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Review from library copy.

A little dense. ( )

Provides an account of spies involved with the United States from the Revolutionary War in the late 1770s to moles of the CIA and FBI in the 2000s. I found it a bit harder to get through since there wasn't any one story to really follow, and think I might have enjoyed a work focusing solely on one person or group more, or even more descriptions of gadgetry. I found the story of the U-2 stealth plane interesting, as well as the account of Virginia Hall, aka the "Limpin' Lady". However, I think that only adolescents interested in espionage or working on a book report on it would be interested in the book; it's somewhere between a textbook and a series of small biographies. ( )

4Q 2P
A brief, intriguing history of spies in the US, focusing on the role of spies and intelligence in major wars from the Revolutionary War to the Cold War, concluding with the stories of two modern traitors in the CIA and FBI, as well as some modern means of spying. The language was perhaps a bit too simple in places, and the history more anecdotal than fleshed out in detail, The focus generally alternated between spies, such as Elizabeth Van Lew and Juan Pujol, and various means of spying, such as invisible ink and balloons.

A good follow-up to Top Secret, his book about secret codes, Janeczko writes with great enthusiasm about spies and spying from the American Revolution through the Cold War. ( )