The Spy and the Traitor
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyreby Ben Macintyre
Shares rank 91 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
Commenters call it incredibly gripping, with a true story of courage and perseverance that is hard to believe.
Commenters call it incredibly gripping, with a true story of courage and perseverance that is hard to believe.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Gripping true story
“It's incredibly gripping and at times hard to believe the courage and perseverance of the people involved but it was real.”
Comment from 12 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: Tripwire: A new anti evil maid defense” Courage and perseverance of people
“It's incredibly gripping and at times hard to believe the courage and perseverance of the people involved but it was real.”
Comment from 12 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: Tripwire: A new anti evil maid defense”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Clifford Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| The Spy and the Traitorby Ben MacintyreThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
1 of the 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“It's incredibly gripping and at times hard to believe the courage and perseverance of the people involved but it was real.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.