My Family and Other Spies

An extraordinary true story of growing up inside MI6, uncovering family secrets, and tracing a legacy of British espionage across half a century.

"A fabulous romp of a book--part John le Carré, part Ealing comedy... compulsively readable." -- The Sunday Times

"Tells the story of the author's unique childhood and the extraordinary, shadowy lives of his mother and father." -- The Sunday Telegraph

"Truth is stranger than fiction..." -- The Independent

"Reads like a Cold War thriller written by John le Carré with an added injection of wry humor." -- BBC Saturday Live

"It has always been inculcated into me that no good could ever come of having anything to do with my father..."

As a boy, Alistair Wood grew up within the high-security walls of an MI6 training camp, surrounded by some of the most senior--and most colorful--figures in Secret Intelligence Service history.

After all, he was family. His mother was one of a handful of women who operated behind the lines in postwar Berlin. His father, once one of Britain's most highly regarded intelligence officers, was an absent and enigmatic figure--the reasons for his sudden departure from the Service still classified to this day.

Wood's search for the truth took him on a journey more remarkable than even he had imagined.

My Family and Other Spies is a gripping exploration of an extraordinary, scarcely believable life: a globe-trotting spy story that spans from the gathering storm before the Second World War to the fall of Communism--and a son's reckoning with the secrets of his past.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: 06/30/2026
ISBN: 9781405971980
Pages: 384
Weight: 0.81lbs