Book cover of The Art of Betrayal: The Secret History of MI6

Book description

The secret history of MI6 - from the Cold War to the present day.

The British Secret Service has been cloaked in secrecy and shrouded in myth since it was created a hundred years ago. Our understanding of what it is to be a spy has been largely defined by…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Art of Betrayal as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The author is the BBC's Security and Defence Correspondent and his range of contacts enriches this book. 

It is full of anecdotes about the secret world and Russia looms large in his narrative. 

He explores the psychology and motivation of why British and Russian intelligence officers spied for the enemy during the Cold War and there is an excellent chapter on how the UK security services produced some inaccurate intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in the run-up to the Iraq war.

From Mark's list on the KGB, Russia and espionage.

If you love The Art of Betrayal...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like The Art of Betrayal?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Art of Betrayal.

Browse books like The Art of Betrayal

Book cover of Spymaster: My Thirty-Two Years in Intelligence and Espionage Against the West
Book cover of Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took on the West
Book cover of The Mitrokhin Archive: The KGB in Europe and the West

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,366

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like The Art of Betrayal, you might also like...

Book cover of Pioneer Paddles of the Colonial South

Pioneer Paddles of the Colonial South by William D. Auman,

Award-winning novelist William Auman, author of If Trees Could Testify..., takes the reader on a time-traveling odyssey featuring 345 bodies of water in six states within the historical context through which they unfold.

Journey into remaining Colonial-era wilderness with stories of pirate treasure, epic frontiersmen, Indigenous Peoples, and Revolutionary…

Book cover of A Winter's Disgrace

A Winter's Disgrace by Kathleen Buckley,

Cyprian, a marquess’s heir, will not let his mother choose his next bride. Leaving a house party in a blizzard to avoid her stratagems, he finds a woman trudging half frozen toward the London road. Rosamund fled disgrace, hoping to reach the one person who might shelter her, but even…

5 book lists we think you will like!