Book and Film Recommendations

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | 6 June 2020 (Japan)

A Japanese merchant who leaves his wife behind in order to travel to Manchuria, where he witnesses an act of barbarism. His subsequent actions cause misunderstanding, jealousy and legal problems for his wife.

It is 1940 and much of the world, including Japan, is in the grips of World War II. Japan has occupied Manchuria and maintains its interests there. A well-to-do actress is married to a man who conducts business in Manchuria. He is dismayed at certain actions his government is taking there. He attempts to do something about it when a murder occurs.

David Tremain | Pen and Sword History | 9 April 2026

Shortly after the end of the Second World War, on 5 September 1945, an event occurred which would allegedly mark the beginning of the Cold War. A young cipher clerk working for the GRU, Soviet military intelligence, defected to the West, bringing with him a raft of documents and exposing a large spy network on both sides of the Atlantic. At first, the Canadian Prime Minister, Mackenzie King, was loathe to react, fearing that any action taken by his government might spark a Third World War with the Soviets.

Igor Gouzenko revealed that a British nuclear physicist, Alan Nunn May, who had worked on the Tube Alloys/Manhattan Project, was part of that spy network and had passed on secrets about the atomic bomb to the Russians. It would cause a rift in US-British relations and lead to the so-called ‘McMahon Act’ whereby Britain, and therefore Canada, were excluded from further collaboration in developing atomic research. It also led to a Canadian Royal Commission to investigate the extent to which spies had penetrated the Canadian government and what information they had passed on.

Gouzenko and his family lived under witness protection in fear of assassination from the KGB, while Alan Nunn May, on his return to the UK, was tried and convicted of espionage. When he was released from prison in 1952, he had problems finding employment. When he died, he still firmly believed that what he had done had been justified.

This book examines the ‘Gouzenko Affair’ and corrects some of the myths surrounding his story. It also considers the case against Nunn May, his associates, and his life as a convicted but unapologetic spy.

Julian Fisher | Piatkus | 5 May 2026

Discover the secrets skills of persuasion taught to intelligence officers and learn how to apply them yourself.

Every day, intelligence officers achieve the unimaginable. So, what does a spy do? She travels to far-flung, unfamiliar places, under a variety of covers. There, she identifies powerful and influential figures in politics, high-commerce and the military. Or active members of criminal or terrorist gangs. She befriends them and, over time, persuades them to support her country's national interest by sharing secrets about their countries and causes. To become traitors, in fact. And they do it for her willingly, despite facing the threats of public humiliation, imprisonment and, in some cases, torture. Even execution.

It seems like an unimaginable task to persuade someone to commit such betrayals. But, every day, ordinary people from all over the world work towards and achieve such triumphs. They can do this thanks to their command of the nine secret skills of espionage. In Think Like a Spy, you'll learn these secrets and how to apply them in your own life.

Jonathan W. Hackett | McFarland | 1 July 2025

Surveillance, assassination, and war by proxy--all ingredients for an unending disaster that never seems to end for those exposed to the wrath of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Despite the prevalence of these and other malign acts, few observers understand why and how the regime chooses these tools of fear and disruption. Even fewer can foil them.

In this first work of its kind, the author draws upon two decades of experience to lay bare the calculus, structure, and execution of Iran's foreign intelligence activities, covert actions, and unconventional warfare operations. This book reveals how the regime's shadowy work is driven by a warring mixture of rampant paranoia, unshakable greed, and cold rationality. He meticulously reveals a policy toolkit wielded for self-interest and survival, supported by strategies to eliminate opposition figures, stifle dissent, and promote defense in depth around Iran. Before any others, the Iranian people are simultaneously the regime's greatest source of insecurity and its chief target in a series of policies taking hold since 1979.