Here are 100 books that The Libyan Diversion fans have personally recommended if you like
The Libyan Diversion.
Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
Growing up in a globe-trotting diplomatic service family, I listened avidly to my parents’ tales of their romance in Moscow at the height of the Cold War in 1958, how they were trailed by the KGB and ripped listening devices out of apartment walls. They spoke thrillingly of the constant threat and the dangers they faced. There were other stories, of other places, including Peking at the start of Mao’s Cultural Revolution, a few scenes of which I was just old enough to witness. So I have always been curious about this era and read Cold War intelligence histories, many of them recommended by my remarkable mother.
This Martha is the real deal! Her autobiographical account begins in Laos during the Vietnam War when her husband, a CIA officer, is killed. Back in the USA, she puts heartache to one side and joins the CIA herself. Her first posting was in Moscow in 1975.
I was riveted by the raw details of her lonely arrival: the grim airport and grimy hotel room, her awareness of being watched. She plays an integral part in the running of Soviet agent Aleksandr Ogorodnik in Moscow, under cover of being an ‘unimportant’ embassy woman and using old-style tradecraft for hours to make sure she is not being followed. Eventually, she is arrested by the KGB and detained in the infamous Lubyanka Prison.
It’s utterly gripping, not least for Martha Peterson’s amazing courage.
The Widow Spy is the first hand account of a true Cold War spy operation in Moscow, told exclusively by the CIA case offiicer who lived this experience. She was one of the first women to be assigned to Moscow, a very difficult operational environment. Her story begins in Laos during the Vietnam War where she accompanied her husband, a CIA officer. She describes their life in a small city in Laos, ending with the tragic death of her husband. Then her own thirty year career begins in Moscow, where she walks the dark streets alone, placing dead-drops and escaping…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
As a former U.S. Army service member and a student of life, espionage and intelligence have often been staples in my research (as a creative writer), the cornerstones of my professional experience (as a combat veteran and slum baby), and a central theme in most of my novels. I’ve always enjoyed dissecting the inherent struggles of mankind and their inevitable fallouts—the pain, the joy, the misguided hopes and leaps of faith. Espionage and intelligence weaponize these sentiments. They transform them into actionable information and, sometimes, life-altering schemes.
That is what drives my work and sparks my interest in this subject matter: the psychological warfare we subject ourselves—and others—to.
This book delivers refined espionage with depth and risk.
Former Moscow Station chief Alex Matthews is drawn back into agency politics when his old asset, Byron, may hold kompromat that could crash the White House. The tension is quiet and personal; betrayal, loss, and moral confusion pulse at its core.
Vidich builds atmosphere with precision: the cold bureaucracy, Moscow’s shadows, and a man torn between patriotism and regret. In an era of fast-paced spy stories, this novel stands out for its emotional honesty, elegant plotting, and the real stakes for its characters.
It’s a must-read in 2025, especially if you’re craving a literary challenge.
'In The Poet's Game, Vidich confirms his place in the pantheon of the new generation of spy novelists. Once again, his elegant, finely developed characters add nuance and depth to a fast-paced story' Financial Times
'Vidich details political gamesmanship with an exactitude in the tradition of John le Carre, whose influence he ably honours' Irish Times
'We all have dreams and then we wake up.'
Alex Matthews thought he had left it all behind. His CIA career, the viper's den of bureaucracy at headquarters and the lies and stress of the cat and mouse game of double agents. But then…
I'm a scholar with a deep interest in the critical study of propaganda and its role in shaping public perceptions of terrorism, particularly in Spain. My passion for this topic stems from the recognition that propaganda is pervasive in today’s world and that accusations of terrorism are often deployed strategically to delegitimize a society’s political opponents.
By examining how groups are framed as “terrorists” and unlearning the biased narratives that surround them, we can begin to understand their true nature beyond superficial prejudice. This perspective drives my commitment to exploring media, political discourse, and historical context critically, making me well-positioned to recommend works that illuminate the complex interplay between propaganda, terrorism, and societal perception.
This is a powerful critique of how "terrorism" is constructed and commodified by Western institutions.
I love how it dissects the ecosystem of think tanks, media, and academics that profit from fear. It taught me to ask who benefits from every counterterrorism narrative.
Reading it felt like peeling back the layers of a carefully orchestrated illusion.
While everyone is shocked and horrified by acts of terror, even more shocking is the rapid growth of a full-scale industry arising in the last decade to manufacture and propagate an image of the terrorist that serves to legitimate the policies and power of the West.
A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.
Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…
During my decades in the corporate world, I traveled extensively and spent months in England, where I became a devoted Anglophile. I am privileged to have met Queen Elizabeth II and Philip, and to have attended a knighting at Westminster. English history fascinates me, but so do gripping spy thrillers occurring in European and Middle Eastern settings. There’s nothing better than finishing a satisfying first book in a series—fiction or not--and deciding to ration the remaining ones so you can savor the experience a little longer!
