John Le Carre Omnibus (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Call for the Dead, A Murder of Quality, The Looking-Glass War & A Small Town in Germany)

This is an excellent collection of John LeCarre's earlier works. No other espionage author has ever been able to capture the claustrophobic moodiness of the cold war spy. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold is a seminal work, and arguably one of the best (if not THE best) novels of it's type ever. The characters are tightly developed, with just the right mix of world-weariness and naivete. The remainder of the collection mostly highlight the early career of George Smiley, the most "un"-James Bond British spy ever. Everyone is familiar with Smiley, or at least everyone who favors this type of story. Absolutely the best it gets!I vaguely remember this edition in the early 80's. I was glad to see it was still available in great, used shape from the Amazon market. No spoilers here on the stories. Get it and read it, it is well worth your time!

John LeCarre is an accomplished and excellent writer of droll stories of humdrum intelligence activities that tick away the hours until they explode into fast-paced thought and action . . .

As a life-long lover of George Smiley and his people, I have ensconced Le Carre's collection of stories in its rightful place in my library. The Cold War was a brutal and sinister time for the whole world and Le Carre makes it very clear just how dangerous a time it was. But the watchers on the ramparts were superbly tuned in to all the possible dangers and as such they are beautifully defined by their work in Le Carre's world of make believe. Art surely does imitate life and the work of the "real" western spies must be revered so that the generations that follow will be aware of the cost and the toll that freedom demands.This collection is a micro library in and of itself and well worth reading and re-reading.

I'm addicted to Le Carre's work and couldn't find some of the early novels. Voila! An omnibus edition of five early novels, three of which I've never read. However, this is possibly the poorest quality hardcover book I've even come across. The print is so far into the left-margin gutter that I needed to press down hard in order to read it. And perhaps that's what did it, but the cover cracked right off the binding after two reading sessions. So now I have, in essence, a paperback. But I'm not returning it. That's just how much I love this author. And that's why I've given the book four rather than five stars. Besides, Le Carre is way beyond the stars.

Great collection of the first 5 books from John Le Carre. After fifty years these books provide a reminder of the world of spies during the "Cold War." The authors actual experience in the service of British Intelligence provides adds credibility to the prose.

I have read all of Le Carre's books thru the years & have re-read most of them. However, it never occurred to me to retain a permanent library of all his titles. When I saw that you offered an anthology of 5 of his works, I jumped at it.Several of his books are not readily available, such as, A Small Town in Germany, so it was a good start. I now own all of his novels.He writes with such depth & pursues his story line with such detail & intricacy & exposes each characters' attributes & foibles, that you become thoroughly familiar with them. It's as if they have come to life & they become real people that you know intimately. It takes a superior talent & a writer with an intuitive mind to create these memorable stories.

"The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" is classic. Top notch novel, and great movie.Likewise, "Call for the Dead," LeCarre's first spy novel, is excellent...relatively brief, to the point without the endless detail of his later works. But skip the movie, which unfortunately has none of the suspense and charm of the novel.The other three novels in this compilation are disappointing to varying degrees. Without directing comments to each individually, in my opinion they are all far too lengthy for their respective storylines, to the point I began speed reading partway through each one in order to "get on with it" and find something that advanced the plot.One comment re "A Small Town in Germany." The central character, Harting, reminds me of Harry Lime. Everybody talks about him throughout the novel, but we finally meet him (already dead) on literally the final page. Unlike Harry, his demise is neither dramatic nor deserved.My advice: purchase separate, stand-alone copies of the first two novels. These you may revisit more than once with pleasure. If you're a diehard LeCarre fan, check out library versions of the other three novels; you won't read them more than once.

Some are a bit dated, but I lived in this era so I liked them (again). I read many when they came out but my copies were long gone. What with the BS about Russia still continuing I thought I would look back to an era where fewer of us had blinders on about that country and be reminded. After all, history repeats when you forget it, and this may be a series of novels, but they aren't far from the truth.

Read again after very many years and greatly enjoyed last Christmas. A real value for money way to revisit these early works