Book and Film Recommendations

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II | 2026 | 7-episode Netflix series

Former CIA Paramilitary Officer John Creasy, known for surviving even the most desolate of situations, is now plagued with intense PTSD. Determined to overcome his personal demons, he sets out on a path to redemption. But, before he can adjust to this new life, he finds himself back in the fire, fighting harder than ever.  A remake of the 2004 Denzel Washington film, which was based on the 1980 book of the same title by A.J. Quinnell.

Damien Van Puyvelde | Georgetown University Press | 01 April 2026

France's foreign intelligence service for espionage, analysis, covert action, and security is the formidable Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE). The DGSE's remit spans a wide range of threats, including foreign interference, terrorism and international crime, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the defense of French economic interests.

Through an examination of official reports, rare declassified documents, interviews, memoirs, and French secondary sources, Van Puyvelde offers an accessible short introduction to the DGSE. Thematic chapters in The DGSE provide insight into the agency's foundations, organization, leadership, activities, international partners, cultural representations, legacies, and future. The service has had a reputation for audacious operations and shadowy influence within the French state and internationally. Fiascoes like the bombing of Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior tarnished its reputation; but in recent years, the DGSE has reformed and has distanced itself from its checkered past. Van Puyvelde's innovative framework shows how the DGSE has successfully adapted to twenty-first-century security requirements.

This first history of the DGSE in English will be of great interest to general readers of spy nonfiction and to scholars and students of intelligence studies, French history, and international affairs.

Pippa Latour and Jude Dobson | St. Martin’s Press | 13 May 2025

From a unique and singular voice comes the incredible true story of the last surviving undercover British female operative in WW2. Pippa Latour parachuted into occupied France in 1944 to conduct sabotage and subversion behind enemy lines. Selling soap to German soldiers and hiding codes on a piece of ribbon, she sent back crucial information about troop positions in the lead up to D-Day, and continued her work until Paris was liberated. From her childhood as an orphan in South Africa to her years as an undercover agent, Pippa's story is that of a woman determined to honor her principles and risk her life to fight against the greatest evil of the 20th century.

The Last Secret Agent is a posthumously published memoir, co-written with writer Jude Dobson. Pippa was decorated highly for her actions, including being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire and receiving the Légion d’Honneur in France. For years, Pippa kept her involvement in the war effort secret from everyone, including her family, but for the first time, her story can now be told in full.

Joseph S. Presler | Independently Published | 15 July 2025

From the sands of Sinai to the shadows of Tehran, Meir Dagan spent his life on the edge of history. Born into a family of Holocaust survivors and raised in the hard streets of Bat Yam, Dagan became a fearless warrior, a master of covert operations, and the man who reshaped Israel’s most secretive institution.

This book traces his journey from a young paratrooper in the Six-Day War to the mastermind behind high-stakes intelligence missions that changed the face of global espionage. As the founder of Rimon, a counter-terror unit, and later as Mossad’s longest-serving director, Dagan led operations few will ever fully know. Under his command, Mossad struck with precision across continents, disrupted nuclear ambitions, and built a new era of cyber warfare.

Through gripping detail and deep research, this biography unveils the battles, the risks, and the decisions that defined a man both feared and admired. It tells the story of a leader who operated far from the spotlight but left a mark on every corner of the intelligence world.