Our fascination with spies, both real and fictional, seems to know no bounds. But when and where did the history of espionage begin, and how has the craft of spying evolved over the centuries? Spies in History is a collection of portraits of some of the most famous spies, as well as lesser-known and more surprising figures. Among them are Rahab, the Canaanite woman from the Bible who helped the Israelites before their attack on Jericho; Thomas Phelippes, a brilliant cryptanalyst and master of handling secret agents during the Elizabethan era; and Noel Coward, the renowned playwright and singer who used his celebrity status to influence American public and political opinion in favour of Britain during the Second World War. In this volume, historians, scholars and writers from around the world examine intelligence operations and espionage from ancient times through the Cold War to the era of Putin, Trump and Xi Jinping.
