"Spies" by Calder Walton

"Spies" is the first book we'll discuss on my semi-monthly book club calls. Hit me up @borodutch if you want to join it.

I liked the book. Calder describes the history of intelligence agencies in the US, UK, China, USSR, and Russia. It began sometime before the Cold War and continues into modern days. A few points that I noted when reading through "Spies":

• Intelligence agencies are worse than is commonly believed.
• The primary job of the intelligence agencies was to combat each other, but they all ended up looking inward into their own countries.
• NSA stood for "No Such Agency" for some time, and I find it hilarious.
• MI5 and MI6 had fewer agents on payroll than soviet agents in the UK at the beginning of the Cold War.
• The network of soviet spies and agents worldwide was vast, and Russian intelligence agencies inherited all of it.
• Whatever we think Russian intelligence agencies aren't capable of (e.g., assassination by poisoning) is the MO of the USSR intelligence agencies, verified by the declassified documents of all countries involved.
• "Spies" doesn't simply tell the story; it also teaches us about what intelligence agencies are capable of. Looking at a single unproven event is different from looking at the latest unproven event in a series of proven similar events.

This book is an excellent choice if you're interested in the modern world. I highly recommend reading it.