100 Books Like Perjury

This is a non-fiction book but it reads like a novel and explores one of the great mysteries of the spy world: how on earth did Kim Philby manage to betray not only his country but also his friends over so many years? 

A former spy I had the privilege of interviewing described Philby as a shit, so maybe there’s the answer. I think this is a terrific read, and although Macintyre probably isn’t a spy, like Deighton, he knows them. 

I studied under the distinguished sociologist, Immanuel Wallerstein. One day in class he said, if you read only one book, it should be this one. So I read it. 

Koestler was a Hungarian Jew who joined the German Communist Party. He became disillusioned with communism, in part because of the Stalin trials of the 1930s, in which many of Stalin’s own former allies were tortured and executed. 

The protagonist of the novel is Rubashov, a dedicated Communist who is accused of treason, tortured, and eventually executed despite confessing to his supposed crimes. The novel is a great way to learn not only about the Stalinist Soviet Union, but about any society that brain-washes its victims. 

It is rare for a KGB spy to reveal so many secrets about the Soviet Union and Russian intelligence operations in the West and so this book is a revelation. 

Kalugin was a KGB officer based in the USA in the 1970s and he describes all their dirty tricks - fake letters, disinformation, honey trapping, and even attempts to bug the US Congress.

No book exposed the horrors of Josef Stalin’s purges more graphically and with greater power than Robert Conquest’s epic, The Great Terror. The book chronicled how a paranoid Stalin, convinced his power was threatened by his rival Leon Trotsky and his allies, unleashed a wave of terror by his country’s NKVD—a forerunner of the KGB--  that decimated the Soviet leadership and its military with millions of Russians executed or marched to Siberian prison camps. While Stalin’s henchmen staged mock “trials” in Moscow, marked by phony confessions, extracted by torture, liberal apologists in the West sought to justify Stalin’s lunatic crackdown. I read this book in college and it has stayed with me for years-- providing an eye-opening lesson in the willingness of those of all political stripes to turn a blind eye to the evils of totalitarianism.

This book is the most comprehensive account of KGB spying in America and two of its authors have studied the subject exhaustively for decades and the third author is a Soviet ex KGB agent with firsthand knowledge of and access to Soviet KGB files.

This is the bible and go-to book for any studied interest in the subject.

I like this book for its thoroughly researched narrative and unbiased conclusion. The authors did what historians worth their salt are required to do: follow the evidence. I consider this book my number one choice out of the dozens upon dozens written about the case over the past six-plus decades. Though dense (it’s over 600 pages long) I found it a real page-turner!

I delved into the details of the Rosenberg espionage prosecution when I was asked to join in a lawsuit against the federal government that sought to unseal the Rosenberg grand jury records. We won and the unsealed grand jury records put to rest a belief held by Rosenberg supporters that Julius and Ethel were mere innocents framed by the government.

The records also conclusively established the reality of the misjustice that was carried out by the government in executing Ethel. Ahh, if only every research endeavor would… show more.

British spy rings of the 1930s and 40s fascinate me. Their members appear more colorful and audacious than their American counterparts. I think it rings especially true for the chaps of the “Cambridge Spy Ring.” Their escapades are recounted in dozens of books but I consider Newton’s the best, partly because he does what no other historian had done: chronicle the missing American dimension of the Cambridge Spy Ring saga. 

Newton is a fine historian as well as a grand storyteller, and I love a book that reads like a mystery novel! I also have great respect for writers who possess the knack for projecting a sense of “place” in their books. Newton does this so well that, when I lived in Washington DC, and after completing my evening read of his book, I’d venture out onto gaslit cobblestone streets and wander by the l brick-faced Georgian style residences ever… show more.

Of all the biographies I’ve ever read, Miranda Carter’s psychological tale chronicling “the lives” of Anthony Blunt is my all-time favorite! When I taught my university espionage history course, my students typically knew nothing about espionage history. I made Carter’s book their first reading assignment as I needed to kick the course off with a quick-paced, enthralling story of a real-life spy. Carter’s book was perfect.

Carter characterizes this treacherous Communist as a “spy with no shame.” So true! In his public life, Blunt wore a mask that allowed him to appear as a renowned art historian who hobnobbed with the Queen. But another mask is evident—that of a conniving spy recruiter who, as a closeted homosexual, seduced and blackmailed undergrad boys into becoming Communists and, in some cases, spies.

In my experience, no other book does a better job of showing readers what it is like to live a… show more.

This is a lively and shocking book, exposing countless Nazi wartime spies and sympathisers in Britain, with their stories and photos of them. One of them was Major General John F. C. Fuller.

When I was very young, I knew several people who knew him and spoke of him warmly. He was greatly admired for his book on Alexander the Great. These friends often said they were hoping to introduce me to him, but it never happened. They thought I would find him interesting because of his knowledge of ancient Greece.

None of them appeared to be aware that Fuller was a fanatical anti-Semite and fascist who had supported Hitler. So easily did he survive the War and retain some admirers into the 1960s. Fuller was famous as a genius of modern armored warfare and had countless admirers in the Army. He had written 45 books. He died in 1966.… show more.

I think Fellman’s book is hands down the best work on the history of terrorism in the United States, even though he only covers the period from John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry to the American suppression of the Philippine Insurgency in 1899-1902.

The book is scrupulously sourced like an academic work, but the writing is clear, fluid, and utterly compelling. I found myself putting the book down every few pages to ruminate on the illuminating connections Fellman draws between past and present.

This book allowed me to see all too clearly the ways in which terrorism is not something experienced just “over there,” but rather something baked intrinsically into the American experience.