True Spies

What's it like to be a spy? Glamorous and exciting? Just like James Bond? Find out in these true tales of international espionage. Hear about the Internet spy who hacked into military secrets - and ended up dead; the ruthless emperor who spied on his own army; and the double agent who was awarded medals for bravery - by the country he had betrayed. Discover amazing facts about equipment, codes and disguises and enter the intriguing world of real-life spies!

James Bond has nothing on Dusko Popov. A double agent for the Abwehr, MI5 and MI6, and the FBI during World War II, Popov seduced numerous women, spoke five languages, and was a crack shot, all while maintaining his cover as a Yugoslavian diplomat....

The search for justice for this one man's death—his body found in broad daylight, with tape over his eyes, an undisguised hit—would deliver more than the truth. It exposed his status as an informant and led to protests, campaigns, far-reaching changes to British law, a historic ruling from a senior judicial body, a ground-breaking police investigation, and bitter condemnation from a US Congressional commission.

Poland 1938. Eve of the World War II. Rivka sends her husband and three beloved children to the United States, where they will find safe shelter from the war. She tells everyone that she is staying behind in order to care for her aging parents but her real reason is completely different. Beyond her work as librarian, Rivka serves as a spy for the Jewish underground, a critical role in the changing reality in Europe.

This is the incredible true story of the greatest spy you’ve never heard of - as told to the author by the woman herself. At the outbreak of World War Two, Nancy Wake’s glamorous life in the South of France seemed far removed from the fighting. But when her husband was called up for military service, Nancy felt she had just as much of a duty to fight for freedom. By 1943, her fearless undercover work even in the face of personal tragedy had earned her a place on the Gestapo’s "most wanted" list.

As a tough but smart Italian American kid, Ernest Cuneo played Ivy League football at Columbia University and was in the old Brooklyn Dodgers NFL franchise before becoming a city hall lawyer and “Brain Trust'' aide to President Roosevelt. He was on the payroll of national radio columnist Walter Winchell and mingled with the famous and powerful. But his status as a spy remained a secret, hiding in plain sight. During this time, Cuneo began a close friendship with British spy Ian Fleming and helped inspire Fleming's James Bond novels.

The Secret Side of the Civil War John Scobell, a former slave, works as a spy for the Union, collecting secrets in northern Virginia as the Civil War marches down upon the land. But he has no idea that Peg, the wife he left behind in Richmond, has also become a Union spy operating in the heart of the Confederacy. The Lincoln League is based on the true story of John Scobell, the first African-American spy in the U.S. intelligence service. This thrilling novel also tells the little-known story of the Lincoln League, a network of African-American spies. In the beginning, John saw the war as a...

In 1942, in a quiet village in the leafy English Cotswolds, a thin, elegant woman lived in a small cottage with her three children and her husband, who worked as a machinist nearby. Ursula Burton was friendly but reserved, and spoke English with a slight foreign accent. By all accounts, she seemed to be living a simple, unassuming life. Her neighbors in the village knew little about her. They didn’t know that she was a high-ranking Soviet intelligence officer. They didn’t know that her husband was also a spy, or that she was running powerful agents across Europe.

On August 8, 1993, a single bullet to the head killed Freddie Woodruff, the Central Intelligence Agency’s station chief in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Within hours, police had a suspect - a vodka-soaked village bumpkin named Anzor Sharmaidze. A tidy explanation quickly followed: It was a tragic accident. US diplomats hailed Georgia’s swift work. Yet the bullet that killed Woodruff was never found, and key witnesses have since retracted their testimony, saying they were beaten and forced to identify Sharmaidze. But if he didn’t do it, who did?

Ever since George Washington used them to help topple the British, spies and their networks have helped and hurt America at key moments in history. In this fascinating collection, Paul B. Janeczko probes such stories as that of Elizabeth Van Lew, an aristocrat whose hatred of slavery drove her to be one of the most successful spies in the Civil War; the "Choctaw code talkers," Native Americans who were instrumental in sending secret messages during World War I; and more.

When Miss Mary Bennet is assigned to London for the Season, extravagant balls and eligible men are the least of her worries. A government messenger has been murdered and suspicion falls on the Radicals, who may be destabilizing the government in order to compel England down the bloody path of the French Revolution.

In 2017, a routine network television investigation led to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood’s most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career, following his every move, and weaponizing an account of abuse in his own family.

All is fair in love and war. At least, the Nazis thought so. They deployed sex like any other weapon in the service of the Third Reich. Al Camino examines many shocking cases, where brothels were hotbeds of bugging and blackmail, and pillow talk could topple nations.

1st PLACE WINNER, C.I.B.A. HEMINGWAY AWARD BEST 1st BOOK, INTERNATIONAL LATINO BOOK AWARDS "An inherently compelling read from start to finish that deftly combines the elements of espionage and romance." —MBR Bookwatch "Absolutely enthralling and entertaining. Kept me engaged to the very end." —Bare Books Podcast"Absolutely enthralling and entertaining. Kept me engaged to the very end." —Bare Books Podcast "This would make a great, great film." —On the Bookshelf with Doc Kirby, WTBF "A wonderfully rendered story." —Denton Record-Chronicle "The politics and historical events are ...

Seven Million Dollar Spy reveals, for the first time, the inside story of the dramatic US counterintelligence operation that resulted in the capture of the most dangerous mole working for Russia inside US intelligence. Now, the former senior KGB spy, to whom the US paid seven million dollars for Moscow's file on the mole, is identified by both his real and code names.

Andrew and Jihi Bustamante were a “tandem couple”: married spies who’d dedicated their lives to the CIA. They met as trainees at Langley, and got married while hunting terrorists across the globe. Then, suddenly, they were assigned to a mission so sensitive and explosive that the CIA still has never acknowledged it.

David Rupert, a complete outsider with no connection to Ireland, rose to the very top of the Real IRA, all while working for the FBI and British intelligence. But the story is really about just how a bored, frustrated New York trucking manager becomes one of Britain’s most valued spies, brings down the entire IRA structure and makes $10 million in the process.

Discover the untold stories of World War II that history books left behind. From the blood-soaked beaches of Normandy to the covert missions of Allied intelligence, World War II Uncovered reveals the raw truth behind the soldiers, spies, battles, and survival stories that shaped the modern world. In this gripping historical account, bestselling military historian Alexander H. Bennett takes you beyond the front lines—into the trenches, war rooms, stormy seas, and minds of the men and women who endured the most devastating conflict in human history.

Call me naïve, but when I was a girl - watching James Bond and devouring Harriet the Spy - all I wanted was to grow up to be a spy. Unlike most kids, I didn't lose my secret-agent aspirations. So as a bright-eyed, idealistic college grad, I sent my resume to the CIA. Getting in was a story in itself.

The Forgotten First Black Hero of the Civil War André and Felicie Cailloux find themselves in the center of a tempest when the Union army sweeps into the city of New Orleans in 1862. Based on real events and real people, The Dixie Devil tells the remarkable story of Captain Cailloux and his wife, Felicie, as they try to protect their family from the forces swirling all around them. Today, André and Felicie Cailloux are forgotten names, but André was the first black hero in the very first African-American regiment to see major action in the Civil War. Included in this volatile mix is a ...