Scan barcode
A review by avalinahsbooks
The Anatomy of a Spy: A History of Espionage and Betrayal by Michael Smith
4.0
How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss
This was an interesting read. It contains a lot of cool stories about actual (as opposed to fictional!) spies. I didn't know so many true spy stories existed (I mean, that so many were known publicly!)
The book is organized by talking about different kinds of motivation for spies (money, sex, revenge or ego) and it's always illustrated by real examples from history. I found them fascinating, especially the ones about Enigma. To think that there were actually so many spies in history, and that at least some of those wartime movies (not Bond!) is true is incredible. I was surprised to learn that it even mentions resistance organisations, such as the Forest Brothers, who operated in my country as well (counter-Soviet resistance) and worked with various British and French intelligence agents. In the end, the book even goes a little into the 2016 US election dirty tricks and unwitting intelligence agents who may have helped to move it along.
This book was very interesting, but I have to say that sometimes it did bog me down with detail. So it may bore a reader who is less used to, say, reading history books. But if that's your jam, you will certainly enjoy it.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Book Blog | Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter
This was an interesting read. It contains a lot of cool stories about actual (as opposed to fictional!) spies. I didn't know so many true spy stories existed (I mean, that so many were known publicly!)
The book is organized by talking about different kinds of motivation for spies (money, sex, revenge or ego) and it's always illustrated by real examples from history. I found them fascinating, especially the ones about Enigma. To think that there were actually so many spies in history, and that at least some of those wartime movies (not Bond!) is true is incredible. I was surprised to learn that it even mentions resistance organisations, such as the Forest Brothers, who operated in my country as well (counter-Soviet resistance) and worked with various British and French intelligence agents. In the end, the book even goes a little into the 2016 US election dirty tricks and unwitting intelligence agents who may have helped to move it along.
This book was very interesting, but I have to say that sometimes it did bog me down with detail. So it may bore a reader who is less used to, say, reading history books. But if that's your jam, you will certainly enjoy it.
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.
Book Blog | Bookstagram | Bookish Twitter