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

“Sisman is excellent at the nuts and bolts of writing and of being published...it must be difficult to write the life of a man who is still very much with us, and in the public eye, no matter how much liberty the biographer has been given to tell the story, warts and all. Sisman - a very fine and astute biographer - has done an excellent, not to say exemplary, job under the circumstances ... it is impossible to imagine this Life being bettered.” William Boyd, New Statesman

“This is the way to do it. Why this admirably balanced, patiently detailed biography of John le Carré is not on the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction shortlist beats me ... Sisman does full justice to [the] rawness at the heart of le Carré.” David Sexton, Evening Standard

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

“This book is testament to Sisman's skill and perseverance . With his excellent grasp of the wider history, Sisman is good at anchoring Cornwell in this shadowy environment, as he guides his readers through the models for various characters. Sisman brings admirable clarity to what could have been a meander in a wilderness of mirrors.” Andrew Lycett, Spectator

“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

“Admiring without being toadying detailed without being overstuffed, and above all, knowledgeable about the work…. Sisman is the kind of through, serious writer who inspires trust.” Joseph Kanon, New York Times Book Review

“Extraordinary, absorbing… superb.” The Australian

“A masterpiece” Irish Examiner, “Books of the Year”