CIPHER BRIEF SPOTLIGHT — Many Cipher Transient readers love giving – and getting – books as items in the course of the vacation season. And we love suggesting titles from the world of nationwide safety that we predict they might particularly get pleasure from. We’ve reviewed greater than 80 books in 2024 and featured fairly just a few others on our Cowl Tales podcast – so the winnowing all the way down to a “Better of” listing has been troublesome.
In the long run, we settled on these books which earned our coveted “4 Trench Coat” score in the course of the previous six months or so – since our final “Seaside Reads” suggestion e-newsletter in early July. Even then, we nonetheless had a protracted listing. So we broke them down into a number of broad classes in case there’s a explicit style of curiosity to you – or somebody in your vacation present listing.
Memoirs and Reflections
There are three books we’d roughly put within the class of memoirs, biographies, or reminiscences of serious historic occasions. The primary we’ll cite is Midnight in Moscow the memoir of John Sullivan who served as U.S. Ambassador to Russia throughout each the Trump and Biden administrations. Havard scholar Calder Walton reviewed the ebook for us and praised it as a piece that needs to be “learn by anybody who desires to grasp the present quagmire of Russian relations with the West and Putin’s conflict in Ukraine.”
If biographies of necessary individuals are your factor, we’d recommend America’s Chilly Warrior: Paul Nitze and Nationwide Safety from Roosevelt to Reagan” by James Graham Wilson. It’s the story of a exceptional public servant who served at excessive ranges in eight presidential administrations. Cipher Transient knowledgeable and senior CIA and NRO veteran John Lauder tells us in his evaluation that regardless of the weighty subject material, “America’s Chilly Warrior” is “a extremely readable ebook that one can peruse on the seaside or on an airplane.”
Subsequent, we’ll point out The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Disaster and The Daring Particular-Forces Operation That Shocked the World” by Ben Macintyre. That is the story of six younger Iranian Arabs who seized the Iranian Embassy in London and held it and its occupants hostage till the British SAS wrested management of the power in a spectacular operation. In his evaluation, Cipher Transient knowledgeable Nick Fishwick, a retired British Overseas Service officer, referred to as Macintyre “one among Britain’s biggest writers on safety and intelligence historical past…”and means that this ebook is greatest “learn at a single nerve-grating sitting.”
Conflict, Cyberwar, Overseas Relations and Peace
Conflict (significantly the continued one in Ukraine) continued to take care of its grasp on the world’s consideration – and in addition that of authors whose work was featured in The Cipher Transient. Certainly one of our favorites on this class was “In Their Personal Phrases: How Russian Propagandists Reveal Putin’s Attentions” by the distinguished Russian media watcher Julia Davis. Davis’ ebook is a group of her excerpts and evaluation of commentary made on Russian state TV exposing the heartless and sometimes genocidal ambitions of the Kremlin’s favourite speaking heads. Try each our evaluation and Julia Davis’s interview on the Cowl Tales podcast (on Apple Podcasts and Spotify).
For an examination of the technique, ways and improvements of the continued conflict, take a look at The Conflict for Ukraine, by Mick Ryan, a retired main basic within the Australian Military. Our reviewer, Jean-Thomas Nicole, a coverage advisor with Public Security Canada, says the ebook is a snapshot in time – provided that the conflict continues to evolve – however a precious contribution for the U.S. and its allies as they attempt to reduce the prospects for such conflicts sooner or later.
For a really private view of the impression of Russia’s conflict of aggression, take a look at I Will Present You How It Was: The Story of Wartime Kyiv by Kyiv Impartial reporter Illia Ponomarenko. The ebook provides a extremely private account of the times and weeks main as much as Russia’s February 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine and its aftermath. In his evaluation, Cipher Transient knowledgeable Ed Bogan, a retired senior CIA operations officer, writes, “Ponomarenko’s meticulous and painful description of the interval stirred up gut-wrenching feelings from the time and can shortly take any reader again to these harrowing days.” To additional paint the image of the wrestle of the Ukrainian individuals, you may flip to “Portraits of Ukraine: A Nation at Conflict” by Gregory Slayton and Sergei Ivashenko. This can be a coffee-table model ebook full of 310 usually dramatic photographs. Ambassador Roman Popadiuk, the primary U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, reviewed the ebook for us and praised it for its evocative photographs and stirring prose, bringing “to life the human dimension of the struggling and braveness of the Ukrainian individuals throughout this time of conflict.” Particularly noteworthy: all earnings from the sale of the ebook go to Ukrainian charities.
