Best espionage books nonfiction some of the best books about real life spies and espionage. It was given new impetus by the development of fascism and communism in the leadup to world war ii, continued to develop. M by henry hemming 2018 maxwell knight was a paradox. The best books on forgotten cold war thrillers five.
The third book in tom clancys perennially bestselling jack ryan series is arguably one of the best of the bunch. Some of these thrillers may make the bestseller lists, and others may prove to have a narrower reader appeal. Some of historys greatest spy fiction writersincluding john le carre, ian fleming, and graham greenewere spies themselves, and drew on that experience when writing their famous fictional spy books. But when you read some of the remarkable true stories in the great spy books listed below, you may begin to wonder if le carre and his compatriots left the good parts out of their novels. Aside from being wildly popular with readers and a useful guide to the burgeoning literature of espionage, the book was also. The billion dollar spy a true story of cold war espionage. Perhaps its because i grew up during the cold war, when a firm line was drawn between good guys and bad. A cold war spy thriller kindle edition by hynd, noel.
If you think we missed any, be sure to let us know in the comments. A coffin for dimitrios depends on what qualifies as a spy novel. The british author of 24 books mostly on military history the united states and africa, etc. See more ideas about novels, books and books to read. And, whether in fact or fiction, the literature of espionage continues to fascinate us with the enduring question of whether some kinds of dark, loathsome conduct may. A true story of love, spies, and the unlikely heroine who outwitted americas enemies by jason fagonean extraordinary woman codebreaker who caught. It inspired john le carres smiley novels and the later espionage novels of graham greene. Gaddis objectively analyses the events of the war as well as the reasons for such a turn of events. His espionage career does not get off to a great start. Az entries provide a fascinating glimpse into the subterranean world, events, people and operations of the cold war. Shop childrens nonfiction history military wars books at alibris.
Pages in category cold war spy novels the following 43 pages are in this category, out of 43 total. Modesty enjoys an enviable body of quality prose fiction. Remembering world war i with 10 astounding books barnes. Graham greene was one of the few writers to notice that in the deadly seriousness of the contest, in its absurd thirst for the smallest scrap of intelligence, and in the humorlessness and fallibility of those who played it, it was rich in comic possibility. The resurgence of cold war fiction coincides with the enormous popularity of cold war movies, notably bridge of spies, and television series like the americans. When pursuit managing editor kim green and executive editor hal humphreys, who have also worked as radio producers for npr, got in touch to find out if we had recommendations for spyrelated fiction, we had just the man for the job. Score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
The best in spy fiction for a secretive industry, the business of espionage is one many readers feel they understand. What are good books nonfiction about spies written by. Many authors of spy fiction have themselves been intelligence officers working for british agencies such as mi5 or mi6, or american agencies such as the oss or its successor, the cia. After a stint as a writer for spy magazine, scovell entered the tv world where she wrote lines for some of the funniest characters on television. The 14 best military nonfiction books of alltime paul szoldra. Top spy thrillers and espionage novels of 2015 jefferson. Encyclopedia of cold war espionage, spies, and secret operations. Purchase the book to read or get this 30day free trial to amazon kindle unlimited to download and read the books for free. Journey into fear 1940 on the cover of my old paperback of the spy who came in from.
Books about espionage before and during world war ii hitlers spy chief. The best nonfiction books by category in addition to the top 10 nonfiction books listed above, i have put together more specific book recommendations by category. Delivering an account of the first month of world war i in 1914, tuchman tells not just a war story, but an event that would upend the modern world. The cold war is revisited twenty years after its ending, with the use of new archives and memories of its contemporaries. A novel of the cia 2002 spans fortyfive years of cia history, beginning at berlin base in the 1950s during the height of the cold war, then detailing the hungarian revolution of 1956, the 1961 bay of pigs invasion, and afghanistan in the 1980s. Author jeremy duns says maksim isaev was a kind of soviet james bond and when they rerun the old black and white tv shows the russian crime rate drops because everyone is indoors watching them. Hoffman immerses his readers in the deception of cold war espionage in his book, the billion dollar spy. The setting may be the most familiar one in cold war fiction, but the theme isnt. The spy who came in from the cold 1963 eric ambler. The greatest missions of the israeli michael barzohar. From glossy interiors books that will inspire you to revamp your home to moving memoirs and biographies, weve rounded up some of the best nonfiction. Jan 01, 2004 encyclopedia of cold war espionage, spies, and secret operations ebook written by r. A jazz obsessive and nature enthusiast he is the author of the definitive work on how to look after a gorilla, he is seen today as one of mi5s greatest spymasters, a man who did more than any other to break up british fascism during the second world war in spite of having once belonged to the british fascisti. Can anyone recommend some good nonfiction spy books.
