Spy Book, 2nd Edition [Paperback]

Norman Polmar (Author), Thomas Allen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 13, 2004

The Spy Book uncovers the secrets and decodes the messages of the covert world of espionage. Over 2,000 entries on people, agencies, operations, and tools comprise this definitive work. Insiders Norman Polmar and Thomas Allen have unearthed files that have only recently been made available, including many from the KGB. This second edition includes the latest unveiled spies and situations, as well as new entries on the effects of espionage on literature, movies, television, and other media.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Norman Polmar and Thomas Allen describe espionage as the world's second-oldest profession, right behind prostitution. They say the two trades share much of the same allure: "Money, secrecy, sex, great public interest, and people's reputations--or lack thereof--are involved in both professions." Spies are probably the objects of greater curiosity, given their proximity to the corridors of power. And now Polmar and Allen have come up with a compendium that informs on the informers, from "A-2" (the intelligence staff of the U.S. Army Air Corps) to "Zelle, Margaretha" (Mata Hari's real name). More than 2,000 entries deliver the scoop on agencies, operations, jargon, technology, and even such fictional figures as James Bond. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up. An alphabetically arranged encyclopedia, ranging from Biblical incidences of spying to circumstances surrounding Boris Yeltsin's reelection in 1996. Interesting details about television and literary spies are included. The text is clear, and the authors' conclusions are well documented. A system of stars and small capitals indicate master entries and cross-references, respectively. The icons are better suited to a multimedia reference tool where one could more easily move through the maze of interactive text. There is an index of personalities, but no subject index. Entries on fictional spies are strictly alphabetical, so James Bond is under J and Maxwell Smart is under M. Dull, black-and-white photographs are sprinkled throughout. Mark Lloyd's The Guiness Book of Espionage (Da Capo, 1994) is not as comprehensive, but its topical organization makes it a more accessible book for beginning students of espionage and more useful for assignments. Visually appealing and easier to read, H. Keith Melton's The Ultimate Spy Book (DK, 1996) and Richard Platt's Spy (Knopf, 1996) are also better introductory works. Nevertheless, Spy Book is a solid reference source with detailed coverage for readers who are already captivated by the subject.?Margaret Tice, Brooklyn Public Library
Copyright 1997 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: 752 pages
• Publisher: Random House Reference; 2 Sub edition (July 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375720251
• ISBN-13: 978-0375720253
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #558,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars LOTS OF SPIES, BUT NOT ALL, January 29, 2006

By 

Gary Kern (NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Spy Book, 2nd Edition (Paperback)

SPY BOOK, with 2500 entries packed into one big paperback, is an exceptionally handy reference tool, but still far from a complete encyclopedia of espionage. For example, a photo display on page 513 shows Soviet postage stamps honoring the intelligence officers Stanislav Vaupshasov, Rudolf Abel, Konon Molody, Richard Sorge and Ivan Kudrya, plus British agent Kim Philby. If you look for an entry on each of these men, you will find it--except for Kudrya. At the place where he should appear you will see: Kryuchkov, Vladimir... Kuczynski, Dr. Jürgen... Kuczynski, Robert René... Kuczynski, Ursula... Kuehn, Dr. Bernard... Kuklinski, Col. Ryszard... A rather full listing within such a small range of the alphabet, but still no cigar. Turn the page, and you'll discover no listing for Leonid Kvasnikov, head of the Soviet "technical department" (atomic espionage) in the US during WWII--a rather serious omission.

A quick check for other names that come to mind reveals that most are represented, but Dmitry Bystrolyotov, Pavel Fitin, Vera Goutchkoff (Guchkova) and Jan Valtin (Richard Krebs) are missing. Each scholar of espionage who comes to the book will probably add a half dozen names to this list. There is an entry on Vasili Mitrokhin, the KGB archivist who brought thousands of copied documents out to the West in 1992, but no entry for Melita Norwood, the chief British spy he exposed. (Her story broke in 1999; Mitrokin, incidentally, is given the first name "Nikitish," which was his patronymic.) There is an entry on Los Alamos, but no separate entries for the Manhattan Project, Tube Alloys or General Leslie Groves, who was not a spy but did head America's most secret wartime project. Most entries fail to conclude with a citation of the literature on the subject. The bibliography and list of VENONA codenames at the back are fairly random selections, not the last word.

The edition I consulted is the second from 2004, and it is mostly up to date, but some information is hoary. The VENONA project, much studied and publicized after the National Security Agency released its documents to the public in 1995-1996, is represented with a full entry, but many figures involved in it (such as Fitin) are given short shrift. Theodore Hall, exposed in 1996 as the Soviet agent MLAD, receives a suitable entry; but Morris and Leontina Cohen are described only with outdated material from the 1960s (as the Krogers). Anatoly Yatskov, control officer of Lona Cohen when she carried Hall's drawing of the plutonium bomb from Albuquerque to New York, is not described in this role (nor is she), but appears only as Anatoli Yakovlev, the pseudonym he used in the USA, and as the control officer of Harry Gold--information from the time of the Rosenbergs' trial.

Despite such lacks, the book is good to have when you need to grab some basic facts in a hurry, as when in the heat of writing. It appears to be strongest in US intelligence. For example, I found the entry on William Donovan very full and illuminating. There are many interesting photographs and some box-charts of organizational structures, plus lists of CIA and KGB directors, and explanations of tradecraft terms. The layout is attractive and conveys a sense of enthusiasm. All in all, it does a better job than previous spy encyclopedias, and so is well worth having. But too many spies get away.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Encyclopedia IS the proper title, October 28, 2002

By 

"azhall" (Key Largo, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spy Book: The Encyclopedia of Espionage (Paperback)

A book of information of people, places, code names, etc. relating to spying, including very early items with descriptions and history. A query once found, leads to cross references and provokes further reading in this book, and into other books. Names well known people and their contribution to spying, and the contribution of private citizens also. Each item is well written and full of unexpected, details, history, and information. Presents code names and describes the activity for which the code was used. Very useful for anyone interested in spies and spying preceeding war time, in war time, and in peace time also.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Readable, Most Complete Spy Compendium Ever!, January 13, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Spy Book: The Encyclopedia of Espionage (Hardcover)

Few books on spycraft or actual spy cases capture a reader as well as a spy novel. This book however does that and more--it grabs you.

With numerous discusions of famous and not so famous spy cases, spy rings, and spys, you will find yourself flipping through the book, tying the pieces together. Written much like a web site, the first time an encyclopedia entry appears within another entry, it appears in a special font. This allows the reader to flip from one story to another.

Much of the appeal of the book comes from its currency. Events as recent as the second half of 1996 made it into the book, yet there is in-depth coverage of every major exposed spy-ring throughout the 1900s. Additionally, any spymaster of repute throughout history also receives an entry (such as Moses and George Washington).

In addition to the spys and their work, detailed information is provided about their agencies such as the KGB, MI6, and the CIA), and the locales in which they operated (e.g., Cambridge, Berlin, and Vienna.)

I can't give a stronger endorsement to any work. This beats Clancy, LeCarre, Fleming, and Deighton, hands down. The saying, "Fact is stranger than fiction," is never truer than in the story where a CIA operative created added distrust and confusion between two factions by having his agents kill people in such a way that it appeared one faction was composed of Vampires.

Don't miss the Literary Spies section which includes information not only on your favorite fictional spies, but also on famous authors (such as Somerset Maugham) who actually spied themselves.
-dave medberry mailto:[e-mail]