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.