Nobody who knew John and the work he wasdoing could have missed the description of Smiley in my first novel.' John le Carre Investigator,interrogator, intellectual hero - biographer Michael Jago traces the life of theremarkable and engaging John Bingham, the man behind John le Carre's GeorgeSmiley. Theheir to an Irish barony and a spirited young journalist, John Bingham joined MI5 in 1940; his quietintellect, wry wit, and knack for observation made him a natural. He took partin many of MI5's greatest wartime missions - from tracking Nazi agents inBritain to Operation Double Cross that ensured the success of D-Day - and laterspent three decades running agents in Britain against the Communist target.Among his colleagues his skills were legendary and he soon became a mentor tomany a novice spy - including one David Cornwell,later known more widely as John le Carre. Bingham,too, was an innovative writer; he perfected the psychological thriller, marrying coldobjectivity with an explanation of the darkest reaches of human behaviour. Hisearly novels were applaudedbut, for all his success, Bingham struggled to match the fame of the man he hadinspired. Drawingon Bingham's published and unpublished writings, as well as interviews with hisfamily, Michael Jago skilfully tells the riveting, yet poignant tale of the manwho was George Smiley.