The Spy S Bedside Book

On its first appearance in 1957, Hugh and Graham Greene's The Spy's Bedside Book provoked a storm of interest, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, 100 copies were bought by East German Intelligence. This classic anthology, with a new introduction by the former head of MI5, Stella Rimington, includes stories by some of the great writers on spying and many practitioners, including Ian Fleming and John Buchan, Sir Robert Baden-Powell and Belle Boyd, Walter Schellenberg and Major André, Sir Paul Dukes and Vladimir Petrov, and. from the golden age of mystery and suspense, William Le Queux and E. Phillips Oppenheim. There are also some unexpected figures: William Blake, D.H. Lawrence and Thomas Mann, all suspected of spying in three great wars. How can you hide messages in a boiled egg? Why should you always put pepper in your vodka when in Russia? Answers to these questions and much more can be found in this thrilling collection, which will enthral readers once again with its tales of espionage from a bygone era.

For everyone who’s ever wondered what it really takes to be a spy, legendary author Graham Greene (The Third Man, The Quiet American) and his brother Hugh have compiled this irresistible selection of fiction, memoir, and tricks of the trade straight from the all-time masters of espionage. Here is a perfectly safe way to discover the dangerous secrets many spies have died to learn. Want to know how to hide a map of an enemy fort in a butterfly sketch? Wonder why James Bond himself advises always drinking vodka with pepper? Who hasn’t fantasized about being a secret agent or been captivated by the mysterious lore of spycraft? From the words of William Blake, D. H. Lawrence, and Thomas Mann—all suspected of spying in three great wars—to classic espionage stories by Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling, Eric Ambler, Ian Fleming, and Graham Greene himself, this fascinating compendium of all things spy makes the perfect companion for the armchair agent in all of us. If this book divulged any more secrets, it would’ve had to be written with invisible ink. (Find out how to make your own inside!)

For everyone who’s ever wondered what it really takes to be a spy, legendary author Graham Greene (The Third Man, The Quiet American) and his brother Hugh have compiled this irresistible selection of fiction, memoir, and tricks of the trade straight from the all-time masters of espionage. Here is a perfectly safe way to discover the dangerous secrets many spies have died to learn. Want to know how to hide a map of an enemy fort in a butterfly sketch? Wonder why James Bond himself advises always drinking vodka with pepper? Who hasn’t fantasized about being a secret agent or been captivated by the mysterious lore of spycraft? From the words of William Blake, D. H. Lawrence, and Thomas Mann—all suspected of spying in three great wars—to classic espionage stories by Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling, Eric Ambler, Ian Fleming, and Graham Greene himself, this fascinating compendium of all things spy makes the perfect companion for the armchair agent in all of us. If this book divulged any more secrets, it would’ve had to be written with invisible ink. (Find out how to make your own inside!) From the Trade Paperback edition.

Espionage fact and fiction collide in this thrilling anthology, where you ll find some of the greatest spy stories ever written alongside genuine agent reports and instructions that changed the course of history. Daring wartime plans devised by Ian Fleming that could have come straight from the pages of a Bond novel are followed by the first appearance of John le Carré's George Smiley. Reports from Cambridge spies Kim Philby and Guy Burgess to Moscow Centre are seen alongside literary classics by Graham Greene and Somerset Maugham. Genuine instructions to agents on how to tail a suspect or how to stay alive inside wartime Germany are interspersed with tales of derring-do inside Bolshevik Russia from Paul Dukes and Sidney Reilly, the original Ace of Spies. With an expert introduction to each extract, former intelligence officer Michael Smith deftly uses his own experience, and that of his many contributors, to take us on a fascinating journey inside both the real and the imagined world of espionage.

Maurice Castle is a high-level operative in the British secret service during the Cold War. He is deeply in love with his African wife, who escaped apartheid South Africa with the help of his communist friend. Despite his misgivings, Castle decides to act as a double agent, passing information to the Soviets to help his in-laws in South Africa. In order to evade detection, he allows his assistant to be wrongly identified as the source of the leaks. But when suspicions remain, Castle is forced to make an even more excruciating sacrifice to save himself. Originally published in 1978, The Human Factor is an exciting novel of espionage drawn from Greene’s own experiences in MI6 during World War II, and ultimately a deeply humanistic examination of the very nature of loyalty. This edition features a new introduction by Colm Tóibín. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Espionage fact and fiction collide in this thrilling compendium of spy writing, where some of the greatest spy stories ever told meet the genuine agent records and instructions that altered history. Ian Fleming's genre-defining genius and John le Carré's iconic George Smiley are interspersed with real-life stories of derring-do inside Bolshevik Russia. Literary classics by Graham Greene and Somerset Maugham appear next to never-before-published reports from two of the Cambridge spies. Fully updated with tales of agent-running from the first female Director-General of MI5, Dame Stella Rimington, and Andy McNab's chilling account of a top-secret mission deep inside IRA territory, this compelling anthology is proof that truth really can be stranger than fiction. With expert commentary, former intelligence officer Michael Smith takes us on a fascinating journey inside the mysterious world of British intelligence. The Secret Agent's Bedside Reader is a must-read for every espionage enthusiast and aspiring agent.