Russian Roulette

'It reads like fiction, but it is, astonishingly, history' THE TIMESIN 1917, AN ECCENTRIC BAND OF BRITISH SPIES IS SMUGGLED INTO NEWLY SOVIET RUSSIA.Their goal is to defeat Lenin's plan to destroy British India and bring down the democracies of the West. These extraordinary spies, led by Mansfield Cumming, proved brilliantly successful. They found a wholly new way to deal with enemies, one that relied on espionage and dirty tricks rather than warfare. They were the unsung founders of today's modern, highly professional secret services. They were also the inspiration for fictional heroes to follow, from James Bond to James Bond.'Readers will find themselves as gripped as they would be by the very best of Fleming or le Carré' SUNDAY TIMES'Marvellous, meticulously researched and truly groundbreaking' SIMON WINCHESTER

Giles Milton's fast-packed account of Britain's attempts to sabotage Lenin's revolution reads like a madcap thriller... Milton has synthesised and filleted a mass of material - old memoirs, official archives and newly released intelligence files - to produce a rollicking tale... which explains the long war against Russia with verve, wit and colour. It reads like fiction, but it is, astonishingly, history., Giles Milton's fast-packed account of Britain's attempts to sabotage Lenin's revolution reads like a madcap thriller... Milton has synthesised and filleted a mass of material - old memoirs, official archives and newly released intelligence files - to produce a rollicking tale... which explains the long war against Russia with verve, wit and colour. It reads like fiction, but it is, astonishingly, history., This gripping history of derring-do and invisible ink brings to life the exploits of the British spies who waged war against Russia during the Cold War ... Full of novelistic flourishes ... [readers] will find themselves as gripped as they would be by the very best of Fleming or le Carré., This gripping history of derring-do and invisible ink brings to life the exploits of the British spies who waged war against Russia during the Cold War ... Full of novelistic flourishes ... [readers] will find themselves as gripped as they would be by the very best of Fleming or le Carré., A terrific story, told with Milton's customary fluency and eye for detail.

Giles Milton is a writer and historian. He is the internationally bestselling author of eleven books including Nathaniel's Nutmeg, White Gold, Samurai William, Paradise Lost, Russian Roulette, D-Day: The Soldier's Story and Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. He has also written three novels and three children's books. His books have been translated into twenty-five languages. He lives in London.