Spy by David Wise
This happens to me a lot: I watch a movie or tv show or something and find it fascinating. The first thing I always do is search to see if there is a book on the topic. Granted, I watch a lot of documentaries and based on true stories movies and tv shows. So, a lot of times, there is a book. But even if it is fiction, there is frequently a book associated with it. In this case, we watched a 2007 movie called Breach about the FBI traitor, Robert Hanssen. I have to admit, I had never heard of Hanssen as my knowledge typically ends in the Cold War and Hanssen was much more contemporary.
Anyways, after the movie (which was very good and I would highly recommend), I immediately went to the library app to find a book on Hanssen for more information. Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI’s Robert Hanssen Betrayed America by David Wise was the top choice.
–Spoiler Alerts Ahead–
You would think that a non-fiction spy story would be hard pressed to be bad. It is a thrilling story that actually happened! However, if you have read very many non-fiction spy stories, you will know that authors love to make it boring by adding too many data points and minutiae. As a lover of spy stories (fiction and non-fiction) and history, I have read a lot of these types of books and the sad thing is that many of them are boring and inaccessible to everyday readers.
David Wise doesn’t fall into this trap. I am unfamiliar with his work, but I will definitely be looking into him. The book wasn’t too long, moved quickly, and was fascinating. Wise did a phenomenal job bringing both Hanssen and the story to life while being very informative.
This is not my normal suggestion, but in this case, I’d recommend the movie before the book. That way you can really visualize all of the places the book discusses. Also, if you live in the DMV, you can actually visit all of the places Hanssen used for dead drops. This is definitely a Cold War relic and I can’t wait to go to some of the local parks in my area mentioned in the book. I would highly recommend the book and the movie and would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
5/5 stars
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