"What are the best books about Espionage & Spying?" We looked at 465 of the top spy books, aggregating and ranking them to answer that very question!

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Grandma was just making a sweater. Or was she?

Spies have shaped foreign policy, altered the course of wars and left a deep (though usually hidden) impression on world history. It's a tense and often deadly job.

Spy, muscle control workout.

Grandma was just making a sweater. Or was she?

Matthew Lewis Contributing Writer When we think of codes, we usually think of spies, espionage and intrigue. Although codes have been used extensively by various governments, codes are used in many other ways as well, not just in spy rings. Codes are all around us. One of the most famous codes is the Morse Code, used for many years in telegraphy. Invented by Samuel Morse, his code allowed letters of the alphabet to be sent long distances. Short electrical signals were the "dots," and long electrical signals were the "dashes." Another code that you see almost every day is a bar code which can be found on almost everything you buy at the store. These black bars and the spaces between them can be read by optical scanners, which then read the code, feed the information into the computer, match that code to the code on file, then register the correct price on the cash register. In written messages, a code normally substitutes words with other words. For instance, a military leader might use a code where "enemy" would be written as "flour barrels." He would use a codebook to look up each word he needed to use in his message. When his soldiers received the message, they would use a matching codebook to look up the real meanings. Codes like this have the weakness of falling apart completely – and permanently – if the enemy can get hold of just one of your codebooks. On the other hand, a cipher normally relies on a key, which is the method used to decipher, or figure out, the message. Ciphers usually have two advantages: they are generally harder to crack than a code, and they are typically less cumbersome to use. For instance, look at the following (very simple) cipher and see if you can decipher it before you read any further: 3-15-4-5-19 1-14-4 3-9-16-8-5-18-19 8-1-22-5 16-21-26-26-12-5-4 16-5-15-16-12-5 5-15-18 20-8-15-21-19-1-14-4-19 15-6 25-5-1-18-19. 2-21-20 20-8-5-25 1-12-12 8-1-22-5 20-8-5 19-1-13-5 16-21-18-16-15-19-5: 20-15 16-18-15-20-5-3-20 9-13-16-15-18-20-1-14-20 9-14-6-15-18-13-1-20-9-15-14. As you've probably noticed, this cipher works by substituting numbers for letters. 1 represents A, 2 represents B, and so on, with a dash between each letter so the numbers can be read properly. The key to this cipher is the numbering sequence. You could change the cipher by using 1 for Z and 26 for A. Either way, someone would need to know the key to read the message. Julius Caesar used a cipher in which each letter was represented by the letter three places to its right in the alphabet, "wrapping around" to the beginning for the letters X, Y and Z. With this cipher, "time for lunch" would be written as "wlph iru oxqfk." The key to this cipher is the "letter shift." You could easily use the same principle with a letter shift of five or six positions, or by changing the direction of the shift. Ciphers can be cracked (figured out without the key) in several different ways. Frequency analysis is one way. By knowing how often certain letters are normally used, a cryptographer (someone who studies codes and ciphers) can sometimes figure out which symbols in a message represent which letters. For example, E is the most common letter in the English language. So, if you wrote a cipher where each letter was represented by a different letter, and if you chose P to represent the letter E, a cryptographer could probably figure out that P meant E just by realizing there were more P's than any other letter in your message. Frequency analysis works best on longer messages since correct guesses are easier to identify. Now that you know a little about codes and ciphers, let's try to make our own. Say we'd like to send the following message: I want pizza