Customer Reviews

The Encyclopedia of TV Spies

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3 star:		(1)
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Wes Britton has written a fabulous overlook of spies on TV. What sets this encyclopedia apart is its thoroughness and solid writing. It doesn't just cover the big names like Maxwell Smart and Napoleon Solo, but every spy that's appeared on TV, all the way down to Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp. The articles are interesting and filled with behind the scenes tidbits. It's not just a great resource, but also an interesting read for anyone who's a fan of espionage. I highly recommend it for all fans of TV and movie spies.

Long a fan of spy TV shows, I've wished for a thick, chewy reference book like this one for years. I received it from Amazon a few days ago, and while I'm only halfway through reading it, I felt compelled to go ahead and write a review. First, the good: this is clearly a labor of love for author Wesley Britton, and fulfills its purpose as a compendium of almost every spy show produced for the English-speaking television market. Whether you're looking for write-ups on the top successes in the field (Avengers, Mission: Impossible) or hoping to find more obscure failures (Gemini Man, A Man Called Sloane), you won't be disappointed. The range is quite admirable too, encompassing the obvious, as well as kiddie shows, comedies, mini-series, and the tangentially-related. So far, the only glaring omission I've noticed is "Kim Possible."

Another aspect I particularly enjoy about the book is that it generously cross-references actors and production folks who worked on other spy shows (as well as the Bond movies). For instance, it's fun to see "Avengers" writer Brian Clemens' name popping up in so many of the spy shows of the mid-century. Yet another useful feature of the book is Britton's letting readers know if a show is available on DVD or some other format, or if it has been hopelessly lost like a severely compromised agent behind the Iron Curtain.

On to the bad, or rather, the sad. Some seriously sloppy editing severely mars this book's readability. Early on, spelling mistakes such as "Britains" for "Britons" (amusing when you consider the author's name), and "morays" for "mores" made me wary of the "facts" contained in the book. My radar pinged when I saw "Themes" listed twice as the production company for the classic series "Callan." Had I not encountered the earlier mistakes, I would have glossed over it. However, a quick internet check confirmed that it was "Thames" Television who produced the show. Other mistakes I've noticed have been harmless or amusing, like "bomb" spelled "bom" (in the "Get Smart!" entry), "Naval" spelled "Navel" (the "JAG" entry). But others are a serious kick in the gut of scholarship, like misspelling Don Adams' name "Addams" once, Barbara Feldon's name "Felton" once, and the most personally irritating to me, consistently misspelling "It Takes a Thief" character Alexander Mundy's name as "Munday." In fact, I had planned to buy this book for a friend of mine who loves '60s spy teevee more than I do for his birthday this year. I won't now, because I know that that one spelling error will send him into fits of pique. One shouldn't knowingly send one's friends into fits of pique. My more important point is that when you can see the glaring mistakes, it makes you deeply distrustful of the information you don't come to the book already knowing. Spies, and their chroniclers, should know this!

My only other minor quibble with this book is that some entries, particularly those of mini-series, tend to get bogged down in unnecessarily long plot break-downs. Also, some obscure shows have listings than are probably longer than they deserve. I might suggest for future editions that the author divide the book into two sections, the first listing the major spy shows -- the ground-breakers and wild successes like "I Spy," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," "Wild, Wild West," "Get Smart," "The Prisoner," etc. up front. Go into more detail with these shows, and provide more photos. They deserve it, and readers want it. The back section would then contain all the lesser lights, perhaps giving some quick critical analysis that might help readers decide whether a show is worth seeking out in some form. And, FIX THOSE MISTAKES!

All in all, five stars for effort -- and the sheer love of the material shown by the author -- but two stars for editing, resulting in a 3.5 rating from me. Worth owning if you love the genre, but reader beware!

If you are a Baby Boomer who remembers with fondness growing up with Illya Kuryakin, John Drake, and Emma Peel or if you were born too late and want to get some idea what all the fuss was about, this is the book for you. Entries include valuable information on the availability of the different series on DVD. A wonderful companion to Spy Television also by Britton.

