Tis the Season for Some Spycraft

The recent and ongoing news coverage of Russia’s alleged tampering with American elections is just the latest example of possible skulduggery between the two countries. Espionage is defined (from an American standpoint) as “the act of obtaining, delivering, transmitting, communicating, or receiving information in respect to the national defense with an intent or reason to believe that the information may be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation.” (Words of intelligence: an intelligence professional’s lexicon for domestic and foreign threats, 2nd ed., by Ian Goldman.) Although illegal, espionage has commonplace throughout history, as countries tacitly accepted it as a part of intelligence gathering.

For those of us who enjoy a good spy-themed movie or book, the term “espionage” usually conjures up images of James Bond, or novels by Tom Clancy or John le Carré. However, the Cold War battle between the United States’ CIA and the Soviet Union’s KGB was quite real with often dire consequences.

The Social Science, Philosophy & Religion Department carries books that give an overview of the history and scope of espionage, and detailed stories of spying conducted during and after the Cold War. Unfortunately, by its very nature, the general public never hears of successful espionage activities. These stories have come to light because of declassified information or because the spy’s activities were discovered and publicized. Most of these stories tell of Americans, such as Robert Hanssen, Aldrich Ames, and John Anthony Walker, who were recruited by the Soviet Union and were eventually caught selling top-secret United States government information.

Selected print & ebook titles

America the vulnerable: inside the new threat matrix of digital espionage, crime, and warfare by Joel Brenner.
364.38 B838

American spies: espionage against the United States from the Cold War to the present by Michael J. Sulick.
351.74 S949-1

Billion dollar spy: a true story of Cold War espionage and betrayal by David E. Hoffman.
351.74092 T649Ho
Ebook edition

Confessions of a spy: the real story of Aldrich Ames by Pete Earley.
351.74092 A513Ea

Craft of intelligence: America’s legendary spy master on the fundamentals of intelligence gathering for a free world by Allen W. Dulles.
351.74 D883 2016

Cyberspies: the secret history of surveillance, hacking, and digital espionage by Gordon Corera.
364.38 C797
Ebook edition
Eaudiobook edition

Enemy within: a history of espionage by Terry Crowdy.
351.7409 C953

Hacked world order: how nations fight, trade maneuver, and manipulate in the digital age by Adam Segal.
327 S4535
Ebook edition

History of espionage: the clandestine world of surveillance, spying and intelligence from ancient times to post 9/11 by Ernest Volkman.
351.7409 V919-1

Honorable treachery: a history of U.S. intelligence, espionage and covert action from the American Revolution to the CIA by G. J. A. O’Toole.
351.7409 O88 2014
Ebook edition

In spies we trust: the story of western intelligence by Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones.
351.74 J46-3

My life as a spy: one of America’s most notorious spies finally tells his story by John A. Walker, Jr.
351.74 W181

Rise and fall of intelligence: an international security history by Michael Warner.
351.74 W283

Sacred secrets: how Soviet intelligence operations changed American history by Jerrold and Leona Schechter.
351.740947 S314

Spy book: the encyclopedia of espionage by Norman Palomar & Thomas B. Allen.
351.7403 P777 2004

Spy who couldn’t spell: a dyslexic traitor, an unbreakable code, and the FBI’s hunt for America’s stolen secrets by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee.
351.74092 R333Bh
Ebook edition
Eaudiobook edition

Spying in America: espionage from the Revolutionary War to the dawn of the Cold War by Michael J. Sulick.
351.74 S949

Traitors: the worst acts of treason in American history from Benedict Arnold to Robert Hanssen by Richard Sale.
351.7409 S163

Ultimate spy by H. Keith Melton.
351.74 M528 2015
Ebook edition

Image By Acid the meme machine (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Social Science Department,

Federal Government,

International Relations,

Central Library

Why support the Library?

The Los Angeles Public Library serves the largest most diverse population of any library in the United States.

Through its Central Library and 72 branches, the Los Angeles Public Library provides free and easy access to information, ideas, books and technology that enrich, educate and empower every individual in our city's diverse communities.

With more people than ever before using the library—a record 17 million last year alone—your support helps the Library provide people with the resources they need to succeed and thrive.

How to support the Library

You can support the Los Angeles Public Library in several ways:

Join a “Friends” group. There is a “Friends of the Library” group for most branch libraries and departments of the Central Library. Friends groups raise money for improvements to their library through memberships, used book sales and other activities. For more information click here or talk to your local librarian.

Join the Library Foundation of Los Angeles. The Library Foundation is a non-profit organization that raises funds for Library enhancement programs such as adult and early literacy, children and teen reading clubs, technology, and cultural programs. Foundation members receive a variety of benefits with their membership. For more information, see http://www.lfla.org.

Make a donation by check to the Los Angeles Public Library and send it to:
Support the Library, 630 W. Fifth St., Los Angeles CA 90071 or call (213) 228-7272.

Los Angeles Public Library

Tis the Season for Some Spycraft

My Favorite Books of 2024

The Palace Project App

Interview With an Author: Genoveva Dimova

Interview With Author David Greenberg

Lo mejor del 2024: los libros preferidos por nuestros lectores y bibliotecarios