for supper. We'll start with a simple substitution cipher, where A stands for Z and vice-versa, B stands for Y, C for X, and so on. Therefore, our message will now read like this: R dzmg kraaz uli hfkkvi. That's pretty scrambled. But someone who knows what they're doing can break that pretty easily, especially if our message was longer. So, let's make it a little more complicated by reversing the whole thing: .ivkkfh ilu zaark gmzd R Not bad, but anyone who knows the basics of English grammar will be able to figure out that we reversed our message just by noticing that we start with a period and end with a capital letter. So, let's eliminate punctuation and capitals: ivkkfh ilu zaark gmzd r We're getting there, but we've left a clue that could help someone break the message. Since "A" and "I" are the only letters that can be used as entire words, the letter "r" sitting all by itself there at the end must actually represent one of those two letters. While not particularly useful on a message this short, a longer message with more "r's" in it would be easy to decipher with this clue. So let's run everything together into one long string: ivkkfhiluzaarkgmzdr There--that's not world-class, but it should stump your friends for awhile! To decipher your encoded message, all you have to do is reverse it and substitute the encoded letters for the correct ones. This will give you "iwantpizzaforsupper," which is easily recognized. Now that you know a little bit about codes and ciphers, see if you can come up with your own! Just remember that your messages should be as easy as possible to decipher for someone who knows the key; in other words, don't make it so complicated that it takes a long time to read your own messages! Modern ciphers use mathematical formulas called algorithms to encrypt messages. Most of these ciphers are impossible to crack (or even read) without a special computer program, and computers must be used to encrypt the message. These types of ciphers are very difficult to crack even if someone knows exactly how they work, as long as the key is kept a secret. This is a little hard to explain, so let's use a little project as an example. I'll give the instructions first, then get back to the computerized ciphers afterwards. An early encoding method used a device called a scytale (rhymes with "Italy"), which you can easily make yourself. You'll need two or three rods or dowels of different diameters, a pen, and some long strips of paper about half an inch wide. Choose a dowel and start wrapping the paper around it as shown in the diagram. You may want to tape the ends in place. Now, write a message on the paper, lengthwise along the dowel, one letter for each turn of the paper. When you get to the right-hand end of the dowel, go back to the left end and start a new row of letters. When you're finished writing your message, unwind the paper and you'll have a random-looking sequence of letters that won't make any sense at all. The message can only be read by wrapping the paper around the right size of dowel. Take turns writing scytale messages with different sizes of dowels and decoding them! Now, think about a computerized cipher again. Someone can know exactly how the cipher works, yet still be unable to crack a message because they don't have the key. A scytale works the same way, since an enemy could know exactly how to read the message (wrap the paper around a rod), but without the key (a rod of the correct diameter), he still could not read the message. Modern computerized ciphers work on more or less the same principle. I hope you've enjoyed this brief foray into the exciting world of codes and ciphers! tnU nli txe mit h,e ppa icy ehp nir !g -------------- Matthew Lewis, a homeschool graduate, is the web developer, and occasional columnist, for Home School Enrichment Magazine. Matthew is a self-described computer geek who enjoys doing things during his free time which he says would sound much too boring to be mentioned here. This article was originally published in the Sep/Oct '07 issue of Home School Enrichment Magazine. For more details, visit http://HomeSchoolEnrichment.com taken from Crosswalk.com, link

