Spy Missions (Espionage That Changed the World)

Famous or infamous; daring or duplicitous, depending on your point of view, spies can change battles, wars, and the world’s balance of power! Enter the clandestine world of some of the most meaningful spies and their missions.

Covert operations behind enemy lines require nerve and quick thinking in tight situations. Charm and persuasion also help, but avoiding attention—and having a bit of luck—are crucial. Sometimes, spies are civilians recruited with money, and sometimes they are government operatives put in place to gather intelligence after much preparation.

From the enlistment of women and minorities as spies—in the hope that they would be underestimated by the enemy—to the exploits of Ian Fleming, whose career directly inspired his James Bond novels, Spy Missions: Espionage That Changed the World investigates epic tales of espionage throughout history. Recounting the close calls, the innovative spy craft, and the daring missions, master storyteller Richard Estep puts you in the center of the action as he shares the captivating exploits of more than 40 spies, spy rings, and operations, including …

The covert intelligence and military mission hunt for Bin Laden

George Washington’s Revolutionary War spy ring

Robert Philip Hanssen, the FBI agent who betrayed his country to the Soviets and became one of the most infamous spies in FBI history

Elizebeth Smith Friedman’s cracking of enemy codes in World War I and World War II

William “Wild Bill” Donovan, who built the foundation for the Central Intelligence Service

Josephine Baker’s espionage and resistance fight against the Nazis during World War II

The poisonings of the former Russian military officer and British intelligence services double agent Sergei Skripal

Harriet Tubman’s scouting and spying for the Union Army during the Civil War

Edward Snowden’s leaking of secret documents that exposed the surveillance of millions of Americans' phone calls

The betrayals of the Cambridge Five Spy Ring

The spymaster for Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham, and his crusade against the Catholics in the 1500s

The Cold War Soviet Union penetration of the Manhattan Project

And many more thrilling and surprising tales of spies and their missions.
Some of the most consequential, important, and improbable spies, their handlers, double agents, spy hunters, and their operations are detailed in this fascinating book. You’ll join the action and intrigue in Spy Missions: Espionage That Changed the World!