The Secret History of Spies

This new collector’s edition from BBC History Magazine charts the extraordinary history of espionage, from ancient times until the digital age. Meet some of the world’s most audacious spies and learn how they took terrible risks to shape the outcomes of global wars, using some remarkable tools and trickery.

Inside you will find: ◆ Biographies of the spies who mattered most ◆ Illustrated examples of Cold War spy gadgets ◆ Amazing tales of espionage adventures ◆ Fresh insights into the secret wars that shaped many recent conflicts

WELCOME • ESPIONAGE — FROM THE TUDORS TO THE WAR ON TERROR

Spying through the ages • From Old Testament espionage to Roman ciphers and medieval spies, Michael Goodman traces the early history of covert activities

SPYCRAFT

TRICKS of the TRADE • In the world of international espionage, keeping one step ahead of the enemy requires truly innovative thinking. From exploding rodents to pellet-firing umbrellas, HUW DYLAN unveils some of the extraordinary methods adopted in order to gain a crucial advantage

The Queen’s Spymaster • Employing an extensive spy network and a range of dark arts, Sir Francis Walsingham did his utmost to protect Elizabeth I from danger. JOHN COOPER examines his career

Plots foiled, failed and imagined • Three plans thwarted by Walsingham’s secret service…

The secret history of ELECTRONIC ESPIONAGE • The dawning of the digital age transformed the intelligence landscape. The BBC’s security correspondent GORDON CORERA identifies some key moments when computers changed the rules

WARTIME SPIES • HOW ESPIONAGE REDREW BATTLE LINES

ESPIONAGE in the age of NAPOLEON • Gathering intelligence during wartime didn’t begin in the 20th century. HUW J DAVIES explains how vital spying became during the Napoleonic Wars of 1803–15

Civil War Subterfuge • Espionage was rife on both sides of the American Civil War. And, as HUW DYLAN explains, it may have made a decisive contribution to the Union’s victory

Behind enemy lines • The incredible lives of five of the most renowned Civil War secret agents

BEYOND the TRENCHES • Although initially rudimentary, intelligence techniques became increasingly sophisticated and influential during the First World War, as HUW DYLAN reveals

SPYING in WORLD WAR II • The stuff of numerous books and films, the extraordinary reality of wartime spying, explains MICHAEL GOODMAN, was just as dramatic as the fictional accounts

ALAN TURING THE MAN, THE ENIGMA • JOEL GREENBERG deciphers the brilliant but troubled life of Alan Turing, who famously helped to crack German military codes in the Second World War

The life of Alan Turing

Fact or fiction? • Movie directors, writers and actors have all attempted to capture the essence of the still-mysterious Alan Turing

STRANGER THAN FICTION • THE DRAMATIC SIDE OF HIGH ESPIONAGE

The man behind JAMES BOND • Ian Fleming was the intelligence insider who, in turning his hand to fiction, created popular culture’s most enduring spy. NICHOLAS RANKIN reveals the man who brought 007 to life

LITERARY AGENTS • Ian Fleming wasn’t the only British writer who led a double life in the intelligence services. Nicholas Rankin explores the lives of six others who were linked to espionage

THE NUCLEAR SUPER-SPY • Klaus Fuchs was one of the most notable spies of the atomic era. MICHAEL GOODMAN explores how the German-born scientist was able to pass Anglo-American research on this terrible new weapon to the Soviets

Becoming a spy • Fuchs’ journey: from anti-Nazi student to Soviet nuclear spy

SPYING FOR THE SOVIETS • Klaus Fuchs was far from the only westerner passing highly classified information to the USSR during the mid-20th...