Beware Female Spies! Silence! Unusual 1915 WW1 Espionage Poster 13 x 19 Ultra Premium Photo Paper Printed for Highest Quality Size 13" x 19" An exceptional gift Comes in a hard tube !!! SEE MORE POSTERS IN MY STORE CATEGORY - " POSTERS'' !!!!! FAST !!!! FREE !!!! Shipping via USPS First Class and Delivery confirmation included

1. Indian spymaster Rameshwar Nath Kao was photographed only twice in his entire life, and his junior spies were called ‘Kaoboys.’

Great treat for you today–Piper Bayard (of Bayard & Holmes) is digging into what an espionage character should look like. And she should know, because her co-author, Jay Holmes…well, read on to find out! James Bond, Jason Bourne, Sydney Bristow, Jack Bauer . . . Nothing thrills like a well-crafted spy. However, most of us […]

Astronomer Clifford Stoll In the sprawling halls of Lawrence Berkeley Lab, far removed from the spy games of the world, astronomer Clifford Stoll stumbled upon a clue so fragile it threatened to expose a global conspiracy. A tiny hiccup in the lab's computer accounting system caught his sharp eye, setting off a covert chase that would last years. Far from being a seasoned intelligence agent, Stoll delved into the digital shadows, tracking elusive hackers through the murky depths of cyberspace. His relentless pursuit revealed a startling truth: the KGB had infiltrated America's scientific hub, hungry for top-secret intel. Their prize? Nothing less than America's military blueprints and nuclear secrets—sitting ripe for the taking by Moscow's cunning spies. But Stoll, an untrained lone wolf in the shadowy world of espionage, refused to back down. Armed only with his smarts and sheer determination, he rallied the troops, alerting U.S. intelligence of the imminent threat he uncovered. The FBI, CIA, and NSA knocked on his door, and he began working with them, waging a covert war against the KGB's digital army. Through sheer perseverance, they unmasked the mastermind behind the chaos: Markus Hess—a hacker who was recruited by the KGB to infiltrate American computer systems and steal sensitive military and nuclear research. Hess's technical skills and willingness to engage in cyber espionage made him a valuable asset to the KGB's operations. Clifford Stoll faced significant danger from the KGB spy ring the moment he began working with U.S. intelligence. As he delved deeper into the KGB’s operations and worked to expose their activities, he risked becoming a target himself. The KGB, notorious for its ruthless tactics and willingness to eliminate threats to its operations, posed serious threats to his safety, including physical harm or even assassination attempts. Despite these risks, Stoll's determination to uncover the truth and protect national security drove him to continue working undercover with U.S. authorities, ultimately leading to the dismantling of the spy ring. The operation ended with the FBI swooping in and slapping the cuffs on Markus Hess, a marked a victory for justice and a testament to the power of vigilance in the shadowy realm of espionage. Stoll's experience serves as a poignant reminder of the critical role played by individuals who remain vigilant and speak up when something seems amiss. In the realm of espionage, even the smallest signs of irregularity can lead to the exposure of significant threats to national security. Stoll's willingness to pursue his suspicions ultimately led to the unraveling of a complex web of espionage, highlighting the importance of the phrase, "If you see something, say something." His story underscores the importance of everyday people staying vigilant in protecting America's vital secrets from those who aim to do us harm. Robert Morton is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and enjoys writing about the U.S. Intelligence Community. He authors the Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster series. Check out his latest spy thriller, Mission of Vengeance.

Virginia Hall, a.k.a. the ‘Limping Lady,’ organized sabotage and rescue operations across Vichy France, paving the way for the Allied invasion.

From classic tales of espionage by John le Carré to real-life accounts of double agents, pick your poison when it comes to the perfect crime.

Stephanie Rader, 100, was buried at Arlington National Cemetery this week after being given a posthumous Legion of Merit award.

Black's Law Dictionary defines "treason" as” attempting to overthrow the government of the state to which one owes allegiance, either by making war against the state or by materially supporting its enemies." Submitted here are ten people who did their level best to see that America couldn’t celebrate her official 234th birthday this week. And yes, this list is “too American.”

Uni got me BUURNT out but hey it’s finals week so we almost free for da summer B) Have some engiespies I whipped together yeehonk

TSR released countless games besides D&D during its 25-year existence -- some classics, some not so much. Here's a d10 of the best, and a six-sider of the not-so-much.