This espionage fiction book, which includes historical cold war photographs many of which are taken by the author himself, is the first in a series involving the lead character agent jack stone. Imagine if the number 2 or 3 person at the cia was a soviet agent. These war books are the most compelling that have ever been written. Oct 27, 2015 during the cold war the cias premier agent in the soviet union was a highlevel intelligence officer named oleg penkovsky. The untold story of the american spy who helped win world war ii by. Perhaps the most comprehensive political primer in spy fiction, robert littells the company. During the cold war the cias premier agent in the soviet union was a highlevel intelligence officer named oleg penkovsky. Written from moscow in 1967, my silent war shook the world and introduced a new archetype in fiction. The 16 best spy novels by reallife spies we all love reading spy novels, but sometimes we cringe at how they stretch credibility.
Childrens nonfiction history military wars books alibris. If you are looking for standout spy thrillers, here are 10 of the all time top spy novels. Apr 15, 2015 here are my picks for the best spy novels of 2015. Winner of the 2016 pulitzer prize for fiction, this debut novel could fit into half a dozen genres of vietnam war books from war narrative to immigrant story, from mystery to political, from metafiction to historical and even dark comedy. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Since you are interested in double agents, i have two book recommendations about the same thing.
It is set during the arms race in the heart of the cold war and revolved around the star war missile defense system. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading trumans spy. The true story of the highestranking cia officer ever convicted of espionage and the son he trained to spy for russia by. It was time for its writers to find new enemies, writes jane ciabattari. Im fascinated by spy books, intelligence histories, cia memoirs, kgb confessionals. In those days, many of the spy fiction writers had served in world war ii. British mi5 agent alec leamas, the eponymous hero of john le carres brutal little espionage masterpiece the spy who came in from the cold, discovers that being a secret agent at the height of the cold war is a little like being a man outside in the cold, looking in on the friendly. The best books on forgotten cold war thrillers recommended by jeremy duns. Insider spy fiction has a special claim to authenticity, and overlaps with biographical and other documentary accounts of secret service. Foremost is the exceptional novel charlotte gray 1998. In 1959, graham greene and his brother, the journalist hugh greene, published an anthology of spy literature titled the spys bedside book, an amalgam of fiction, reporting, and memoir that helped define the genre for decades to come. Nonfiction books about united states intelligence agencies. Please note that im partial to historical fiction about espionage that has a literary flair. Because of diverse subjects touched on in code name verity, there are a variety of nonfiction books that may interest fans of this wwii story.
Score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and. Nov 07, 2014 how the end of the cold war changed spy fiction when the berlin wall came down, spy fiction would never be the same again. Mar 07, 2017 cold war spy series the americans taps into todays concerns about russia tv critic david bianculli says the new season of the spy series about soviet sleeper agents in virginia has unexpected. For older teens, the libraries adult section has a lot of great fiction and nonfiction books on the subject too. The spy who came in from the cold by john le carre 1963 when the young david cornwell, an intelligence officer working for mi6, published his pseudonymous. Cold war spy series the americans taps into todays. When it comes to reading nonfiction works on the cold war, john gaddis is a recognised historian of the epoque. These eight books below all cover a different, reallife aspect of espionage history, and recount it in brilliant, gripping detail. The top one or two books in each category are listed at the beginning of each page. The ten best spy novels you never heard of the hawaii.
Not completely sure if we can call this non fiction since thermonuclear war never became a reality thanks goodness, but hermann kahns on thermonuclear war was the theoretical basis of all the strategic decision leading to what is now known as cold war. Gulf war fiction mainly bears the names of exsas soldiers in big letters over a. Mar 29, 2016 not many books play the cold war for comedy. How the end of the cold war changed spy fiction bbc. Tom clancy firing point jack ryan universe release date. He was also an exceptional writer who gave us the great iconic story of the cold war and.