Past the wars of right this moment – there are in fact the wars of tomorrow to fret about. We leaned closely on Cipher Transient knowledgeable Glenn Gerstell, who’s a principal with the Cyber Initiatives Group and former NSA Normal Counsel, to evaluation a number of forward-looking books. Glenn gave 4 trench coats to Algorithms of Armageddon, by George Galdorisi and Sam Tangredi. The authors’ purpose was “to supply an in depth and neutral image of the present state and potential evolution of army functions of AI,” and our knowledgeable reviewer discovered it “surprisingly readable.” Gerstell additionally checked out Rethinking Cyber Warfare by David Edelman for us. That ebook examines “which, if any, forces within the worldwide system may restrain state use of cyberattacks, regardless of the strategic benefit they confer?” Glenn discovered the ebook “elegantly written however dense textual content” (effectively, you didn’t count on all cyber-warfare stuff to be simple, did you?). And finishing Gerstell’s trifecta of techy tomes (with 4 trench coat scores) he additionally reviewed Raj Shah and Christopher Kirchoff’s Unit X: How the Pentagon and Silicon Valley Are Remodeling the Way forward for Conflict. This one is an inside have a look at the Pentagon’s Protection Innovation Unit (often known as Unit X) which tried (and typically succeeded) to deliver Silicon Valley cutting-edge know-how into the Division of Protection.
Assist Your self
Then there’s a well-liked class of books that roughly fall into the “self-help” style. For instance: Promote Like a Spy: The Artwork of Persuasion from the World of Espionage by Jeremy Hurewitz. The writer is a enterprise advisor, entrepreneur and enterprise intelligence practitioner who attracts classes from legendary army and CIA officers (and plenty of Cipher Transient specialists) to supply steerage on tips on how to use methods usually employed by intelligence officers in connecting with others on this planet of enterprise. Dr. Ken Dekleva, a former Regional Medical Officer and psychiatrist for the Division of State (and an writer himself) calls this a “should learn” each for what’s says about such methods as “empathy, energetic listening, connection, elicitation, due diligence, recruitment, investigation, safety safety, curiosity, negotiation, motivation, belief, and cultural consciousness” – but additionally due to the real-world examples the writer contains.
If you’re in search of a ebook on management, we’d suggest May of the Chain: Forging Leaders of Iron Integrity” by Rear Admiral Mike Studeman, USN (Ret.). Studeman is a Cipher Transient knowledgeable and acknowledged authority on China. His ebook tells readers tips on how to strengthen their very own management qualities, tips on how to form a workforce, and tips on how to use that workforce to have essentially the most impression. You’ll be able to learn our evaluation of the ebook right here – or higher but – hearken to our interview with Studeman on our Cowl Tales podcast (on Apple Podcasts and Spotify).
One other four-trench-coat ebook on management got here from retired Navy SEAL Admiral Bob Harward – The Gouge! Be Smarter Than the Scenario You Are In.” To make sure no service favoritism, we turned to retired Military officer and former Deputy Director of the DIA, Doug Clever, to evaluation it for us. Clever says that Harward explains that “the gouge” is a Navy time period for “important data,” and he praised the ebook for doing simply that in an lively model which “transcends organizations and cultures and has common applicability.”
High quality Fiction
Seems you can make these things up. Our listing incorporates 4 very totally different novels that share one attribute – having earned four-trench-coat critiques.