My son's spy party last year was a TON of work, but so much fun to put together. I knew that I wanted the party to include clues to figure out and solve a mystery, but I wasn't sure exactly how to do it. Some of my earliest ideas were so complicated that my family just stared at me like I was crazy when I tried to explain it to them. I was getting myself confused! So I will skip those ideas, and just tell you about what we did - because it worked. THEME: Our plan was to make our house a Top Secret Spy training center. The Evil Dr. Chaos became our villain trying to ruin our party and blow up the loot (treat bags) if we didn't solve the clues to stop him in time. INVITATIONS: My parties always start with inspiration from other creative party planners out there on the internet. I found an invitation that was a mini file folder, and that's what I duplicated, with my own twist of course. I got the pattern for the mini file folders from here and sized them to be about 1/2 sheet when folded to fit into a 6"x9" envelope. The font I used for the 'TOP SECRET' is Reprise Title found here. They all had another tag on them that read "For ____'s eyes only" so my son would know who to give them to. The invitation included a mason cipher to solve the secret code which was "I love cake and ice cream". The font I used for the cipher was Fam-Code found here. *I have a copy of the spy seal I used in the invites and for the front cover of the handbooks that I can email you. Or get a blank one here. I also have versions of it for Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom that I have made upon request. Click on the links above to download the Spy Seals from Box.com *Update 5/29/18: I'm sorry that the Spy Seals for the above countries are no longer available due to unintentional copyright issues. I will work on changing the name on the seals, re-designing the whole seal, handbook, badges and freebies to be even better and getting new ones available soon! The blank one is still available for now. ACTIVITIES: So MANY activities!!! I'll just go in the order we did them. First we had the boys complete a background check. We asked them the secret password and then they were fingerprinted and received their security passes. These were really fun to make with my NSA symbol on them and their names, code name, and name in bar code. I bought plastic badge holders and clips at Walmart. The fonts I used to make the badges and the training manual cover sheets were: Reprise Stamp, Due Date, and Free 3 of 9 (bar code font). The bar codes actually spelled out everyone's names, so they were all different. The kids got the 'Agent in Training' badges, my older kid helpers got the 'Top Secret Agent' badges and I was the 'Chief Operating Officer'. You can see on these what I did with the Great Seal of the USA. I added the rings and text, the key, the bomb and NSA on the shield and the sunglasses on the eagle to make him cool. I took individual photos of each trainee at the party (in sunglasses), and my plan was to put their photo onto a new Top Secret Agent badge for completion of the program. Unfortunately, my oldest son had his appendix rupture a couple of days after the party and I never got around to it. The most important things must come first. BUT, for all you UK readers, awesome reader Wendy created one for your use. Download it here. Thank you Wendy! If you are from another country and need to change the badges with the above seals, here is the file for you. For all US readers, the badges are contained in the Spy Handbook link below. Fingerprinting: I saw some fingerprinting sheets kind of like these on a website for child safety and made my own version on cards for each guest. I just bought a cheap black ink pad at the dollar store and had my daughter fingerprint the boys and wipe off their fingers on a wet washcloth. While waiting for everyone to get fingerprinted I had them do some stretching exercises to prepare for training, then we went into the back yard where their spy training manuals were set up on a table. I bought big clips to hold in all of the papers, which was very important for an outdoor party with possible wind. Download the Spy Handbook pages here! *Update: The spy handbook had to be removed also (as mentioned above). I've added photos of the printables that don't have the Spy Seal on them for you to save and use. The first page included the activities that we would be doing for the rest of the party and what skills they would develop. Having a plan is SO important for a party with so much happening to keep you on schedule and make sure you remember to do everything. #1 Spy Words. This was a word search that I printed off from a website that creates word searches. There are tons of them out there, you just type in the words and tell it what size you want your puzzle. Since it took me quite a while to