Books like Bomb — picked by fans

The book was published in November 1946 by the U.S. Government, just months after Tests Able and Baker in July at the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Serious safety concerns about radiation contamination were coming to light and the book was withdrawn from circulation shortly after publication. In 1947, a re-write of the book was published and titled Bombs at Bikini: The Official Report of Operation Crossroads. This book had fewer photographs and of a less graphic nature. However, for my memoir as a Crossroads participant, I was glad to find a copy of the original out-of-print book for my research.

The author of this book was a Crossroads participant. Furthermore, the author’s father, Dr. Stafford L. Warren, was head of the Medical Section of the Manhattan Project; then headed up the postwar survey of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and was then appointed by the Navy to serve as Chief Radsafe (Radiologic Safety Section) at Crossroads. Mr. Dean Warren and I had several phone conversations before his passing and shared our respective health problems that may — or may not — have been caused by exposure to ionizing radiation at Crossroads.

The author of this book was also a Crossroads participant and today is regarded as one of the foremost experts on the effects of ionizing radiation. His book is a collection of interviews with atomic veterans of tests in the Pacific and Nevada. I am grateful to Dr. Grahlfs for agreeing to write the Foreword to my Crossroads memoir.

This manual belonged to me. It may seem like an odd recommendation. However, whenever my memory was fuzzy on some detail, such as the various boatswain’s calls, I consulted my well-worn bluejacket’s manual and found the answer.

What a title, Ace of Spies. I wish I had thought of that one, and Sydney Reilly was that. A historical figure who led a charmed life and remains something of a mystery to this day, where did he come from? And how did he die? He comes from one of my favorite periods of history: the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the Civil War. There is a romantic quality about him, yet he can be utterly ruthless. I find him the perfect spy.

The background is so authentic. Lockhart served in Naval Intelligence during World War II and is the son of R.H. Bruce Lockhart, who knew Reilly and was in Russia at the same time. So, he had a wealth of experience to draw on. Incidentally, I loved the TV series as well, which starred Sam Neill as Sydney Reilly. 

This book is a detailed description of the MI5 investigation of an undercover KGB couple by the names of Peter and Helen Kroger. In reality, they were American citizens named Morris and Lona Cohen. 

They were important members of the Rosenberg spy ring that stole the atomic secret. They fled the country just in time to escape execution. In 1954 they were redeployed to the UK to gather information concerning the nuclear submarine research done by the UK Navy off the isle of Portland. 

This book gives the reader insights into the complex police work needed to unmask deep-cover agents. After 8 years in jail, the Cohens were released and spent the remainder of their life in Moscow. They were part of the team that prepared me for my mission as a deep cover agent.

You can’t approve of Ursula Kuczynski, codename ‘Sonya’.

She was a spymaster, bomb-maker, and secret agent for the Soviet Union. Her work helped the Soviets build the atom bomb. But you can’t help being intrigued by this devoted wife and mother-of-three who rode her bicycle across the countryside to gather scientific information and used her children’s teddies to smuggle radio parts.

Ursula’s story, told by Macintyre in forensic, referenced detail, is astonishing. This cool, clever woman fooled everyone. I’m fascinated by the photographs, too; one of her cuddled up with her children in the garden, another of her in Berlin selling communist literature from a book barrow. They added to the feeling of alarm; so much went on in clear view.

Anybody, who wants to study intelligence history and specifically the work of Russian Intelligence Services (RIS), must start with this book which covers several important cases in the 1930s. Remarkably, the author is not an intelligence historian and never worked in the archives. David Dallin’s writings that proved to be correct and accurate in most of the cases, were entirely based on his own analysis, newspaper publications and occasional interviews with Soviet defectors.

Based on an unprecedented treasure trove of documents smuggled out of the Soviet Union by former intelligence officer Vasily Mitrokhin, this book demonstrated the KGB operations used in an attempt to destabilise the West during the Cold War - disinformation, forgery of documents, honey trapping, smears, surveillance and recruiting agents of influence and politicians in the UK, NATO countries and the USA.

I am recommending The Mitrokhin Archive because it is based on primary documents.  So many books about espionage are based on memories and speculation, while the Mitrokhin Archive's value is that its assertions and revelations are based on actual KGB documents. 

And so this book was indispensable for my research for my book.

For decades, historians argued over the extent of Communist Party involvement in Soviet Espionage directed at the United States. The opening of the Soviet archives and the release of the VENONA project decodes of communication between the Soviet Consulate in New York and Moscow finally provided a solid answer.

Of the many books written about the subject, I like Sibley’s best. She takes her readers through the facts of the most famous cases and gives equal attention to the points of view of all the main actors. I particularly like her descriptions of early Soviet networks devoted primarily to industrial espionage.