17 must-read espionage books like The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage by John Hughes-Wilson Colonel

Cover of The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage by John Hughes-Wilson Colonel

The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

By: John Hughes-Wilson Colonel

3.67

Format: 528 pages, Hardcover

Comprehensive and authoritative, The Secret State skillfully examines the potential pitfalls of the…

If you liked the espionage plot in The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage by John Hughes-Wilson Colonel , here is a list of 17 books like this:

Cover of Mastery by Robert Greene

1. Mastery

By: Robert Greene

4.26

Format: 318 pages, Hardcover

In this book, Robert Greene demonstrates that the ultimate form of power is mastery itself. By anal… read more

Similar categories in Robert Greene's Mastery book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • nonfiction
  • history
"Creative Endeavors are by their nature uncertain."

-Robert Greene, Mastery

"The problem is that we humans are deep conformists."

-Robert Greene, Mastery

"The time that leads to mastery is dependent on the intensity of our focus."

-Robert Greene, Mastery

"Read more books than those who have a formal education, developing this into a lifelong habit."

-Robert Greene, Mastery

Cover of Red Dusk and the Morrow: Adventures and Investigations in Soviet Russia by None, Paul Henry Dukes

2. Red Dusk and the Morrow: Adventures and Investigations in Soviet Russia

By: None , Paul Henry Dukes

4.39

Format: 282 pages, Paperback

An extraordinary true life espionage classic and a fascinating document of the horror and excesses … read more

Similar categories in None's Red Dusk and the Morrow: Adventures and Investigations in Soviet Russia book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
  • nonfiction
  • historical
  • history
Cover of The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers, Milton Bearden

3. The Riddle of the Sands

By: Erskine Childers , Milton Bearden

3.63

Format: 336 pages, Paperback

While on a sailing trip in the Baltic Sea, two young adventurers-turned-spies uncover a secret Germ… read more

Similar categories in Erskine Childers's The Riddle of the Sands book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
  • war
Cover of Spymistress: The True Story of the Greatest Female Secret Agent of World War II by William Stevenson

4. Spymistress: The True Story of the Greatest Female Secret Agent of World War II

By: William Stevenson

3.61

Format: 160 pages,

read more

Similar categories in William Stevenson's Spymistress: The True Story of the Greatest Female Secret Agent of World War II book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
  • history
  • historical
  • war
  • nonfiction
Cover of Like Hidden Fire: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire by Peter Hopkirk

5. Like Hidden Fire: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire

By: Peter Hopkirk

3.89

Format: 221 pages, Paperback

A GRIPPING STORY OF IMPERIAL AMBITION, SWASHBUCKLING ADVENTURE, AND THE KAISER'S OWN JIHAD. An accl… read more

Similar categories in Peter Hopkirk's Like Hidden Fire: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
  • nonfiction
  • historical
  • history
Cover of Memoirs Of A British Agent: Being An Account Of The Author's Early Life In Many Lands And Of His Official Mission To Moscow In 1918 by R.H. Bruce Lockhart

6. Memoirs Of A British Agent: Being An Account Of The Author's Early Life In Many Lands And Of His Official Mission To Moscow In 1918

By: R.H. Bruce Lockhart

3.95

Format: 254 pages,

When it was first published in 1932, "Memoirs of a British Agent" achieved bestseller status both i… read more

Similar categories in R.H. Bruce Lockhart's Memoirs Of A British Agent: Being An Account Of The Author's Early Life In Many Lands And Of His Official Mission To Moscow In 1918 book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
  • nonfiction
  • historical
  • history
Cover of Smiley's People by John Le Carré

7. Smiley's People

By: John Le Carré

3.33

Format: 170 pages, Paperback

John le Carre's classic novels deftly navigate readers through the intricate shadow worlds of inter… read more

Similar categories in John Le Carré's Smiley's People book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
Cover of Look to Windward (Culture, #7) by Iain M. Banks

8. Look to Windward (Culture, #7)

By: Iain M. Banks

3.30

Format: 208 pages, Paperback

The Twin Novae battle had been one of the last of the Idiran war, one of the most horrific. Despera… read more

Similar categories in Iain M. Banks's Look to Windward (Culture, #7) book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

Cover of The Forger: An Extraordinary Story of Survival in Wartime Berlin by Cioma Schönhaus, Alan Bance, Marion Neiss

9. The Forger: An Extraordinary Story of Survival in Wartime Berlin

By: Cioma Schönhaus , Alan Bance , Marion Neiss

3.71

Format: 160 pages, Hardcover

In Nazi Germany, 20-year-old graphic artist Cioma Schonhaus found a unique outlet for his talent: h… read more

Similar categories in Cioma Schönhaus's The Forger: An Extraordinary Story of Survival in Wartime Berlin book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
  • nonfiction
  • historical
  • history
Cover of Foreign Devils on the Silk Road by Peter Hopkirk

10. Foreign Devils on the Silk Road

By: Peter Hopkirk

4.00

Format: None pages, Paperback

s/t: The Search for the Lost Cities & Treasures of Chinese Central Asia The Silk Road, which linked… read more

