The Intelligent Spy's Handbook : Spies and Writers, Writers and Spies, and the Contribution of British Spies to English Literature

Fewprofessions comprise such an eclectic mix of personalities as that ofintelligence.

The characteristics required to thrive as a spy - ideologicalconviction, ego, the ability to manipulate, deceive and remain cold - havecreated some of the most compelling and enduring figures in history.

In TheIntelligent Spy's Handbook, Robin Renwick provides an overview of thebiggest names in the world of espionage, with a wonderful eye for the detailsthat bring each of them to life.

We hear, for instance, of how Kim Philby, tohave fun at the expense of his colleagues, kept a photograph in his office ofMount Ararat - taken from the Soviet side.

We see how the audacious,far-fetched ideas of the naval officer Ian Fleming, aside from creating themost famous of all spies, may have actually inspired the real-life OperationMincemeat. And the darker side of some of our more heroic stories is exposed,from the chemical castration of Alan Turing to the personal sacrifices OlegGordievsky made to become Britain's most successful Soviet mole.

Whetheryou're a seasoned veteran or a first-time reader, this book is the perfectprimer on the best-known individuals in the history of intelligence.