story of Maxwell Knight - the great MI5 spymaster and inspiration for the James Bond character M. Maxwell Knight was perhaps the greatest spymaster in history. He did more than anyone in his era to combat the rising threat of fascism in Britain during World War II, in spite of his own history inside this movement. He was also truly eccentric - a thrice-married jazz aficionado who kept a menagerie of exotic pets - and almost totally unqualified for espionage. Yet he had a gift for turning practically anyone into a fearless secret agent. Knight's work revolutionized British intelligence, pioneering the use of female agents, among other accomplishments.
In telling Knight's remarkable story, Agent M also reveals for the first time in print the names and stories of some of the men and women recruited by Knight, on behalf of MI5, who were asked to infiltrate the country's most dangerous political organizations. Drawing on a vast array of original sources, Agent M reveals not only the story of one of the world's greatest intelligence operators, but the sacrifices and courage required to confront fascism during a nation's darkest time.
©2017 Henry Hemming (P)2017 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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- Carlos A. Morales Ramirez
- 07-18-18
Good book
I have the printed version of this book and I like it but listening to it was hard to me, maybe the narrative documentary style made it harder to follow to me.
I liked the performance, gave a good effect to the story.
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- Terri Driscoll
- 07-29-17
Very interesting story!
If you are intrigued with the MI5 mission during the War. This is a great story and very informative.
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- Grace O'Malley
- 07-18-22
Outstanding in every way!
This book held my attention from the first page through the epilogue. For anyone with an interest in John LeCarre’s books, or the history of MI5, or the fascinating life of a British eccentric whose intuitive brilliance saved many, many lives, this book will be one to savor.
And I almost never like the narration of books by their author, but Henry Hemming reads this book as well as any professional narrator. The pace and intonation kept my attention throughout, and the evenness made it sound as if Hemming had read the entire book in one sitting…without fatigue. Excellent!!!!
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