Similar categories in Peter Hopkirk's Foreign Devils on the Silk Road book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • nonfiction
  • history
Cover of The State of the Art (Culture, #4) by Iain M. Banks

11. The State of the Art (Culture, #4)

By: Iain M. Banks

4.35

Format: None pages, Paperback

The first ever collection of Iain Banks' short fiction, this volume includes the acclaimed novella,… read more

Similar categories in Iain M. Banks's The State of the Art (Culture, #4) book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

Cover of Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory by Ben Macintyre

12. Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory

By: Ben Macintyre

4.25

Format: 127 pages,

In 1943, from a windowless London basement office, two intelligence officers conceived a plan that … read more

Similar categories in Ben Macintyre's Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
  • history
  • historical
  • military fiction
  • war
  • nonfiction

13. The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine

By: Serhii Plokhy

3.87

Format: 268 pages, Hardcover

Ukraine is currently embroiled in a tense battle with Russia to preserve its economic and political… read more

Similar categories in Serhii Plokhy's The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

14. The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia

By: Peter Hopkirk

3.67

Format: 272 pages, Paperback

Hopkirk's spellbinding account of the great imperial struggle for supremacy in Central Asia has bee… read more

Similar categories in Peter Hopkirk's The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

15. Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer

By: None

4.62

Format: None pages, Mass Market Paperback

The British government's efforts to block publication of Peter Wright's Spycatcher: Candid Autobiog… read more

Similar categories in None's Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

16. Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies

By: Ben Macintyre

3.62

Format: None pages, Paperback

In his celebrated bestsellers Agent Zigzag and Operation Mincemeat, Ben Macintyre told the dazzling… read more

Similar categories in Ben Macintyre's Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

Cover of The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre

17. The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War

By: Ben Macintyre

4.51

Format: 384 pages, Hardcover

On a warm July evening in 1985, a middle-aged man stood on the pavement of a busy avenue in the hea… read more

Similar categories in Ben Macintyre's The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
  • history
  • historical
  • politics
  • war
  • nonfiction
Cover of Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution by Carlo Rovelli

18. Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution

By: Carlo Rovelli

4.08

Format: 256 pages, Hardcover

A startling new look at quantum theory, from the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physi… read more

Similar categories in Carlo Rovelli's Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • nonfiction
  • history
"But structures are processes are not there so that organisms can survive and reproduce. It is the other way round: organisms survive and reproduce because these structures have happened to gradually …"

-Carlo Rovelli, Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution

"Credo che uno dei grandi errori che fanno gli esseri umani quando tentano di capire qualcosa sia volere certezze. La ricerca della conoscenza non si nutre di certezze: si nutre di una radicale assenz…"

-Carlo Rovelli, Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution

"In qualunque angolo dell'universo troviamo vertiginosi pozzi di strati di realtà. In questi strati siamo riusciti a riconoscere regolarità, sulle quali abbiamo raccolto informazione rilevante per noi…"

-Carlo Rovelli, Helgoland: Making Sense of the Quantum Revolution

Cover of Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen

19. Nuclear War: A Scenario

By: Annie Jacobsen

4.47

Format: 400 pages, Hardcover

There is only one scenario other than an asteroid strike that could end the world as we know it in … read more

Similar categories in Annie Jacobsen's Nuclear War: A Scenario book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • history
  • politics
  • military fiction
  • war
  • military history
  • nonfiction
"The fundamental idea behind this book is to demonstrate, in appalling detail, just how horrifying nuclear war would be."

-Annie Jacobsen, Nuclear War: A Scenario

"Humans are wired to advance. Humans do whatever it takes. And yet, nuclear war zeros it all out. Nuclear weapons reduce human brilliance and ingenuity, love and desire, empathy and intellect, to ash."

-Annie Jacobsen, Nuclear War: A Scenario

Cover of Go Spy the Land by George Alexander Hill

20. Go Spy the Land

By: George Alexander Hill

4.39

Format: 320 pages, Paperback

The latest in Biteback's best-selling Dialogue Espionage Classics series of rediscovered spy master… read more

Similar categories in George Alexander Hill's Go Spy the Land book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
  • nonfiction
  • historical
  • history
Cover of The Roads Chosen by Ben Carlyle

21. The Roads Chosen

By: Ben Carlyle

4.12

Format: 394 pages, Paperback

Inspired by the author’s own unnerving experiences during decades spent in the former Soviet Union.… read more

Similar categories in Ben Carlyle's The Roads Chosen book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
Cover of A Chosen Path by Ben Carlyle

22. A Chosen Path

By: Ben Carlyle

4.43

Format: None pages, Paperback

Rebecca’s father, Edward, scoots Sam Mitchell from Bangkok to London. Boris Voikevich, only days… read more

Similar categories in Ben Carlyle's A Chosen Path book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
Cover of Inside Intelligence by Anthony Cavendish

23. Inside Intelligence

By: Anthony Cavendish

3.74

Format: 224 pages, Paperback

None read more

Similar categories in Anthony Cavendish's Inside Intelligence book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
Cover of Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment by Daniel Kahneman

24. Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment

By: Daniel Kahneman

3.66

Format: 454 pages, Hardcover

From the bestselling author of Thinking, Fast and Slow and the co-author of Nudge, a groundbreaking… read more

Similar categories in Daniel Kahneman's Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • nonfiction
Cover of The Road to Station X: From Debutante Ball to Fighter-Plane Factory to Bletchley Park, a Memoir of One Woman's Journey Through World War Two by Sarah Baring

25. The Road to Station X: From Debutante Ball to Fighter-Plane Factory to Bletchley Park, a Memoir of One Woman's Journey Through World War Two

By: Sarah Baring

4.00

Format: 179 pages, Kindle Edition

In 1938, Sarah Baring was enjoying life as a young debutante. Only a few years later, at the height… read more

Similar categories in Sarah Baring's The Road to Station X: From Debutante Ball to Fighter-Plane Factory to Bletchley Park, a Memoir of One Woman's Journey Through World War Two book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
  • history
  • historical
  • war
  • nonfiction
Cover of The Moth and the Mountain by Ed Caesar

26. The Moth and the Mountain

By: Ed Caesar

3.79

Format: 260 pages, Hardcover

An extraordinary true story about one man’s attempt to salve the wounds of war and save his own sou… read more

Similar categories in Ed Caesar's The Moth and the Mountain book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • nonfiction
  • history
Cover of The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage by John Hughes-Wilson Colonel

27. The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

By: John Hughes-Wilson Colonel

3.67

Format: 528 pages, Hardcover

Comprehensive and authoritative, The Secret State skillfully examines the potential pitfalls of the… read more

Similar categories in John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
  • history
  • historical
  • politics
  • military fiction
  • war
  • military history
  • research
  • nonfiction
  • technology
Cover of Security and Special Operations: SOE and MI5 During the Second World War by Christopher J. Murphy

28. Security and Special Operations: SOE and MI5 During the Second World War

By: Christopher J. Murphy

4.38

Format: 265 pages, Hardcover

This volume offers the first comprehensive history of the Security Section of the Special Operation… read more

Similar categories in Christopher J. Murphy's Security and Special Operations: SOE and MI5 During the Second World War book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
  • historical
  • history
Cover of The Greatest Raid of All: Operation Chariot and the Mission to Destroy the Normandie Dock at St Nazaire (Daring Military Operations of World War Two) by C.E. Lucas Phillips

29. The Greatest Raid of All: Operation Chariot and the Mission to Destroy the Normandie Dock at St Nazaire (Daring Military Operations of World War Two)

By: C.E. Lucas Phillips

4.30

Format: 366 pages, Kindle Edition

A vivid account of the famous St Nazaire Raid that demonstrates the sheer bravery of the British Co… read more

Similar categories in C.E. Lucas Phillips's The Greatest Raid of All: Operation Chariot and the Mission to Destroy the Normandie Dock at St Nazaire (Daring Military Operations of World War Two) book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • history
  • historical
  • military fiction
  • war
  • military history
  • nonfiction
Cover of Trotsky's Favourite Spy: The Life of George Alexander Hill by Peter Day

30. Trotsky's Favourite Spy: The Life of George Alexander Hill

By: Peter Day

4.35

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

George Hill was a British spy who had befriended Trotsky during the Russian Revolution. He had smug… read more

Similar categories in Peter Day's Trotsky's Favourite Spy: The Life of George Alexander Hill book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

  • espionage
  • historical
  • history
Cover of Their Chosen Way (The Roads Chosen Book 3) by Ben Carlyle

31. Their Chosen Way (The Roads Chosen Book 3)

By: Ben Carlyle

4.26

Format: 408 pages, Kindle Edition

The final episode of the trilogy depicting ‘Sam Mitchell’s war with Russian organised crime’ is aga… read more

Similar categories in Ben Carlyle's Their Chosen Way (The Roads Chosen Book 3) book and John Hughes-Wilson Colonel's The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage

18 Top history books like The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage by John Hughes-Wilson Colonel

Transform Your Habits

Mastery

Robert Greene

4.26

Transform Your Habits

Red Dusk and the Morrow: Adventures and Investigations in Soviet Russia

None , Paul Henry Dukes

4.39

Transform Your Habits

Spymistress: The True Story of the Greatest Female Secret Agent of World War II

William Stevenson

3.61

Transform Your Habits

Like Hidden Fire: The Plot to Bring Down the British Empire

Peter Hopkirk

3.89

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10 must-read history books like Foreign Devils on the Silk Road by Peter Hopkirk

Transform Your Habits

Red Dusk and the Morrow: Adventures and Investigations in Soviet Russia

None , Paul Henry Dukes

4.39

Transform Your Habits

The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine

Robert Conquest

4.23

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Island of the Blue Foxes: Disaster and Triumph on the World's Greatest Scientific Expedition

Stephen R. Bown

4.11

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On Horseback Through Asia Minor

Peter Hopkirk , Frederick Burnaby

3.99

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