The Nine Lives of Otto Katz

'Spies should be glamorous - James Bond in a Savile Row suit rather than Harry Palmer in a grubby mac . . . In those terms, Otto Katz was perfect. He was a Hollywood playboy who hobnobbed with Fritz Lang, he inspired the character of Victor Laszlo in Casablanca, he was a drinking buddy of Bertolt Brecht and among his lovers he claimed Marlene Dietrich. He was even known to N el Coward' The TimesIf you were to imagine the perfect spy, you may well be picturing Otto Katz. He was charming, suave, and utterly ruthless. In the golden years of the spy game, from Hitler's rise to power, through the Second World War, and on into the Cold War, Otto Katz was at the centre of Russia's web of international intrigue. His fingerprints can be found on one world changing event after another.Using recently released FBI, MI5 and Czech files, Jonathan Miles has created an action-packed story of the life (or lives) of one of the world's most successful spies . At the same time he paints a vivid portrait of the shadow world that exists behind the headlines where the actions of a man like Katz can, and do, change the course of history.

Préface
In the tradition of the bestselling Operation Mincemeat, the remarkable story of a communist super-spy

Auteur

The cultural historian Jonathan Miles grew up in America, Canada and the UK and took a first from University College, London and his doctorate from Jesus College, Oxford. He has written, lectured and broadcast on cultural history and the political, historical and cultural aspects of St Petersburg all over the world, and travelled extensively, including frequent visits to the Soviet Union and Russia. He is the author of five previous books, including The Wreck of the Medusa, with its account of art, slavery and revolutionaries in early XIX century France, and The Nine Lives Of Otto Katz, the story of a flamboyant Soviet intriguer and spy.

Texte du rabat

'Spies should be glamorous . . . In those terms, Otto Katz was perfect. He was a Hollywood playboy who hobnobbed with Fritz Lang, he inspired the character of Victor Laszlo in Casablanca, he was a drinking buddy of Bertolt Brecht and among his lovers he claimed Marlene Dietrich. He was even known to Nöel Coward' The Times

If you were to imagine the perfect spy, you may well be picturing Otto Katz: charming, suave, and utterly ruthless. In the golden years of the spy game, from Hitler's rise to power, through the Second World War, and on into the Cold War, Otto Katz was at the centre of Russia's web of international intrigue. His fingerprints can be found on one world changing event after another.

Using recently released FBI, MI5 and Czech files, Jonathan Miles has created an action-packed story of the life (or lives) of one of the world's most successful spies. At the same time he paints a vivid portrait of the shadow world that exists behind the headlines where the actions of a man like Katz can, and do, change the course of history.

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