Redwood by Ben Macintyre review – a superbly wrought tale of cold war defection

This story of Soviet agent and his MI6 handler in revolutionary Iran is a page-turning masterpieceBen Macintyre uses the acronym MICE to describe the reasons people betray their countries: Money, Ideology, Coercion or Ego. In the set-piece that opens his latest work of true-espionage, we discover a new reason: erectile dysfunction.Stressed, drinking too much, under constant surveillance, furious about the corruption of his colleagues and frustrated with his home life, the KGB’s Vladimir Kuzichkin is offering to betray the secrets of his homeland and its Iranian allies, if only a British doctor can help him have sex again. Continue reading...