Readers can look to the literary spy novel to glide beneath the noise of headlines and see a complex world through the knowing eyes of empathetic characters. The spy who came in from the cold is not just an espionage thriller, its a horror story. In a tale that reads more like a novel than a piece of nonfiction, hoffman takes his audience through the moment that adolf tolkachev, a soviet designer and engineer, first approaches moscows cia station chief to defect to the united states, all. A vacuum cleaner retailer accepts a side job as a spy to help support his daughter. The british traitor guy burgess, one of the infamous cambridge five spy ring, was notorious for his drunkenness, lack of personal hygiene, and proclivity for picking up younger men in public places when homosexual liaisons were prosecuted. Jan 27, 2012 in fact, the rcmp and now csis modeled their own organizations a great deal by what the east germans were doing at the time, everything from their so called disruption tactics against targets basically ruining a targets life and gang stalking techniques to the use of i. Just as suspenseful and heartpounding as a good thriller, spy novels have the added benefit of hightech equipment, intense action scenes, and insight into the inner workings of everything from corrupt governments to military task forces. These books are not just about spies but also about intelligence agencies. Victor cherkashin, author, gregory feifer, author basic books. When we think about contemporary war books, literary fiction is often not what comes to mind. About the poverty of berlin in the 40s, about survival, about the exploitation of a writer as an agent of the cia. When the pilot she loves is shot down over occupied france, a young scottish woman joins british intelligence and is sent to france to work for the resistance. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers.
Both books are about the cambridge five, a small ring of soviet spies who worked in british intelligence from the beginnings of ww2 up through the early 60s when they were caught. The recommendations below originally ran on pursuit and are reproduced here with permission a spy among friends, by ben macintyre. For two years in the early 1960s he supplied the cia with highly classified information on soviet rocket strength and strat. Cold war spy fiction book berlin city of spies by gary. He is the author of the oligarchs and of the dead hand, about the end of the cold war arms race, and winner of a 2010 pulitzer prize. What follows is the 4 best nonfiction books about war, many of which have been turned into movies and tv shows. Whether youre a history buff wellversed in the events of the great war, or someone who has just begun to be curious, weve got a collection of books to help you navigate the complex, fearsome, and fascinating facts and stories of the devastating conflict that shook the world. After two years of careful consideration, robert mccrum has concluded his selection of the 100 greatest nonfiction books of all time. The spy who came in from the cold book by john le carre. The cia and the cult of intelligence covert warfare. Five great books about spies and the cia short stack. Nov 15, 20 in addition to be a very compelling story of friendship during war, its a thrilling spy novel.
Andys trusty sidekick in espionage, sherlock, er opie. Non fiction childrens books hay festival telegraph bookshop. Jul 15, 2015 i am describing the following books because i have read them and they are worth a read, boy they are a must read. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read encyclopedia of cold war espionage, spies, and secret operations. Cold war espionage was a nightmare of errors, seen darkly in a wilderness of mirrors, raining desperate deceptions in a climate of treason, with assassins trading in treachery using hidden hands running invisible governments. Spy fiction, a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device, emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligence agencies. Dec 09, 2011 first, you have to ask how the cold war affected the spy novel. The books title is a geographic reference to an actual place in time a military base that was at the center of the drug war, deep inside the jungles of southern colombia. Berlin city of spies is a tale of espionage set in cold war berlin during the 1970s 1980s, weaving its way to intriguing events in 2000s. The wilhelm canaris story by richard bassett the secret history of world war ii the woman who smashed codes. Many also happen to be written by exagents and analysts and retired military personnel. This summer marks the 100year anniversary of the start of world war i. Kim philby and the great betrayal by ben macintyre.
279 484 1031 1463 78 990 526 593 1145 863 1261 1448 109 48 492 502 626 276 287 1167 105 772 829 412 138 715 1435 927 901 656 1162 1450 150 1257 1128 153 1264 419 97 1448 225 565