Espionage Aficionados discussion

There have been quite a few spy novelists who really had worked in espionage or at least in some capacity in the intelligence services, Ian Fleming being probably the most famous example.

Perhaps the most interesting case is that of W. Somerset Maugham who was a British spy in the First World War and wrote a superb fictionalised account of his adventures in 1928 - Ashenden, or the British Agent. It's also one of the best spy novels ever written.

Do you have any favourite spy novels by real spies?

Dfordoom wrote: "There have been quite a few spy novelists who really had worked in espionage or at least in some capacity in the intelligence services, Ian Fleming being probably the most famous example.

Perha..."

John Le Carre did what in England we called 'national service', ie the compulsory draft, in Army intelligence and then in the Foreign Service (whether MI6 is a moot point). His best books are 'The Honorable Schoolboy', 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy' and 'The Spy Who Came In From the Cold'.
My opinion, of course.
I'm the author of 'the Wayward Spy' and did my national bit in the Royal Army Service Corps, later known as the Royal Transport Corps--some personnel of which are featured in the final chapters of my recently published book! Roger Croft

Hi John..go to rogercroft.com for details on 'The Wayward Spy'. available on kindle or at amazon.com thanks, I'll check your book out, too. Roger Croft

sorry, not on nook...but i think kindle is prepared to download its books on other systems. could be wrong--not a techie. roger

thanks for the advice, John. Will look into it. I thought signing on for kindle was an exclusive contract, but maybe not. kindle sales are doing well. roger

I am a former intelligence officer, having worked for several US intel agencies over a career of 39 years. I have written a novel called "The Ghosts of Hanoi," based on some work I did when I was involved with the POW/MIA question in Vietnam. Bear in mind it's a work of FICTION but it's one of these "it could have happened" stories! Anyway it's available at
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/.... It's also available at Amazon (Kindle) and Barnes & Noble. Comments welcome!

Two good books that I know of.

A Station in the Delta
http://www.amazon.com/Station-Delta-J...

and

Assassination on Maya Bay
http://www.amazon.com/Assassination-M...


The writer served during the early to late 50s in South America, and also served in the late 60s in Vietnam. He was outed in a few books unfortunately, including "Inside the CIA" by Philip Agee.

Former spy Graham Green wrote The Third Man. Another classic by Greene is The Power and the Glory. Great writing and story telling.

Roger Weston, author of The Golden Catch
http://www.amazon.com/The-Golden-Catc...

He also wrote "The Confidential Agent," in the 1930's, and "The Human Factor," in 1978. The first one takes place in what is supposed to be the Spanish Civil War, and the second is more or less based around apartheid. Both are really wonderful, in different ways. Incidentally, I don't think GG was ever a former spy, I believe he was, quietly, a lifelong spy.

Helen: Thanks for letting me know about "The Confidential Agent" and "The Human Factor." I enjoy Greene's writing, and I will keep these titles in mind for future reading.

Sure! Wish I was looking forward to reading them for the first time.

Note to Helen: Graham Greene's superb 'Stamboul Train' and 'The Quiet American' has to be on the list of,say, the best top ten spy novels. Roger Croft

Oh, yeah. I loved both of those. The Jewish sterotyping in Stamboul Train --it's cringe-worthy--kept pulling me out of the story, and I still absolutely loved it.

Berry Eisler is a former spy turned author that I enjoy. Its more of a covert assasin type novel.

I don't think anyone can touch LeCarre in this regard. My favorites (not just his but of the entire genre) are "Tinker Tailor" and "Smiley's People." The thing about JLC is the man can WRITE and would be considered a great writer in any genre. Even his lesser books are generally head and shoulders above the rest of the espionage writers.

By the way, I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where not a lot of spying took place. Hence my lack of a book.

If your book contains useful information to the PRC then shame on you. No joke here.

I endorse censorship of information that aids an enemy of MY country. Why would you want to do something like that? Are all national secrets open game for you? Is it about the money?

john, l wasn't out to offend you. But your statement about the PRC coupled with "I'm willing to cooperate anyway I can" gives me concern. And Texas is a very nice state. Now got take a pill.

I DO know what that pill is, but it's a secret. Sorry. ;-)

If anyone is still monitoring this thread and has a good suggestion on something related to The Cambridge Five please let me know. Thanks in advance.

I don't know if I am out of place here, but I I just published a spy/military thriller called Agency Rules - Never an Easy Day at the Office. The book is set in the 1990s, post Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, and centered in Pakistan. It might be an interesting read for all of you ex-spooks :-) It has been getting good reviews so far.



Available on Amazon (for Kindle & paperback), B&N, Kobo and Smashwords. I wanted to make sure that I covered all formats.

It is impossible to write a spy novel without experience in some facet of the intelligence profession. The really good spy novels are autobiographical in nature. Check the author's bio and read the reviews.

Obviously I am one of the authors littering this thread, looking for an audience…

But I also spent 8 years in the field during the cold war and have a story you more than likely have not heard. After several attempts to appease DOS screeners we fictionalized some details and I have publish this as fact based fiction.

If you have any interest in how it was to operate iin the dark on the other side of the wall…. This is as accurate a narration as would be allowed told.

I invite you to check out

JINNIK by Gideon D. Asche

The first 100 readers will receive a certified piece of the Berlin Wall.
author may be contacted at gideonasche@volcano.net

Photographs from Jinnik and Excerpts are available at

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jinnik...

I do apologize if I overstepped the limits of my participation here but you are some of the few who might actually understand what it was like in the years before the wall came down.

It still haunts my nightmares and I have to remind myself it is gone…
Jinnik

No, you're not overstepping any boundas.

But the whole question is, is the book a good read?

If a book or movie fails to win over the reader, us knowing that the author or screenwriter is telling a true story won't save it. There's no charity in the heart of an audience.

It was a good live

and all the feedback I have had is that it is a goodread.

I wrote it as an exercise in mental health, they said it might help my nights, cut down on some of the night terrors.

No one expected it to turn into a book or that anyone else would ever hear the story.

It is a bizarre almost uncomfortable feeling to know it is now public.