The dangerous world of spies and spying

Robert Liston explores the fascinating world of international spying, a shadowy world 'of half-truth and illusion, where nothing is exactly what it seems to be, in this exciting book for young readers. He tells the stories of the most notorious spies of the mid-20th century: Rudolf Abel, the master Soviet spy who operated undetected in America for nearly ten years; Ruth Kuhn, the pretty German girl who gave Japan the secrets of our Pearl Harbor defenses; George Blake, the suave British Ml6 agent turned Russian spy; and many others. He describes how the intelligence agencies of different countries operate--the American CIA, Britain's MI6, Russia's KGB. He writes about the kind of person who makes a good spy, about detectors, double agents, safe drops, message codes and electronic spying gadgets--all of the paraphernalia and techniques used by spies to do their work under the very noses of those who seek to expose them. This book is a wonderfully complete and fascinating look at the strange reality of intelligence work at a time when spying is as vital a weapon as guns, planes and armies.--Adapted from book jacket.