Fifty years ago, we awarded John Le Carré his first Kirkus star for the 1963 classic The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. In addition, the great Graham Greene declared it "the best spy story I have ever read." Little did anyone know that Le Carré would go on to write another 20 espionage novels; more than half of them received our highest acclaim. In The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, he introduces, in a minor role, George Smiley who became his best-known character and the protagonist in several of his later books. If you are new to Le Carré, try his older books first, and you will then be primed for his 2013 thriller A Delicate Truth...which we also loved. His career has been magnificent; his novels are even better. — March 25, 2013
