“They gather, divert and conceal information, steal secrets and always try to stay one step ahead of their enemies. This is their story.”

Reading Rosie Raja Churchill’s Spy
Reminded me of these two
Brilliant and beautiful non fiction books
About spies and the underground world of espionage

These two books tell the true stories of spies from around the world and through the passage of time.

“Espionage is one of the oldest human activities ever to have existed. Spies from across the globe have shaped and changed the world, often in surprising ways. Although they try to keep their work hidden from everyday view, they have left their impact scattered through history. This gives us a chance to look inside the mysterious world of spies and uncover some of the incredible techniques they use in their inscrutable work.”

My fascination with spies began in my childhood when I loved to read the stories of super sleuth Nancy Drew. As an adult I loved watching the BBC TV series Spooks. My interest in this area of history has been rekindled by the books of Sufiya Ahmed and the story of Noor Inayat Khan.

These two books share the true stories of real life spies. Through these people we learn about the role of espionage in world history and we learn about key spy techniques and tools such as the use of Code Names, Drops, Intelligence Gathering Disciplines, Spying Technology, Tradecraft and Agent Handling.

I have loved reading about The Art of War, a book William picked up recently at a second hand bookshop and is fascinated by. Written by Sun Tzu, a Chinese military commander around 2500 years ago. The Art of War is still regarded as an important and influential piece of work that aims to avoid combat and talks about espionage, types of spies and the fact that all warfare is based on deception.

These books show readers the importance of spies in World Wars 1 and 2, in The Cold War and during The Russian Revolution. Without the world of spies for all sides, all nations, the history of our world might be very different.

There are names in these books instantly recognisable: Alan Turing, Hedy Lamarr, John Edgar Hoover, Mata Hari and the fictional super spy James Bond.

There are also heroes we do not yet know enough about but whose stories deserve to be heard.

In Secrets and Spies the comic book style illustrations pop from the page. Readers can learn about Ancient Secret Agents, Medieval Missions, Top Secret Missions through the first and second world wars.

There are pages dedicated to Super Sleuth Women and famous fictional spies. Readers can discover more about International Agencies such as the CIA and MI5. Readers can also attend Spy School and find out what it might be like to work undercover, to use a range of spy gadgets in the field and to be code breakers, deciphering secret messages securely.

We loved reading about Animal Spies, Cyber Spying and testing out our Spy Speak.

These books are wonderfully detailed. We have learned a lot about The Secret Life Of Spies. These two books are perfect reading for Remembrance Day and for Non Fiction November. They would also make great gifts this Christmas.