come up with the words for the word search, I will include them here since the whole purpose of this blog is to make party planning easier for everyone. If you don't want to know them, just skip down to #2. Intelligence, explosives, character, bribery, security, headquarters, cipher, objective, mystery, training, double agent, combat, laser beam, concealment, escape, evidence, mission, spying, eyewitness, fingerprints, clearance, informants, ammunition, secret, culprits, binoculars, rescue, fugitives, mastermind, observation, cover, badge, operative, disguise, incident, bugging, electronics, climbing, top secret, demolitions, warrant, bomb, footprints, target, investigation, villain, microchips, keys transmission, agency, magnify, undetectable, criminals. We only spent a few minutes working on these and then moved on. They could finish them at home. #2 Code Breaking. There are so many different codes, that I had a hard time deciding what ones to do. I must have been really tired coming up with these, because they totally made me crack up (well, the second one did). I got the Morse code photo last year on here, a site for kids run by the real NSA, but I can't find it on there anymore. If you want to decipher them yourself, then don't read this part because here are the solutions: 'The blue moose left the party' 'That thief is wearing a cheap suit. Wait, that's my suit!' (that one was my favorite) and 'The safe is in the outhouse'. I know, they're stupid, but I was trying to make it fun for 9-year old boys, and if I get a kick out of it, it's just an added bonus. :) #3 Memory Training. We've all played this game before. Bring out a tray of items, view them for 1 minute, write down all you can remember that was on the tray. Went great with this party theme! These are the items on our tray: digital camera, binoculars, cassette tape, air-mail envelope, $10.00 bill, measuring tape, pencil, flashlight, combination lock, Scotch tape, sunglasses, walkie-talkie, cell phone, pen, remote control, post-it notes, and it was all laying on top of the obituaries from the newspaper (nobody got that one). At the bottom of this page is a little spot-the-difference puzzle I got from here. #4 Pass the Dynamite. This was fun to play, and fun to make the dynamite! I love creating props. I found the dynamite idea here, and made mine just using cardboard tubes stuffed with newspaper and wrapped with red tissue paper. The colored wires were from the inside of a piece of electrical wire and they are just hot-glued into the tops. I wrapped them together with black electrical tape. If you want your dynamite to last for more that one party, then I suggest you Mod-Podge over the tissue paper because it tore from being handled so much. I made 5 sticks, and I recommend a digital timer. To play the game, you just set the timer and start passing the dynamite around a big circle like a hot potato. When the timer goes off, whoever is holding it - blows up! They are then out of the game until it gets down to the last person. #5 Gum Shoe Detective. The boys all traced their shoe on a piece of paper and then we mixed them up and gave everybody a tracing. They had to try and find out who the shoe print belonged to. It wasn't that exciting, so I don't recommend it. If nobody seems interested, I quickly move to the next activity. I think it would have been more fun to make a shoe print on a piece of tinfoil and they could have checked the tread pattern on the bottom of everyone's shoes. #6 Target Practice. This activity failed due to Nerf gun failure. I had printed out a target that they were going to take turns shooting at with Nerf guns, but apparently my son's had killed their guns and didn't let me know about it until we tried using them at the party. If I would have known that I would have done something like shooting Dixie cups off of a board with a squirt gun or something. Luckily we had plenty of other activities to fill the time. #7 Laser-beam Avoidance. I got two wooden poles and hooked a red piece of yarn between them. If they got under it, we lowered the string. You know, it was like Limbo, but the boys could go under the yarn any way they wanted to as long as they didn't touch the laser-beam. We got it down to about 6" off the ground and some of those boys could still scoot on their bellies under it. They had a lot of fun with this game. #8 Bomb Squad. We had to move indoors to do this activity since balloons don't agree with grass. We blew up tons of small black water balloons before the party and placed them on the carpet. Each boy had about 30 seconds to pop as many bombs as they could while everyone else counted. Some boys could only do a few and some did a lot. It made a big mess, but boys love making messes (and noise). FOOD: #9 Evidence Destroying. We told them that they had to get rid of any evidence that we had a party