Holiday Book review & Recommendations from The Cipher Brief

Welcome to our annual holiday book review and recommendations list, where we highlight some of the terrific books that have been reviewed and featured in The Cipher Brief in recent months. Since our summer newsletter, we’ve covered and reviewed more than 35 books – often sliced and diced by world-class subject matter experts. In this newsletter, we’ve singled out about a dozen that received our highest four out of four “trench coat” rating. As always, the books reviewed in The Cipher Brief represent an eclectic mix of topics ranging from the history of past wars to the prospects of future ones. We’ve included both fiction and non-fiction faves.

FICTION FAVORITES:

Tops on many folks’ list is The Persian: A Novel by veteran CIA analyst David McCloskey. For this one, we turned once again to Joe Zacks, a veteran of four-plus decades of government service, to offer his take. Zacks writes that The Persian may be the finest of McCloskey’s four spy novels to date (high praise given how well the first three were received). For this one, Zacks calls McCloskey’s novel “a sophisticated and multidimensional depiction of human nature and the motivations that propel people to action. It brings the HUMINT discipline to life, vividly portraying how a sophisticated intelligence service identifies, targets, and ultimately recruits and handles an agent while plumbing the depths of the agent’s psyche and inner conflicts.” To learn even more about the book – and its author – Cipher Brief CEO & Publisher Suzanne Kelly did a debrief with McCloskey in this fun-filled Cover Stories podcast.

To review veteran spy novelist Daniel Silva’s 25^th book, An Inside Job, we turned to a couple of CIA veterans – Anne and Jay Gruner. The latest Silva book brings back skilled art restorer and former Mossad chief Gabriel Allon, in a fast-paced tale involving art theft, European crime and corruption – and a newly elected Pope.The Gruners’ review declares that Silva has once again demonstrated that he is a master of his craft.

While Gabriel Allon, the hero of Silva’s novel, is a fictional former Mossad officer, a genuine Mossad alumni, Yariv Inbar, is also a prolific novelist. His latest book, Behind the Trigger, was reviewed for us by Dr. Ken Dekleva, a novelist in his own right and a former Regional Medical Officer/Psychiatrist for the State Department. With that background, Dekleva was speedy to spot Inbar’s skill in describing the human, emotional, and psychological aspects of espionage. The book features two central female characters and a Middle East canvas.

Not all of the novels that won plaudits on The Cipher Brief came from long-time authors. There was the thriller The Moldavian Gambit by first-time novelist Brad Meslin about a man-portable nuclear device that goes missing at the time the Soviet Union was coming apart in the early 1990s and may have fallen into the hands of a terrorist — and possibly smuggled into Paris. We asked James Lawler, a former CIA officer with deep experience in thwarting rogue state weapons proliferators and author of Cold Warriors, to weigh in.

The Best Intelligence Books of 2023

As 2023 draws to a close, it’s a good time to reflect on the year’s most compelling intelligence-related books.Here’s a look at some titles that stood out, along with insights from experts who reviewed them.

Past Accounts of Courage and Conflict

Several books delved into the past,offering fresh perspectives on pivotal moments in intelligence history.

The Traitor’s Circle: A Story of Resistance

Jonathan freedland’s The Traitor’s Circle: The True Story of a Secret Resistance Network in Nazi Germany – and the Spy Who Betrayed Them captivated readers with its gripping narrative. Australian writer Susan Gorgioski described the book as reading “like a detective novel” while recounting the true story of a courageous, yet little-known, group of opponents to the Nazi regime. These individuals risked everything – their careers, social standing, finances, and ultimately, their lives – in their fight against tyranny.

Rain of ruin: The End of world War II

Richard Overy’s Rain of Ruin: Tokyo, Hiroshima and the Surrender of Japan offered a disturbing and thought-provoking examination of the final stages of World War II. Former senior CIA clandestine service officer Sonya Seunghye Lim praised the book for its explanation of why armed conflicts continue to plague the world. Overy highlights how dehumanizing the enemy, depersonalizing killings thru remote attacks, and glamorizing combat serve to justify ongoing jingoism and conflict.

Contemporary Challenges: The Forever War

The year also saw publications addressing the ongoing challenges of modern intelligence work.

Race Against Terror: The Dawn of the Forever War

CNN anchor Jake Tapper’s Race Against Terror: Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War, published in October, provided a firsthand account of the early days of the “Forever War.” The Cipher Brief turned to Joe Zacks, a veteran of 42 years – split between the Army and the CIA – for his expert perspective. Zacks’s final post was Deputy Assistant Director of the CIA.

Key Takeaways

• Historical Depth: Several books offered compelling insights into past intelligence operations and the motivations of those involved.
• Moral Complexity: The reviewed books don’t shy away from the tough ethical questions inherent in intelligence work.
• Relevance to Today: Even historical accounts provide valuable lessons about the enduring challenges of conflict and the importance of understanding the enemy.

These books demonstrate the enduring power of intelligence stories to inform, challenge, and captivate. They remind us of the sacrifices made by those who work in the shadows and the complex moral dilemmas they face.

Looking ahead, we can expect continued interest in intelligence literature as the world grapples with evolving threats and the ongoing need for effective intelligence gathering and analysis. The intersection of history, current events, and the human element will undoubtedly continue to drive compelling narratives in the years to come.