Ebook: The Man Who Was George Smiley: the Life of John Bingham

Investigator, interrogator, intellectual hero: the perfect inspiration for the perfect spy. This first full-length biography traces the life of the remarkable and engaging John Bingham, the man behind John le Carré's George Smiley. The heir to an Irish barony and a spirited young journalist, John Bingham joined MI5 in 1940; his quiet intellect, wry wit and knack for observation made him a natural. He took part in many of MI5's greatest wartime missions? from the tracking of Nazi agents in Britain to Operation double cross that ensured the success of D-Day? and later spent three decades.;Cover; Title Page; CONTENTS; ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; PREFACE; CHAPTER 1: ANCESTRY, 1100-1908, AND EARLY LIFE, 1908-27; CHAPTER 2: POLITICAL AWAKENING, 1927-9; CHAPTER 3: JOURNALISM AND MARRIAGE, 1929-39; CHAPTER 4: FIGHTING FASCISM: MI5, 1940-45; CHAPTER 5: ALLIED CONTROL COUNCIL, 1946-8; CHAPTER 6: JOURNALIST, 1948-50; CHAPTER 7: RETURN TO MI5 AND DEBUT AS A NOVELIST, 1950-58; CHAPTER 8: THE GENESIS OF GEORGE SMILEY, 1958-66; CHAPTER 9: MI5 AGENT RUNNER AND NOVELIST, 1960-69; CHAPTER 10: DISAPPOINTMENTS, 1969-79; CHAPTER 11: SMILEY TRIUMPHANT, 1974-82; CHAPTER 12: RETIREMENT, 1979-88.