Rosenberg, whose knowledge of Israeli and U.S. politics provides a great background for his writing, has produced several series, all of which are excellent. But if you’re new to this author, I recommend reading this book first. His political thrillers are spellbinding, especially since Rosenberg foretold the 9/11 disaster and the killing of Saddam Hussein in his novels. InThe Last Jihad, Saddam is hell-bent on attacking the West. On the eve of a treaty signing that may ensure peace for Israel and Palestine, the Israelis discover an Iraqi Scud missile armed with a nuclear warhead. It’s clear that Hussein is planning an attack on major U.S. cities and Tel Aviv, and Israel issues an ultimatum to the USA—take Saddam out or we’ll do it instead. This book is a fascinating tale about events that are as real and as possible as today’s newscasts.
When Iraqi terrorists wreak havoc on the world, White House advisor Jon Bennett must complete a billion-dollar oil deal--the basis for a historic Arab-Israeli peace treaty--or the world will face the threat of nuclear devastation.
My print-journalist father covered the crime beat. He often took me with him to the police station and I got hooked on crime. My background is eclectic, a professional trumpet player with a BA in Mathematics and a Masters in Fine Arts. While teaching at Berklee College of Music in Boston, I discovered my dark side and began writing crime thrillers. Most are inspired by actual events or news reports about stalkers, domestic homicides, or serial killers. In 2001, I moved to New Orleans. My crime thriller series features NOPD Homicide Detective Frank Renzi. I'm fortunate to be able to consult three former NOPD homicide detectives who advise me on police procedures and investigations.
Half the fun of reading a Detective John Corey novel is his smartass humor and snarky dialogue. The other half is watching his dogged pursuit of the bad guys. InRadiant Angel, he's working for the Diplomatic Surveillance Group in New York City. His assignment? Keep tabs on a Russian diplomat who may be an enemy agent on a deadly mission.
The threat? A nuclear bomb—aka radiant angel—small enough to fit in a suitcase, big enough to blow New York City to smithereens, with enough radioactive fallout to cripple the US for years. The bonus is experiencing the action from the Russian agent's perspective, including his fear of failing to complete his mission. And the clock is ticking so John Corey must figure out how to stop him pronto.
Prescient and chilling, DeMille's #1 New York Times bestselling novel takes us into the heart of a new Cold War with a clock-ticking plot that has Manhattan in its crosshairs.
After a showdown with the notorious Yemeni terrorist known as The Panther, John Corey has left the Anti-Terrorist Task Force and returned home to New York City, taking a job with the Diplomatic Surveillance Group. Although Corey's new assignment with the DSG-surveilling Russian diplomats working at the U.N. Mission-is thought to be "a quiet end," he is more than happy to be out from under the thumb of the FBI…
I am a thriller writer who was born and grew up in Kuwait during a period when the country was threatened with invasion by Iraq. My father was the Preventative Health Officer for the Kuwait Oil Company. At the end of 1960 Ian Fleming visited the country and they became close friends. At the time Britain depended on inside information to prepare for military Operation Vantage. The experiences I had of that time and of that relationship, even as a child, were crying out to be written about. Despite the Middle East being a hotspot for espionage during that period of the Cold War, there’s been relatively little written about it.
This book sums up so much of what went on in the Middle East from the Second World War onwards. As such, James Barr lifts the curtain on British plotting and intrigue in a most readable and thrilling way. It details how America got involved in the middle decades of the twentieth century and much of the rivalry that existed during this period between the secret services. Essential reading to understand some of the present-day political ramifications of the region.
A path-breaking history of how the United States superseded Great Britain as the preeminent power in the Middle East, with urgent lessons for the present day
We usually assume that Arab nationalism brought about the end of the British Empire in the Middle East -- that Gamal Abdel Nasser and other Arab leaders led popular uprisings against colonial rule that forced the overstretched British from the region.
In Lords of the Desert, historian James Barr draws on newly declassified archives to argue instead that the US was the driving force behind the British exit. Though the two nations were allies,…
The Duke's Christmas Redemption
by
Arietta Richmond,
A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.
Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…
Having come of age at the End of History in the late 1990s, it seemed to me back then that the only big political questions left were international ones. Everything in domestic politics appeared to be settled. As I pursued this interest through my scholarly work as an academic, I came to understand how questions of international and domestic order were intertwined – and that one could not be understood without the other. As we’re now living through the end of the End of History, unsurprisingly we’re seeing tremendous strain on political systems at both the national and international level. These books will provide, I hope, some signposts as to what comes next.
An occasionally dense but ultimately bravura text that sought to draw out the consequences of globalization for political theory. Cohen performs the difficult but important feat of combining themes from international security with international political theory and international law, and in so doing, gets to grips with questions of political order in a way that many other books fail to do, as they remain frozen at the level of foreign policy or inter-state relations. Political order is more than policy though. Although I disagree with Cohen’s conclusions regarding the need to suppress state sovereignty through global structures and greater European integration, her honesty, hard-headedness, and attempt to interweave international security with questions of global constitutionalism remain an intellectual inspiration.
