Although the plot is somewhat fantastic, it reads quickly and is a good time.
Teddy and Sasha are malcontents from opposite sides of the wall: friends to the endliterally. Spies: double agents if you will. Here you shall find all of the grueling detail of their tempestuous relationship, from the early cold war years, through the downfall of the wall, to the anti-terror campaigns of Iraq Part II. Here also is all of the snide wit in the authors repertoire as he chronicles his protagonists histories to what he calls the second siege of Heidelberg: a denouement that will make you shriek with rage. While he does pound his points across with unrelenting reiteration (à la Zola), stick with him; the end is worth the means.
AN ABSOLUTE TRIUMPHANT BESTSELLER-everwhere hailed as the masterpiece toward which John le Carre has been building since the fall of communism. This thrilling tale of loyalty, btrayal, and international espionage spans the lives of two friends from the riot-torn West Berlin of the 1960s to the grimy looking-glass of Cold War Europe to the present day of terrorism and uncertain new alliances-alliances that aren't always what they seem to be. (From the cover)