Spies, Espionage, and Covert Operations: From Ancient Greece to the Cold War

by Michael Rank

From the #1 bestselling author of History's Greatest Generals comes an exciting new book on the greatest spies in history and how their acts of espionage and covert operations changed the course of history. Whether it is Aeneas Tacticus, who created Western military science; Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's spymaster who foiled numerous assassination attempts and forged an international spy network at the dawn of European colonialism; or Richard Sorge, the hard-drinking German spy for the Soviets whose interception of Axis military intelligence prevented the Russian army's collapse in World War II, each of these spies had a major impact on modern society. This book will explore the lives and times of the ten greatest spies, or spy networks, in history. Some have taken on legendary status, such as Mata Hari, the World War One-era exotic dancer and courtesan who shared the bed chambers of so many French and German officers that she couldn't help but become a double agent. Others spied for pure ideological conviction, such as George Koval, the Iowa-born spy who leaked American nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, accelerating Russia's nuclear program by years and making the Cold War arm's race possible. Still others have attained a near-religious level of adoration -- Nathan Hale, the Revolutionary War-era spy, had a very short career but became America's first martyr and a treasured national symbol. Whatever their reason for espionage, these spies represented the invisible hand of government power. Their lives were shrouded in mystery -- and many had backgrounds so convoluted that we still do not know their true loyalties, if they ever had any. But despite their enigmatic lives, they were the invisible hand that helped direct the course of history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

170 pages, Paperback

First published July 16, 2014

About the author

Michael Rank is a doctoral candidate in Middle East history. He has studied Turkish, Arabic, Persian, and Armenian, but can still pull out a rural Midwestern accent if need be. He also worked as a journalist in Istanbul for nearly a decade and reported on religion and human rights.

He is the author of the #1 Amazon best seller “From Muhammed to Burj Khalifa: A Crash Course in 2,000 Years of Middle East History,” and “History's Worst Dictators: A Short Guide to the Most Brutal Leaders, From Emperor Nero to Ivan the Terrible.”

Reviews

[Beth Withers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read several of Michael Rank's books, and this one was just as good as the others. I always appreciate the research that has gone into each book. Rank approaches history in an interesting way, and I always learn things I didn't know before. This book introduced me to a world I knew very little about, the world of spies and espionage, not just in our world today but back to ancient times. I'd never really considered how spies have affected the outcome of wars. The writing style is very readable, and the information is interesting - not what you'll find in your history textbooks!

[Glauber Monteiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Para quem gosta de história é extremamente envolvente, com apresentação de figuras históricas não tão conhecidas como o 007 e que glamour de "femme fatales Russas", doses de martine batido e não mexido e jogos em cassino são uma fantasia pitoresca para uma profissão que era tão mal vista como a prostituição, se não pior quando se leva honra em questão.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting overview...

[Jay Ranton · Rating 3 out of 5]

should have included at least one spy from Israel. Their spies won a war in 6 days for them. decent book though.