Sovereignty and the sovereign state are often seen as anachronisms; Globalization and Sovereignty challenges this view. Jean L. Cohen analyzes the new sovereignty regime emergent since the 1990s evidenced by the discourses and practice of human rights, humanitarian intervention, transformative occupation, and the UN targeted sanctions regime that blacklists alleged terrorists. Presenting a systematic theory of sovereignty and its transformation in international law and politics, Cohen argues for the continued importance of sovereign equality. She offers a theory of a dualistic world order comprised of an international society of states, and a global political community in which human rights and…
As a religious person, I’ve always believed religion is a force for good while being constantly reminded of the horrors it causes. This became a real-world concern with the 9/11 attacks (which happened my second week in college) and the faith-tinged US response. I spent ten years in Washington, DC working at the intersection of faith and counterterrorism, hopeful religion could solve our problems but worried it will only make things worse. I’ve continued that work as a Professor at the University of Vermont. This book reflects that tension and my desire to resolve it.
A mix of memoir and international relations analysis, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in religion and international relations.
Albright—Secretary of State in the Clinton Administration—discusses the secular biases that permeated US foreign policy and how they left us unprepared for the seeming resurgence of religion after the end of the Cold War. Her reflections range widely, from African politics to al-Qaeda.
She’s a bit more optimistic about the world than I am, but this is an essential starting point for any exploration of how states incorporate religion into their foreign policy. As I discuss in my book’s introduction, her work was one of the inspirations for my study.
Does America, as George W. Bush has proclaimed, have a special mission, derived from God, to bring liberty and democracy to the world? How much influence does the Christian right have over US foreign policy? And how should America and the West deal with violent Islamist extremists? Traditionally, politicians have sought to downplay the impact of religious beliefs in international affairs. In this illuminating first-hand account, Madeleine Albright examines religion and foreign affairs through the lens of American history as well as her own personal experiences in public office, with a preface and opening chapters specially written for the UK…
I am a historian at the University of Maryland, College Park. In the past forty years, I have published six books and many articles on twentieth-century German history including Reactionary Modernism: Technology Culture and Politics in Weimar and the Third Reich; Divided Memory: The Nazi Past in the Two Germanys; Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World; and Undeclared Wars with Israel: East Germany and the West German Far Left, 1967-1989. My personal interest in German history began at home. My father was one of those very fortunate German Jews who found refuge in the United States before Hitler closed the borders and launched the Holocaust.
President Truman appointed James McDonald to be the first U.S. Ambassador to Israel. McDonald’s diaries of 1948-1951 offer fascinating insights into the key events surrounding the establishment of the Jewish state. The diaries offer revealing and astute observations of the personalities and policies of Truman, Secretary of State George Marshall, British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin, the Jewish Agency’s leading foreign policymaker, Moshe Shertok (later Moshe Sharett), and leader of the Jewish Agency and future Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. McDonald was that unusual American diplomat who, in those years, supported Zionist aspirations. The McDonald diaries are required reading for anyone seeking a deeper grasp of the founding months and years of the state of Israel.
Just before Israel emerged as a state in May 1948, key United States officials hesitated and backtracked. Undersecretary of State Robert Lovett told Moshe Sharett of the Jewish Agency for Palestine that the US had expected a peaceful transition to dual states in Palestine. Now, war between Jews and Arabs and a broader regional conflict loomed. Apart from the Cold War repercussions, another mass slaughter of Jews would roil the US in a presidential election year.
James G. McDonald arrived in Israel soon after its birth, serving as US special representative and later as its first ambassador. McDonald continued his…
This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.
In these and other intimate conversations, the book…
I became an academic because I believe knowledge should serve the world. I'm driven by a commitment to responsibility, realism, and social good, even when it's uncomfortable. This list reflects my frustration with how often Western governments act confidently but without the right philosophies, systems, and knowledge in place. They lack imagination, organisation, and the ability to deal with crises, which populist movements are now exploiting. I've spent years researching failed interventions because I believe we owe it to others to do better. These books helped me understand the world more clearly, but also reminded me of our limitations and how hard it is to grasp the contexts we shape.
I loved this book because it finally explained something I’d felt for years but couldn’t quite articulate: that International Relations theory, as I was taught it, never really made sense of the world I knew. I remember reading it and thinking—yes, this is why so much of what passes for "global" thinking felt alien to my own experience of politics, power, and history. I’d always recognised that IR was speaking a language of empire without realising it.
What I value most is how the authors expose the discipline’s deep entanglement with Western historical assumptions—something I’d long mistrusted as universally applicable—but have never seen mapped so clearly. It helped me understand not just what IR is but also what it gets wrong about the world.
This book presents a challenge to the discipline of international relations (IR) to rethink itself, in the light of both its own modern origins, and the two centuries of world history that have shaped it. By tracking the development of thinking about IR, and the practice of world politics, this book shows how they relate to each other across five time periods from nineteenth-century colonialism, through two world wars, the Cold War and decolonization, to twenty-first-century globalization. It gives equal weight to both the neglected voices and histories of the Global South, and the traditionally dominant perspectives of the West,…
