Writers In The Loft Presents Ben Macintyre With His Latest Work 'The Spy And The Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story Of The Cold War'

On Tuesday, October 16, Ben Macintyre, international bestselling author of Rogue Heroes, Double Cross, and countless other real-life espionage accounts, visits The Music Hall Loft to share an on-screen presentation and talk about his new work of nonfiction, THE SPY AND THE TRAITOR. Heralded as his greatest spy story yet, the thrilling tale describes how the secret work of Russian Oleg Gordievsky hastened the end of the Cold War.

The 7pm event includes an audiovisual presentation by the author and Q+A, plus a book signing and meet-and-greet. It will be held at The Music Hall Loft at 131 Congress Street, in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

"Ben Macintyre's bestselling works thrill us as any great work of fiction would-yet his stories are true," said Margaret Talcott, producer of The Music Hall's Writers in the Loft series. "With clarity, dry humor, and immense suspense, he reports on the people and events that have shaped the course of history. We can't wait to get a taste of Ben's British wit, along with his unbelievably thorough and insightful research, in this special A/V presentation."

Considered by many to be a Russian counterpart to the infamous British double-agent Kim Philby, Oleg Gordievsky was the son of two KGB agents and the product of the best Soviet institutions. Privately, the savvy and sophisticated Gordievsky viewed his nation's communism as both criminal and philistine.

Beginning in Russian intelligence in 1968, he soon became the Soviet Union's top man in London...while secretly working for Britain's MI6 intelligence unit. For nearly a decade, Gordievsky helped the West turn the tables on the KGB, exposing Russian spies and helping to foil countless intelligence plots, as the Soviet leadership grew increasingly paranoid of the United States.

Unfolding the delicious three-way gamesmanship between America, Britain, and the Soviet Union, and culminating in the gripping cinematic beat-by-beat of Gordievsky's nail-biting escape from Moscow in 1985, THE SPY AND THE TRAITOR may be Ben Macintyre's best yet. Like the greatest novels of John le Carré, it brings readers deep into a world of treachery and betrayal, where the lines bleed between the personal and the professional, and one man's hatred of communism had the power to change the future of nations.

Ben Macintyre is a columnist and Associate Editor at The Times (London). He has worked as the newspaper's correspondent in New York, Paris and Washington. Macintyre is the author of nine previous books including Agent Zigzag, shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award and the Galaxy British Book Award for Biography of the Year 2008, and the no. 1 bestsellers A Spy Among Friends, Operation Mincemeat, Double Cross and SAS: Rogue Heroes. He has also written and presented BBC documentaries of his work.

The ticket package for Writers in the Loft: Ben Macintyre with THE SPY AND THE TRAITOR on Tuesday, October 16, at 7pm is $42. In addition to a reserved seat, the package includes a copy of THE SPY AND THE TRAITOR: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War ($28, hardcover), a bar beverage, audiovisual presentation by the author, Q+A, and book signing meet-and-greet. Packages can be purchased online at TheMusicHall.org, over the phone at 603.436.2400, or in person at the B2W Box Office at the Historic Theater, 28 Chestnut Street.

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