“This is the best biography of 2015 - a rare achievement that invites rereading.” Edward Wilson, Independent

“By miles the best biography I have read this year.” Max Hastings

“Sisman often came to know the reality of what happened in Cornwell's life better than Cornwell himself did.” Newsweek

“Cornwell has admitted that he can no longer separate many of the facts of his life from his lies and fictions. For Sisman this is like a red rag to a bull and you can feel the thrill of the chase throughout.” Independent

“Sisman pulls it off: this is a well-written and highly readable book which is neither hagiography nor hatchet job ... Within that world he [John le Carré] conveys some of the truths of human nature, endeavour and fallibility. This is a real and rare achievement and in Adam Sisman he has a biographer worthy of it.” Alan Judd, Times Literary Supplement

“An insightful and highly readable portrait of a writer and a man who has often been classified as elusive and enigmatic as his fictional heroes.” Michiko Kakutani, New York Times

“Sisman is the kind of thorough, serious writer who inspires trust.” Joseph Kanon, New York Times Book Review

“Extraordinary, absorbing… superb.” The Australian