The New Spy Masters

by Stephen Grey

349 pages, Hardcover

Published July 1, 2015

About the author

Stephen Grey is a British writer, broadcaster with over two decades of experience of reporting on intelligence and security issues. He is best know for his exclusive reporting on the CIA’s program of ‘extraordinary rendition’, as well as reports from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A former foreign correspondent and investigations editor with the Sunday Times of London, he has reported for the New York Times, Guardian, BBC, and Channel 4, and is currently a special correspondent with Reuters news agency.
Apart from books, he likes running, everything outdoors, photography, computer programming... and being a Dad.

Reviews

[Anthony Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book ‘The New Spymasters’ by Stephen Grey is a truncated account of the history of spies and their masters. The author makes a valiant attempt to summarise a century’s worth of history in around 243 pages. This was a wise choice. The quality of information that the author has had regard to and the way in which he has synthesised that information is a demonstration of countless hours spent curating the fascinating history of spies. The style of storytelling with which the author expresses key moments in history was remarkable. He achieved this by reference to the words of the individuals who lived those moments. It is clear that he laboured over the available information (e.g. written record and face-to-face interviews) to showcase both the emotional and factual variables faced by individuals at the time. This book is for those seeking to explore the darker parts of history through a lens not often reported on or spoken about in great detail.

The book is separated into four parts. Each part makes use of truncating blocks of time by tying them to critical periods of unrest (e.g. WWI or the Cold War). Learn who the ‘man on the rock’ is or dabble in the history of the spy who (allegedly) inspired James Bond. It is all here. In any event, this is a beautiful piece of work that involved countless hours of work reduced to 243 pages of accessible English. It takes an apolitical stance and strikes a good balance between opinion and fact.

So, still not convinced? Find out more about the 'cult of intelligence' or the likely inspiration for 'Taskforce 141' (COD Modern Warfare ref). Learn about how the US fumbled its intelligence gathering efforts which had a direct impact leading to the decision to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. Indeed, I doubt anyone now would claim that those invasions resulted in any good (I suspect those who profited from those endeavours would beg to differ!)

BS

[Scott Hammer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be extremely well-researched and comprehensive on the topics of espionage and intelligence-gathering, to the point that it reads more like an academic text rather than a narrative non-fiction. The second half of the book, focused on 21st-century intelligence episodes, is far more compelling than the historical review of Cold War-era espionage, though I understand that section’s value to the uninitiated. A few of the author’s hypothetical thought-experiments were hard to track and felt better suited for an academic discussion group than the pages of a modern analysis. Still, I’d recommend the book to those interested in major global events of the 21st century and their impact on state-sponsored intelligence.

[Bill Daley · Rating 5 out of 5]

True life account of the CIA and spies from the beginning with all the failures and successes.

[j · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise and subject, a little bit of a dry delivery. Bibliography/references appear very well researched and documented. The only assertions I found (after an admittedly not too assiduous quest) to be a bit questionable are at the end (pp. 250, 260, 261).
Clearly, Mr. Grey feels passionately about this subject. His book is a mix of seemingly factual stories, which regularly include varying degrees of artistic license in order to illustrate his points and, presumably, to entice interest.
Due to incessantly looking up pretty every one of his many numbered sources/references, found myself wishing they were footnoted (instead of listed by chapter at the back of the book). But that fact does not color my opinion of the book.
From it, I learned a lot, and that's a good thing.