Novelist Ernest Hemingway 'was secret Soviet spy', reveals new book

Celebrated American novelist Ernest Hemingway was a Soviet spy for Joseph Stalin, a new book has claimed.

Written by former CIA officer Nicholas Reynolds, Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy: Ernest Hemingway's Secret Adventures, 1935-1961 suggests the war correspondent and novelist led a secret double life. Reynolds, who said he was able to access a classified KGB file smuggled out of Moscow, claims the Pulitzer prize-winning author was recruited in 1940 by the predecessor to the KGB known as NKVD. The document reportedly revealed that Hemingway was given the codename "Argo" after he was recruited by Jacob Golos, a top NKVD official in New York.

"Argo did not give us any political information, though he repeatedly expressed his willingness and desire to help us," the Soviet file reportedly reads. Reynolds, a military historian, said he felt "physically ill" when he stumbled across the detail linking Hemingway to Stalin. "The idea of Ernest Hemingway having done anything with the Soviets, especially having been recruited by the Soviets, was really difficult for me to absorb," he told US broadcaster CBS.

"What I found was the record of Hemingway having agreed to a recruitment by the NKVD, which is the predecessor to the KGB. That's like a pivotal moment in the spy business. It's like a sale to a realtor."

Reynolds also detailed Hemingway's special relationship with American security agencies, including the FBI, State Department, Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) - the CIA's predecessor.

"[His dalliance with the NKVD] influenced many of the decisions he made during his last 15 years: where he lived, what he wrote, and how he acted," Reynolds said.

Hemingway was no stranger to conflict and agreed to report on the Spanish Civil War in 1937 for North American Newspaper Alliance. He reported on the conflict during World War Two and was present for the liberation of Paris. He received a Bronze Star for his bravery during the war in 1947.

The book also details the writer's meeting in East Asia with communist leader Chou En-Lai who would become China's Premier and his various roles as an agent for the

US Government.