by eating all of the food. We had pizza and root beer for the food, nothing fancy, and cupcakes and ice cream cups. The cupcake toppers were just made with clip-art punched into circles and placed on wooden skewers. As they finished eating, the doorbell rang and there was an envelope on the doorstep with an MP3 player in it and a cipher for a secret code. We hooked the MP3 player up to a speaker and it played this message: "Welcome new recruits, I am the NSA President. We are aware that you are here for spy training, but an urgent situation has arisen. The Evil Dr. Chaos has been trying to disrupt this school for years. We have just been informed that he has stolen your loot bags and set a bomb to blow them up! You are the only available agents in the area, and all will be lost if you can't unravel the clues and diffuse the bomb before it goes off. If you complete this assignment you will automatically be promoted and receive your official spy certification. The secret message we discovered is hidden in the mailbox. Be careful - and good luck!" I wanted it to be in my husband's voice, but he was out of town (in the middle of the dessert) with no cell phone service or I would have had him call and say the message over the phone. I had my oldest son record it for me. This photo shows all of the different clues and the ciphers for each one. I thought they would make more sense if you could see them in a photo. Some are also included in the Spy Handbook files. Clue #1 in the mailbox. I got this wording idea from another site, but I can't find where. It was great though and got adapted to fit our party! I wrote the message to include all of the letters I needed to spell out my clue, then those letters were changed to italics. It's hard the tell in this font which is called Ghostwriter. Then I drew little boxes around all of the correct clue letters and changed the font to white and printed it so only the boxes showed up. With an Exacto knife I cut out the little boxes, and when you lay it over the message the next clue is revealed. It says 'The next clue is on the door of the shed'. Clue #2 tied to the door of the shed. This one used a code that was in their training handbooks which they had just used, so they recognized it and rushed over to figure out the code. We tried to make sure that different boys got to work on deciphering one of the codes if they wanted a turn. This clue said, "The hen is in the nest." Clue #3 was in the nesting boxes for our chickens. This clue used the Mason cipher which had come with their birthday invitation and included two ciphers. There is actually a font for this code called FAM-Code so you don't have to draw little pictures, you can just type in what you want it to read. The clue spelled out, "They lay eggs in sand, but in this one you dig!" Clue #4 was in our turtle sandbox. The clue was in a plastic bag which contained a small mirror. I printed out the clue in reverse so they had to use the reflection in the mirror to read it. It read, "So you think you're on my heels? Well, this final clue is on wheels. It doesn't drive you anywhere, but pulls your stuff in there. In a chest shut up tight, but don't search in the back yard or it will take all night. You'll have to stop me soon, because if you're too late then....BOOM!!!" Before the party I lit this paper on fire to try and make it look like someone tried to burn it. Well, I almost had to start over because I barely got the flames put out in time! (Do that part near water!) The bomb and treat bags were hidden in a tool chest on our trailer. The kids all grabbed their loot and the bomb and after getting a photo of them all, I told them that their final task was to de-fuse the bomb by destroying it. They happily tore it to shreds and it was full of candy. It would be fun to do a pinata for the bomb, but we were out of time anyway. The bomb was made out of a cardboard dishwasher tablet canister. You could also use a round oatmeal container. TREAT BAGS: I wanted to get cloth bags made for the loot bags, but it didn't happen. I used white paper sacks instead, and I think they turned out just as cute! The $ labels are in the Spy Handbook. They included: A notebook, magnifying glass, Mentos (if you've seen the Agent Cody Banks movies you know why), 100 Grand candybar, Smarties, Atomic Warhead jawbreakers, a squirt gun, and play money. They also got to take home their training folders, badges and pencils. WHEW! That was exhausting just blogging about the party, you can only imagine how I felt after planning it. It was really a lot of fun though, and now completely ready for you to copy. All you need to do is come up with clues to fit your party, make some cupcakes and go shopping for loot! Yeah, I know there's a little more to it than that, but hopefully I got some good spy party vibes heading your way. Happy party planning!

