For better or worse, much of what I’ve learned about espionage over the years has come from reading espionage stories. some authors are particularly diligent about research and accuracy, so most of what I’ve collected is probably true. in fact, many of these authors are veterans of the intelligence game and should know what they are writing about. but, to make sure what I read is less likely to be fictional, there’s nothing like an in-depth nonfiction treatment of the field by a credible author. Since January 2010, I have read over thirty excellent non-fiction books on espionage. I highly recommend them.
This post was updated on March 9, 2022.
You are reading: Best spy books non fiction
The most notable of these books are David Talbot’s revisionist biography of Allen Dulles, The Devil’s Checkerboard; dana priest and william arkin’s extraordinary exposure of the military-intelligence complex, top secret; and Max Hastings’ revisionist history of secret intelligence in World War II, The Secret War.
Each of the thirty-plus titles below is linked to my book review. within each section, they are listed in alphabetical order by the last names of the authors.
books on espionage before and during the second world war
hitler’s spy chief: the story of wilhelm canaris by richard bassett—the secret history of world war ii
the night of the assassins: the untold story of hitler’s plot to kill fdr, churchill and stalin by howard blum—the surprising nazi plot to kill fdr, churchill and stalin
A Spy at the Heart of the Third Reich: The Remarkable Story of Fritz Kolbe, America’s Top Spy in World War II by Lucas Delattre—The Little-Known Story of America’s Top Spy in Nazi Germany
The Woman Who Codebreakers: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America’s Enemies by Jason Fagone, an extraordinary woman codebreaker who busted 1930s gangsters and Nazi spies during the second world war.
the secret war: spies, ciphers and guerrillas, 1939-1945, by max hastings: a revisionist view of intelligence in the second world war, which questions the value of “humint”
Agents of Influence: A British Campaign, a Canadian Spy, and the Secret Plot to Bring the United States into World War II by Henry Hemming: British Interference in American Policy in World War II
code name: lise: the true story of the woman who became the most decorated spy of world war ii by larry loftis: a woman was the most decorated spy of world war ii
The Spy Princess: The True Story of World War II Spy Aline Griffith, Countess of Romanones by Larry Loftis, the American model who spied for the Allies in World War II
an impeccable spy: richard sorge, stalin’s main agent by owen matthews—the greatest spy of the 20th century?
Double Crossing: The True Story of D-Day Spies, by Ben McIntyre: A New Twist on Why the Normandy Invasion Succeeded
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Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Strange Plan Fooled the Nazis and Secured Allied Victory, by Ben McIntyre—Finally Declassified, The True Story of “The Man That Never Was”
agent sonya: moscow’s most daring war spy by ben macintyre, the extraordinaire soviet spy who gave stalin the bomb
Geniuses at War: Bletchley Park, Colossus, and the Dawn of the Digital Age by David A. price: the top secret story of the first digital computer
wild bill donovan: the spymaster who created the os and modern american espionage, by douglas waller—a man of note and the origins of the cia
cold war espionage books
The Quiet Americans: Four CIA Spies at the Dawn of the Cold War by Scott Anderson: Four CIA Spies Who Helped Set American Policy in the 1940s and 1950s
The Spy Who Couldn’t Spell: A Dyslexic Traitor, An Unbreakable Code, And The FBI’s Search For America’s Stolen Secrets By Yudhijit Bhattacharjee—Before Edward Snowden Was “The Spy Who Couldn’t Spell”
The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Kai Bird’s Robert Ames: A True Story of the PLO, Miss Universe, and the CIA
Into the House of the Enemy: The Secret Saga of the FBI Agent and the Codebreaker Who Caught the Russian Spies by Howard Blum: How the Soviet Atomic Spies Got Caught
the zhivago affair: the kremlin, the cia, and the battle over a banned book by peter finn and petra couvée: how a novel helped hasten the collapse of the soviet union
King of Spies: The Dark Reign of an American Spymaster by Blaine Harden: The Shameful Reality of America’s Role in the Korean War
The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal, by David E. hoffman: espionage as practiced in this cold war espionage true story
Bombing the Moon: And Other Intelligence Schemes and Military Plots Left on the Drawing Board by Vince Houghton: Ridiculous CIA and Pentagon Schemes
Mary’s Mosaic: The CIA Conspiracy to Assassinate John F. kennedy, mary pinchot meyer, and her vision of world peace, by peter janney: the cia, the mistress, and the jfk murder: an amazing but true story
The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War, by Stephen Kinzer: They Shaped American Foreign Policy for Decades to Come
Six Cars Long Behind an Elephant: Undercover & overwhelmed as a wife and mother of the cia by lillian mccloy, under deep cover in the cia during the cold war
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a spy among friends: kim philby and the great betrayal, by ben macintyre—was kim philby the greatest spy in history (as far as we know)?
The Spy and the Traitor: Ben Macintyre’s Greatest Cold War Espionage Story: An Extraordinary Cold War Espionage Story A Screenwriter Couldn’t Invent
the ghost: the secret life of cia spymaster james jesus angleton by jefferson morley—james jesus angleton, the man who nearly destroyed the cia
Patriotic Treason: The Inside Story of the CIA’s Secret Campaign to Enlist American Students in the Crusade Against Communism, by Karen M. paget—revealed: another sordid cia scandal
The Devil’s Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America’s Secret Government, by David Talbot, When America’s Secret Government Gone Wild
books on espionage since 1989
the angel: the egyptian spy who saved israel, by uri bar-joseph: the amazing story of the son-in-law of gamal nasser, who spied for israel for many years
undercover life: coming of age at the cia by amaryllis fox—undercover life at the cia chasing suitcase nukes
dark country: the secret history of cyber warfare, by fred kaplan—a story that spans five decades
the way of the knife: the cia, a secret army and a war to the ends of the earth, by mark mazzetti—drones, mercenaries and targeted assassinations: the new strategy of the cia
from warsaw with love: polish spies, the cia, and the forging of an unlikely alliance by john pomfret—the enduring alliance between polish spies and the cia
Top Secret America: The Rise of America’s New Security State, by Dana Priest and William M. arkin: the shocking reality behind the us war on “terror”
operation shakespeare: the true story of an elite international trap, by john shiffman: how the department of homeland security went abroad to capture an iranian arms dealer
Agent Storm: My Life Inside Al Qaeda and the CIA, by Morten Storm, Paul Cruickshank, and Tim Lister: A Truly Amazing Story About Al Qaeda, And It’s Real
to read more
You may also be interested in my publication, my 20 favorite espionage novels. you can also enjoy the top 5 non-fiction books on world war 2 (plus many finalists).
And you can always find my most popular and latest reviews, plus a guide to this entire site, on the home page.
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