Due to it's style - and it has been designed this way - Wesley Britton's Encyclopaedia of TV Spies is not a book that you'll read cover to cover. Most likely, you'll be like me, start at the beginning, but then skip ahead to say, The Persuaders, which will make you think of The Saint, so you'll skip forward again. Then you'll check out The Prisoner, which will make you skip back to Danger Man - I am sure you get the idea. You'll hop from one series to the next. But dear reader, this is where discipline is required. If you hop about, just sticking to the shows you know, you're going to miss out on a whole host of TV shows that you've never heard of, which is where the real gold lies in this book - and then, if you're like me, you're are going to want to track down these mythical television series.

As this is an Encyclopaedia, the book is not a collection of reviews, but more of a collection of overviews on each (an every) television spy series made in the last fifty (+) years. Britton does a great job of condensing down the essential information on each series and presenting it in a fashion that gives you a good understanding of what the shows were like, and quite often background information on how the show came about, and how it ended.

The Encyclopaedia of TV Spies is an essential reference book if you're a fan of Spy television. All in all this is a very good package, and one that is going to see a lot of use in my household.

The Encyclopedia of TV Spies by Dr. Wesley Britton is a "must have" for any fan of the spy genre in television and movies. Dr. Britton not only summarizes some of the best known and least known on-screen spy stories, but he synthesizes his vast knowledge to offer insight into why some had long-term success while others had short runs. This level of insight, combined with engaging extra features that address connections to novels and music, makes this encyclopedia exceptionally informative. I highly recommend this book!

I do hardly any pleasure reading anymore. I just don't have time. But, I got my copy of The Encyclopedia of TV Spies from Amazon recently. I've really been enjoying it. If you don't have it I highly recommend it. Not only is it full of information, but it's fun reading. I've run across a lot of shows I had forgotten about. And with many old shows coming out on DVD or being available online, I'm finding the book is also a good listing of shows to track down for possible viewing.

One thing I found interesting last night is that the spy movie "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" (one of my favorites) was a TV series in the 90's. Now I have to see if it is available anywhere.

The Encyclopedia of TV Spies is by Dr. Wesley Britton, one of the foremost authorities on spies found in TV and film.

This is a great resource and should be on the shelf of every espionage fan - with references from every spy show from Adam Adamant Lives! to Young Rebels, with insightful looks at shows that really aren't remembered as "spy shows," such as Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, or The Adventures of Zorro. Comedies and satires are included in the scope of the study, and frankly, where else are you going to find Lancelot Link, Secret Squirrel and Maxwell Smart in the same pages as James Bond, Napoleon Solo and Jack Bauer?

Check this one out!

Just finished reading the Encyclopedia of TV Spies. It is a great compendium of Boob-Tube espionage, highly recommended as an authoritative resource for anyone Spy-Fi inclined. I'm always amazed when someone can put that much effort into assembling this much information about a subject. The tome is not only exhaustive in its approach to American TV classics and obscurities, it covers British efforts as well. Great job Wes!

Great news!! A new book by Wesley Britton on TV spies!! Dr. Britton has covered EVERYTHING connected with TV Spies from I SPY to The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Six Million Dollar Man, The A-Team, Mission:Impossible, Get Smart, The Avengers, Wild Wild West, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and The Equalizer all the way to Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp. (If you can remember it, it's definitely IN here - and so many others that you probably didn't even know about!)

With more than 500 pages, TV Spies are given their due with wonderful quantities of information and fascinating facts, including much behind the scenes background and intrigue - all presented in a great, easy-to-flip-thru format. The book is written with great clarity, sharp insight, and in a totally entertaining style.

This is a MOST enjoyable book and one that all TV spy lovers will thoroughly enjoy throughout each and every entry!!

Open Channel D! Wesley Britton has accomplished a mission impossible -- he's written the ultimate reference work on TV Spies on-the-air, in print, and even in music. Get Smart -- the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TV SPIES is now available for pre-order from the publisher and you should grab it.

Britton's book is a long overdue and desperately needed reference work is not only a detailed and complete listing of every spy show on TV, it also includes appendices on TV spy soundtracks and novelizations that, on their own, are well worth the purchase price. This richly detailed encyclopedia will satisfy both the curiosity of fans and the scholarly needs of researchers. But it's not fanboy drool nor is it dry and academic. Britton clearly loves his subject and approaches it with enthusiasm that comes through on every page. I strongly recommend it!