The World's Greatest Spies and Spy-Masters

by Heather Buchanan, Roger Boar, Nigel Blundell

The authors profile the various agents of espionage both past and present, covering the tools of their trade, and their methods

Genres: History, Nonfiction

Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1988

Reviews

[Jailan El-Rafie]

Very informative and interesting - especially the last couple of sections, Deadly Spies, Middle East Spies, and Space Age Spies. However, the writers keep referencing names and events from earlier parts of the book, and it's so detail-packed that it's hard to keep up and remember all the names and dates if you're reading the book over a long period of time. Perhaps someone with a stronger historical background could have less trouble reading it.

[Aishu]

Very interesting to read the exploits of so many spies across various countries in the 1900s. The book is certainly information-dense, which offers a deeper insight into how they operated while simultaneously making it a slightly more difficult read. Thought I would DNF after the first chapter because of how convoluted it was but it improved significantly thereafter. I'm glad I finished it, but boy am I tired.

[Subhro]

How spies opened up and shaped history.

[Webster Fortyone]

This book has been a constant companion for years now. The format is in the time tested style of short narratives with lots of photos; which makes it almost fun to read and refer to everytime a spy novel is in my hands.

By far the most intruiging are the write ups on Sidney Reilly (who was Ian Flemming's model for James Bond) and Mata Hari (The Eye of the Dawn) who remains the most famous (if not most successful) sex spy.

Anyone with a interest in espionage & spt fiction should have this book as a ready reference.

Fact Behind Fiction

[for-much-deliberation ...]

These real life reports are quite interesting

[Nick]

Now I know why people say I could be a spy .... he he ...

[Amelia]

Took a while reading this... probably because there was a lot of information to process. But it was really interesting.

Something I would perhaps choose to peruse once again in the future....