The Ipcress File
and over 900,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'A spy story with a difference.' Observer 'A master of fictional espionage.' Daily Mail 'The poet of the spy story.' Sunday Times 'The Ipcress File helped change the shape of the espionage thriller!the prose is still as crisp and fresh as ever!there is an infectious energy about this book which makes it a joy to read, or re-read.' Daily Telegraph 'The self-conscious cool of Deighton's writing has dated in the best way possible!a stone-cold cold war classic.' Guardian 'Deighton is so far in the front of other writers in the field that they are not even in sight' Sunday Times 'Nobody now seriously doubts that Deighton is the most credible of all the spysmiths' The Scotsman 'Regarded as the cold war spy thriller that made all subsequent examples of the genre possible!however much of a classic the film is, the book is a completely different proposition. It's more intricate and far superior!a must for anyone who likes this kind of fiction.' Loaded
Product Description
Len Deighton's classic first novel, whose protagonist is a nameless spy -- later christened Harry Palmer and made famous worldwide in the iconic 1960s film starring Michael Caine. The Ipcress File was not only Len Deighton's first novel, it was his first bestseller and the book that broke the mould of thriller writing. For the working class narrator, an apparently straightforward mission to find a missing biochemist becomes a journey to the heart of a dark and deadly conspiracy. The film of The Ipcress File gave Michael Caine one of his first and still most celebrated starring roles, while the novel itself has become a classic.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What a great book!,
This review is from: The Ipcress File (Kindle Edition)
The Ipcress Files Exposed. This was all the rage in the 1960's, combining the cold war with MK Ultra or to those who don't know MIND CONTOL! The sixties was all about mind bending drugs and free love but it was also about mind bending military programs and rough love. This story does justice to it time but books come and go and this one is worth keeping but should be at a reasonable price.Ok enough of the rough here's my final words: I love this one, we need a more up-to-date story like this however this is just top notch! I keep thinking of the film, the book is as you would expect even better! Hope that helps. EMMA
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A late debut with great impact,
By
This review is from: The Ipcress File (Mass Market Paperback)
The movie inspired by Len Deighton(LD)'s The Ipcress File (TIF),first published in 1962, starred a very young Michael Caine as the nameless hero, who is modelled to some extent in the image of his creator. TIF is written in the I-form (first person singular) and readers are therefore dragged into this person's universe. At the start of the book he is transferred from the UK War Office to an undercover counter-intelligence unit. His preferred consumables (Blue Mountain coffee, Gauloises cigarettes) suggest he has been abroad during and after WW II. Despite his lack of a classical education (Eton, Oxbridge), he stands his ground against colleagues who did. At times he is insolent, flippant, ironic, sarcastic, and gradually, scared.Because strange things are happening: UK scientists are disappearing and moved across the Iron Curtain. In the US, sensitive research data are leaked at an alarming speed and magnitude. What is going on? That is for the reader to find out. The book's venues are London and its periphery, Lebanon and the Tokwe atoll in the Pacific, a nuclear test site. TIF was LDs debut at the age of 40. He has published some 40 books since then, mostly on espionage during WW II and the Cold War (with 3 trilogies about spy Bernard Samson). His main interests in life show up in his debut:(1)the hero is a military history buff: LD later on published a number of highly acclaimed books on WW II; 2)reflecting the hero's fondness for good food, LD wrote cookbooks;(3)the nameless hero being a technology fan, LD's future books have always remained at the forefront of espionage writing. But fortunately, with LD technology never dominates, not now, not ever. TIF is prescient on the use of computers, ultra-high speed transmission, new uses of B-52 bombers and submarines, etc. TIF is a wonderful debut of a man who equals Le Carré in terms of atmosphere and English class issues, but sweeps him briskly aside on the issue of modern technology and its uses. A very influential debut.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Spivs not spys,
By
This review is from: The Ipcress File (Mass Market Paperback)
This is the grimy antidote to Bond where the lead character has the Burnley accent. Deighton's espionage world is full of crooks rather than spys on both sides. He portrays a world where the driving force is not a simple Left/Right ideology but rather out and out greed.It has a Chandleresque prose style fitted into a UK setting; actually a very London-centric setting.It has an odd feeling of being written as a reaction to something and I can only assume it is Ian Fleming's stuff. It is very anti-Establishment and early 60's referring to Harry as 'he could have been a John Osborne hero'. This feeling goes with a general world weariness. He gives a knowing wink at the real-life UK traitors but unfortunately he didn't quite know the whole story in 1962. This is not Mr Deighton's fault and does not weaken his valid premise that the spy world may have more to it than duffing up the Russkies. Without giving away the plot there is also some prescient stuff on brain-washing and industrial espionage for which the author deserves credit. Enjoyed this more than I expected. It has a curiosity value to see early 60's political attitudes, it offers a different kind of espionage raison d'etre typified by the 'Ipcress' concept and it keeps you turning the pages.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