But a new book reveals Christine Granville's most deadly weapon was seduction. The beauty queen turned spy (pictued) dazzled men with her 'crackling vitality'.

Welcome to #KellyanneConway neurotic nightmares...

A stork detained in Egypt is just the latest in a long list of animals to have been detained on suspicion of spying. So does a pigeon or a squirrel make a good secret agent?

Read about some of the codes and codebreakers that have sealed the fate of queens and of wars throughout British history. Find out about three spies in British history and the nature of espionage in their time. Become a codebreaker yourself. Send and receive messages using a real French cipher. This resource has been archived […]

During WWII, Betty Pack used seduction to acquire enemy naval codes.

During the American Civil War, women of the South were limited by the availability of products due to the blockade. The fabric was needed for the military, so women became creative with limited resources.

Whether you're packing it to the pool, lounging on the beach, or chilling in a lawn chair in the back yard, these amazing new books will take your summer reading to a new level of enjoyment. A Book Matters list.

Sidney Reilly - The Legendary ACE OF SPIES January 2, 2006 This morning I read a very interesting report from the NOVOSTI Russian New Agency. Boris Gudz, a famous Soviet Intelligence figure died on the weekend, having lived 104 years. Gudz was the last living participant in the Bolshevik counter intelligence sting called Operation Trust, which succeeded in exposing Sidney Reilly, a chameleon who had volunteered to work for the British S.I.S. in World War 1. Reilly was actually born S.G. Rosenblum, (photo to left - above) and was a Polish Jew who found the need to experiment with personal identity when business deals began to sour. Now he is forever the Anglicized "Sidney Reilly". Boris Gudz went on to serve his government long and well as an officer in OGPU and KGB. He became intimately involved with the SORGE spy ring in Japan, a story which I found even more absorbing than the Reilly tale. Gudz worked as a consultant on a Russian TV series in 1967 called Operatsiya Trest, which broadcast in b&w. In 1967 there were already two books available in English which dubbed Reilly with the catchy title "Ace of Spies," but he really became famous as a television hero. In 1983 Thames Television produced a 12 episode mini-series starring handsome actor Sam Neill as the ACE OF SPIES. I missed its debut on PBS in 1984 but eventually caught a few episodes. I recall not liking it. For the curious, an episode guide is found here http://epguides.com/ReillyAceofSpies/ The Canadian Connection I remained interested in the espionage figure and his role history and added several books about him to my research library. Fragments of disinformation or outright guessing, had placed "Reilly" in Toronto during World War 1, training as a junior officer in the "Royal Canadian Flying Corps". (Author Michael Kettle cleared that up, in 1983.) Canada did not have its own airforce in WW1. Our airmen trained under the auspices of Britain's Royal Flying Corps. Still, I thought the possibility existed that Canada did the British secret services a favor by giving him some Canadian profile. By letting him assume rank here and then embark from Canada, it would form a buffer of sorts between his busy years in New York and his future missions in Europe. I used the provisions of our federal Access To Information legislation to search the relevant record groups. It was not a hopeless proposition. In 1991 I did find 2/Lt. S.G. Reilly in records of our Department of National Defence. The Directorate of History (DHIST), had an index card in the Air History Section containing data extracted from his old military service file. I learned that on Nov. 16, 1917 he was added to the "RFC Canada roster of officers as Mr. S. G. Reilly, E03 on probation." A further note read, "He is included in Dec. 16, 1917 list of officers proceeding overseas." Note also the address he gave on his Canadian paperwork: 120 Broadway, New York City. At the time I also consulted on "S.G. Reilly" with a friendly archivist at the National Archives. We confirmed that no duplicate RFC file, Assigned Pay or other records survived in our war archives. I could only conclude that the REILLY file had been pulled and destroyed years ago, which is more common in our archives than should ever have been permitted. Between 1989 - 92 I had fruitful correspondence with James Barros, scholar at the University of Toronto (now deceased), who shared my research interests. We agreed that much of what we sought, including material pertaining to the infamous 1950s Herbert Norman case, had been "weeded" (to use the polite term used by the old Security Service of the RCMP). Barros encouraged me to pursue the Canadian angle, but in fact I let Reilly drop. The reality was that any research breakthrough on Rosenblum depended on gaining access to the great repositories of secret archives in Washington, London and Moscow. The Americans (bless them) did lead the way, opening a huge volume of espionage files years ago. When the crucial British and Soviet dossiers became available, well-placed scholars pounced, and have produced several superb new books which relegate all the others to the discard pile. The new biography by Cook, which I have not yet acquired, challenges the place of birth and his paternity. If you own the A&E box set of ACE OF SPIES, (shown at the top) you might wish to pencil out the words "True story" on the decorative slipcase. Or not. It's just a TV show after all.

