The journalist and podcaster chooses his top spy novels by spies. He will be speaking at the Chalke History Festival on 27 June about his new book, "The Spy in the Archive: How One Man Tried to Kill the KGB".
Our Man in Havana
Greene spent some time in MI6 and returned to espionage themes many times; to my mind, this comedy is the best of those books. On one level the story has elements of absurdity, with a vacuum-cleaner salesman feeding dodgy intelligence back to credulous spies in London, yet it also tells you something still relevant about how and why bad intelligence can start flying around.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Available on The Week Bookshop
A Spy Alone
Charles Beaumont, 2023
A recent first novel by a former MI6 operative, this has a terrific plot involving an Oxford spy ring, but also gives real insight into the modern way in which Russia runs its spies, and how it's possible to track them down, including by using investigative skills.
Available on The Week Bookshop
Damascus Station
David McCloskey, 2021
I'm biased since he is my podcast co-host, but this is a modern-day classic set in Syria. It has the authenticity that can only come from the author having worked in the CIA and served in the Middle East, combined with all the drama you want from a top-notch thriller.
Available on The Week Bookshop
How to Betray Your Country
James Wolff, 2021
This is the middle book in an excellent trilogy, which starts with "Beside the Syrian Sea", featuring main character August Drummond. It's by a former British government "official" (writing, like others, under a pseudonym), and has complexity and depth as it asks questions about loyalty.
Available on The Week Bookshop
A Perfect Spy
John le Carré, 1986
Impossible not to put the old master on the list. This semi-autobiographical account gives the best insight into his own experiences as a young man, and also addresses the question that many spies ruminate on: what leads someone to betray their country?
Available on The Week Bookshop
-
Ultimate pasta alla NormaThe Week Recommends White miso and eggplant enrich the flavour of this classic pasta dish
-
Death in Minneapolis: a shooting dividing the USIn the Spotlight Federal response to Renee Good’s shooting suggest priority is ‘vilifying Trump’s perceived enemies rather than informing the public’
-
5 hilariously chilling cartoons about Trump’s plan to invade GreenlandCartoons Artists take on misdirection, the need for Greenland, and more
-
Ultimate pasta alla Norma
The Week Recommends White miso and eggplant enrich the flavour of this classic pasta dish
-
Woman in Mind: a ‘triumphant’ revival of Alan Ayckbourn’s dark comedyThe Week Recommends Sheridan Smith and Romesh Ranganathan dazzle in ‘bitterly funny farce’
-
Properties of the week: impressive ski chaletsThe Week Recommends Featuring stunning properties in France and Austria
-
The Curious Case of Mike Lynch: an ‘excellent, meticulously researched’ biographyThe Week Recommends Katie Prescott’s book examines Lynch’s life and business dealings, along with his ‘terrible’ end
-
Can You Keep a Secret? Dawn French’s new comedy is a ‘surprising treat’The Week Recommends Warm, funny show about an insurance scam is ‘beautifully performed’
-
Hamnet: a ‘slick weepie’ released in time for Oscar glory?Talking Point Heartbreaking adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling novel has a ‘strangely smooth’ surface
-
The 8 best spy movies of all timethe week recommends Excellence in espionage didn’t begin — or end — with the Cold War
-
Book reviews: ‘The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else’s Game’ and ‘The Sea Captain’s Wife: A True Story of Mutiny, Love, and Adventure at the Bottom of the World’Feature Comparing life to a game and a twist on the traditional masculine seafaring tale
