Traitors: The Anatomy of Treason

by Chapman Pincher

Examines betrayal in all its forms, delving inside the complex personalities of the most damaging spies from the United States Britain, Russia, Germany, Poland, and elsewhere

Genres: Espionage

346 pages, Hardcover

First published May 14, 1987

About the author

Harry Chapman Pincher was an Indian-born British journalist, historian, and novelist whose writing mainly focused on espionage and related matters, after some early books on scientific subjects.

Harry Chapman Pincher was born in India in 1914 while his father was serving in the British Army. After moving to Great Britain, Chapman Pincher studied first at Darlington Grammar School and then King's College London before entering the teaching profession. He served in the Ministry of Supply during the Second World War and then embarked upon a lengthy and successful career in journalism, joining the Daily Express as a science and defence correspondent. Famed for his exposés, he was regarded as one of the finest investigative reporters of the twentieth century. Chapman Pincher penned a number of books both non-fiction and fiction and was the author of the notorious Their Trade is Treachery. Prior to his death he lived in West Berkshire with his wife, Billee.

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somebody messed with the description of this book, but I liked it. It's was a good book so you can get into the mind/psyche of a Traitor. Different traitors had different reasons for what they did.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book's description is from something else.
This one, from 1987, is rather dated, being obviously centred on the Cold War espionage between the Soviet Union and the West. It is of interest primarily to those interested in the era. Pincher comes to some strained conclusions, and retreads the same traitors from different aspects, so there is a repetitiveness that can grind after a while.