I was thrilled when my Godson mentioned that he would like a "spy kit" for his birthday. What a fun gift for me, a one-time wannabe detective, to give! Here's the DIY kit I put together for him!

Discover the four keys to writing unputdownable spy fiction: blockbuster premise, killer logline, flawless structure and epic narrative drive.

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five --Espionage Noir-- Novels of espionage aren’t always of the James Bond variety. In the post-war years and throughout the Cold War, several great writers of spy stories emerged and made their very distinctive marks on the hardboiled/noir school. Many of them were British, but it wasn’t long before the Americans got into the game as well. Here are some of the best espionage noir writers of the last seventy years: Graham Greene’s high tension stories were excellent examples of international noir, filled with intrigue, double-crossing, and central characters in way over their heads. Orient Express This Gun for Hire Confidential Agent Ministry of Fear The Third Man Our Man in Havana Eric Ambler’s work was atmospheric and tense, with protagonists that would find themselves unwittingly involved in events bigger than themselves, and struggling to get free—or at least figure out what the hell was going on. Epitaph For a Spy A Coffin for Dimitrios Cause for Alarm Journey Into Fear Geoffrey Household wrote what is now considered the classic man-on-the-run story. Rogue Male John le Carre. Some readers and critics consider him as perhaps the greatest espionage novelist of all time (debatable). But le Carre did indeed write bold, cynical and compelling stories that rang with an authenticity lacking in Fleming’s work. The George Smiley cycle of novels is well worth reading, but le Carre's greatest novel is this stand-alone... The Spy Who Came in from the Cold Adam Hall straddled the line between the stark realism of le Carre and the outrageous adventure of Fleming. His novels about British secret agent Quiller are fast-paced, cynical in the best noir tradition, and wildly unpredictable. The Quiller Memorandum The Ninth Directive The Striker Portfolio The Warsaw Document The Tango Briefing The Mandarin Cypher The Sinkiang Executive Len Deighton has been called the “anti-Fleming”, because his protagonists are so diametrically opposed to Bond. The nameless narrator of Deighton’s earliest thrillers (called ‘Harry Palmer’ in the film adaptations) is a bitter, burnt-out ex-criminal forced into working for the British government. Terrific international noir. The Ipcress File Funeral in Berlin The Billion Dollar Brain Donald Hamilton. Forget the goofy movies with Dean Martin; the Matt Helm series of espionage novels were top-notch, exciting and remarkably well-written. Death of a Citizen The Wrecking Crew The Removers The Silencers Murderer’s Row Edward S. Aarons wrote straight noir crime stories in the early ‘50’s before turning his attention to espionage with the classic “Assignment” series featuring Cajun secret agent Sam Durrell. Highly believable, action-packed. Here are just a handful: Assignment to Disaster Assignment: Suicide Assignment: Treason Assignment: Stella Marni Alan Furst is every bit in the best tradition of Graham Greene and Eric Ambler, writing moody and evocative spy stories invariably set against the backdrop of WWII-era Europe. Beautifully written, fog-shrouded, and as purely noir as anything going today. Night Soldiers Dark Star The World at Night Dark Voyage Red Gold Kingdom of Shadows The Polish Officer Spies of Warsaw Spies of the Balkans Furst is a modern writer, which leads us very nicely into the world of modern noir… next time. go to Part Seven

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This "most dangerous of all spies" staged daring mountaintop escapes, prison breaks, and railway bombings -- all on her trusty wooden leg, codenamed "Cuthbert."