Spies: The Secret Agents Who Changed the Course of History [Paperback]

Ernest Volkman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 17, 1997

"Intriguing." —Booklist "Ernest Volkman brings his subjects into full life in their world of espionage. Spies is a substantial addition to the already rich collection of titles under his name." —Ray S. Cline, President National Intelligence Study Center "A consistently absorbing and informative introduction to key players in the espionage game." —Kirkus Reviews Acclaimed author Ernest Volkman strips away the myths and Hollywood hype to reveal the human drama behind "the world’s second oldest profession"—espionage. Spies is the startling true story of the men and women whose daring feats of subterfuge have, for better or worse, irrevocably altered the course of history.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Volkman ( Secret Intelligence ) here offers a collection of short biographies of nearly 50 of the century's major secret agents and those who "ran" them. The cast includes such well-known operatives as Kim Philby, mole of moles; Klaus Fuchs, who stole the secret of the atom bomb; and George Blake, the true Manchurian Candidate. Among the lesser-known but history-changing figures are Richard Sorge, a German journalist who spied on the Axis powers for the Soviets, and Dusko Popov, whom the author denotes as the original James Bond. Volkman describes the exploits of legendary spymasters as well, among them Markus Wolf, an East German who was the model for John le Carre's fictional "Karla," and Communist China's super-sinister Kang Sheng. Volkman rightly calls this highly entertaining, if chilling, omnibus an espionage hall of infamy. Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Perhaps this title should have been something like "Famous People in 20th-Century Intelligence History," since only some of the 48 people profiled here by the author of Warriors of the Night: Spies, Soldiers, and American Intelligence ( LJ 2/1/85) were actual agents. Lavrenti Pavlovich Beria and Reinhard Heydrich headed intelligence agencies, making their mark by carrying out the evil policies of evil dictators. Herbert Yardley, F.W. Winterbotham, and Claude Dansey became better known for their administrative abilities than any of their field activities. Ian Fleming, Graham Greene, and Somerset Maugham are much more famous for their later literary efforts. Each person receives a few pages of biographical narrative that touches on the interesting high points of his career. The worst thing about this easy-to-read book is that there are no footnotes or bibliography for verifying the stories (was Fleming really involved with inducing Rudolf Hess to fly to England in May 1941?). With a glossary and list of intelligence agencies. A very general work; appropriate for public libraries. (Index not seen.)-- Daniel K. Blewett, Loyola Univ. Lib., Chicago
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (June 17, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471193615
• ISBN-13: 978-0471193616
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,811,439 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Be fair warned!, April 30, 2003

By 

Milkman (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spies: The Secret Agents Who Changed the Course of History (Paperback)

I have been a casual student of the history of espionage since I took an outstanding college course on the topic. I have enjoyed reading books about Wilhelm Canaris and World War II intelligence operations like ULTRA. I bought Volkman's "Spies" in order to branch out and find some new characters on whom to focus attention in my future reading.

Unfortunately I was underwhelmed by this book. It is an ambitious task to tell the tales of the 30 or 40 historical figures in one collection. In the end, it was too ambitious. Each of the "spooks" (or espionage agents) referenced receives only five pages of treatment. To take such legendary and important figures as Kim Philby or Richard Sorge and condense them to five pages guarantees that their impact will be lost on a casual reader. Fortunately for me, I learned of their importance in my earlier studies. Casual readers will read this book and have no real sense of how important the men and women were.

I give credit (and a second star in my rating) to Volkman for using language that is emphatic and intense. You can tell he cares about the subject matter and tries to build suspense. The fatal flaw is in the ultra-condensed space provided, which does not allow him to convey the context or the true importance of the actions he describes.

To sum, this book reads like a collection of school children's essays... a five page book report for each spy. Not nearly enough room for the insight that I sought.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun read, July 17, 2003

By 

E. L. Weinhold "Lolly" (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spies: The Secret Agents Who Changed the Course of History (Paperback)

Includes biographies of major spies from many different countries. I enjoyed this book because it shouwed how smart some of these spies were, and were able to stay under the radar for so long, and then strike so fast. The book categorizes spies (like "Moles", or "Cryptographers") and gives a lengthy biography on each spy. It is amazing that the reporter that wrote this book was able to gather all the information on people that strove to be invisible! A fascinating read about the world of espionage.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, not great, June 29, 2007

By 

Jon "Superfly" (San Diego) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spies: The Secret Agents Who Changed the Course of History (Paperback)

This book clocks in at just under 300 pages and manages to offer the profound true stories of "The Secret Agents who Changed the Course of History". In straightforward, easy-to-read prose Volkman gives 5-7 page vignettes about these people where he sets the stage for them as individuals and most importantly, in my opinion, works to contextualize them by offering the results and implications of their work.

He manages a lot of information about a lot of spies by breaking them up into categories like "Moles", "The Legends" and "The Traitors". As defining characterstics these seem arbitrary (weren't the moles also traitors?), but he had to break them up somehow and he admits that it's difficult to do so; it might as well be loosely thematic. There are 45 stories, after all, and you can't just have them all blocked up together.

The majority of them deal with what would become the KGB, and CIA agents up to and during the cold war. Which is probably what most people expect in regards to spydom. But there are a lot of surprises and of course lots of people I'd never heard of. Who can name 45 spies? I was disappointed to see that Aldrich Ames and David Greenglass didn't make it on to the list.

The problem, like another review noted, is that its hard to explain why so many people are important in so little space. These are not stories about great people. They are, however, quick insights into a shady business and the tremors they caused that changed the world. Rock on, that.

And its a good introduction for those of us who aren't cloaked and daggered enough to already know about all these people.