Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

cipherbrief

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

Books

The Spy Who Came in Because He Wanted a Divorce

The Defector

The Spy Who Came in Because He Wanted a Divorce

BOOK REVIEW: The Defector. The Untold Story of the KGB Agent Who Saved MI5 and Changed the Cold WarBy Richard Kerbaj / BlinkReviewed by: Tim [...] More

The Latest

MI6's Secret Weapon: The Belgian Networks That Helped Win Two World Wars

The White Lady

MI6's Secret Weapon: The Belgian Networks That Helped Win Two World Wars

BOOK REVIEW: The White Lady. The Story of Two Key British Secret Service Networks Behind German LinesBy: Helen Fry/ Yale University PressReviewed by: [...] More

History's Most Mistrusted Friendship

Distant Friends and Intimate Enemies

History's Most Mistrusted Friendship

BOOK REVIEW: Distant Friends and Intimate Enemies: A History of American-Russian RelationsBy David S. Fogelsong, Ivan Kurilla and Victoria [...] More

Stealing Success: A Hard Look at China's Rise

The Great Heist

Stealing Success: A Hard Look at China's Rise

BOOK REVIEW: The Great Heist: China’s Epic Campaign to Steal America’s SecretsBy David R. Shedd and Andrew Badger / HarperReviewed by: Nick [...] More

The FBI’s Pursuit of Chi Mak and the Challenge of Modern Spycraft

Chasing Chi

The FBI’s Pursuit of Chi Mak and the Challenge of Modern Spycraft

BOOK REVIEW: Chasing Chi: The FBI’s Groundbreaking Pursuit of China’s Most Prolific Spy Family By James E. GaylordReviewed by: Jean-Thomas NicoleThe [...] More

Want a Security Clearance? Stop Smoking Pot and Read This

Trust Me

Want a Security Clearance? Stop Smoking Pot and Read This

BOOK REVIEW: TRUST ME: A GUIDE TO SECRETS: WHO GETS THEM AND WHY WE HAVE SUCH A MIXED TRACK RECORD WITH THEMBy Lindy Kyzer / Post Hill PressReviewed [...] More

When the Chekists Took Up the Pen

KGB Literati

When the Chekists Took Up the Pen

BOOK REVIEW: KGB Literati: Spy Fiction and State Security in the Soviet UnionBy Filip Kovacevic / University of Toronto PressReviewed by: Bill [...] More

The Nazis Never Left. A Worthy Successor to a Classic Thriller

Revenge of Odessa

The Nazis Never Left. A Worthy Successor to a Classic Thriller

BOOK REVIEW: REVENGE OF ODESSABy Frederick Forsyth with Tony Kent / G.P. Putnam’s SonsReviewed by: Susan GorgioskiThe Reviewer — Susan Gorgioski is a [...] More

From OSS to AI: How Intelligence Must Evolve—Again

The Fourth Intelligence Revolution

From OSS to AI: How Intelligence Must Evolve—Again

BOOK REVIEW: THE FOURTH INTELLIGENCE REVOLUTION: The Future of Espionage and the Battle to Save AmericaBy: Anthony Vinci/ Henry Holt and [...] More

A Cultural Autopsy of the Soviet Legacy

The Darkside of the Earth

A Cultural Autopsy of the Soviet Legacy

Book Review: The Dark Side of the Earth: Russia’s Short-lived Victory over Totalitarianism By Mikhail Zygar, ScribnerThe Reviewer —Jean-Thomas Nicole [...] More

Central Europe Survives: A Battlefield of Ideas Still Unfolding Today

Central Europe: The Death of a Civilization and the Life of an Idea

Central Europe Survives: A Battlefield of Ideas Still Unfolding Today

BOOK REVIEW: Central Europe: The Death of a Civilization and the Life of an IdeaBy Luka Ivan Jukic / Hurst & Co.Reviewed by: Jean-Thomas NicoleThe [...] More

Realism and Rivals: McCloskey’s The Persian Rings True

Realism and Rivals: McCloskey’s The Persian Rings True

BOOK REVIEW: The Persian: A NovelBy David McCloskey/ W.W. NortonReviewed by: Joe ZacksThe Reviewer: Joe Zacks is the Co-founder and Managing Partner [...] More

Does the Arctic Have an Unfrozen Future?

Does the Arctic Have an Unfrozen Future?

BOOK REVIEW: UNFROZEN: THE FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE OF THE ARCTICBy Mia Bennett and Klaus Dodds / Yale University PressReviewed by: Jean-Thomas NicoleThe [...] More