Let’s begin with the newest, “Metropolis of Misplaced Souls: A Jack Ford Shanghai Thriller” by Cipher Transient knowledgeable and veteran CIA officer Marty Petersen. The novel is ready almost a century in the past in Shanghai, the place an expat American personal investigator tries to assist a younger British lady discover her lacking brother. Ken Dekleva reviewed this one for us, calling it a “pleasant learn” which transports you again in time “to the scenes, delights, smells, gaudiness, character, cruelty and sensibility of Shanghai within the early Nineteen Thirties.” Petersen joined us on a latest Cowl Tales podcast (right here on Apple Podcasts or Spotify) and defined how the novel grew out of his passion of accumulating ephemera from Shanghai – and the way the novel may help readers perceive the mindset of contemporary day China.
Along with being an Asia knowledgeable, Petersen can be an aficionado of World Conflict II historical past – which made him the proper option to evaluation “The Stressed Wave: A Novel of the USA Navy” by one other Cipher Transient knowledgeable, retired Navy Admiral James Stavridis. In his evaluation, Petersen identified that “The Stressed Wave,” in describing the exploits of a younger naval officer in the course of the first years of the Second World Conflict, is “peppered all through” with actual figures – so the reader enjoys each the fictional adventures of the novel’s hero but additionally learns about all kinds of individuals from that period and tales of their real-world adventures. Stavridis joined Cipher Transient CEO Suzanne Kelly for a reside on-line ebook membership dialogue of “The Stressed Wave,” and that session was preserved as a Cowl Tales podcast for listeners to get pleasure from (obtainable on Apple Podcasts and Spotify).
For a novel have a look at the world of intelligence – look no additional than “The Seventh Ground” by CIA veteran David McCloskey. We turned to a different Company veteran, and Cipher Transient knowledgeable, Joe Augustyn to evaluation this one for us. Joe, who spent lots of time on the 7th ground (the place CIA management work), says that the energy of the ebook derives from how McCloskey brings the distinctive tradition of the CIA to life, and says that “McCloskey has written a extremely entertaining and engrossing ebook that may absolutely fulfill the palate of these in search of a vicarious fictitious escape into the thrilling and unpredictable world of espionage.”
One factor you’ll be able to nearly all the time depend on is a gripping novel from Daniel Silva, that includes his hero Gabrial Allon. That holds true along with his newest installment: A Loss of life in Cornwall. CIA veterans Jay and Anne Gruner reviewed it for us and awarded it max trench coats. They advise that “not like lots of (Silva’s) earlier books, A Loss of life in Cornwall shouldn’t be about espionage operations or preventing terrorists, however quite a personal battle in opposition to greed and corruption on the highest monetary and political ranges in numerous Western international locations, most notably within the U.Okay. The Gruners say “Silva has as soon as once more written an entrancing novel of worldwide suspense and surprising detours that’s each academic and satisfying. Superbly but merely written, the ebook’s characters are memorable and their dialogue compelling.”
However Wait, There’s Extra
Our arbitrary cutoff on the four-trench-coat degree leaves out a number of books we all know would delight many readers. Have in mind the knowledgeable reviewers of books for The Cipher Transient are on their very own in assigning trench coat scores – and a few of these people are robust graders. Among the many not-quite-four-trench-coat books that we recommend you take a look at are: The Unintentional Joe, a toque-and-dagger spy novel a few TV chef who finds himself in the midst of a CIA covert operation. Try the evaluation by the exceedingly well-qualified individual for the job — CIA veteran, TV producer and beginner chef Rodney Faraon. And in addition take a look at our interview with writer Tom Straw on a Cowl Tales podcast (on Apple Podcasts and Spotify).
We additionally extremely suggest Autocracy, Inc by Anne Applebaum, reviewed for us by former Director of Nationwide Intelligence, Lt Gen. James Clapper, who we’re proud to say is one other Cipher Transient knowledgeable. And llong considerably related strains, there’s To Run the World by Sergey Radchenko, reviewed by Cipher Transient Managing Editor Tom Nagorski. Tom says the ebook is a sweeping have a look at the Chilly Conflict, stocked with classes for the present second.
One other memorable ebook was Prisoner of Lies: Jack Down’s Chilly Conflict, by Barry Werth. Downey was a CIA officer held captive for twenty-one years in China. Former State Division officer Jim Bullock says in his evaluation that maybe essentially the most attention-grabbing a part of the ebook is the story of how Downey rebuilt his life after his launch. Additionally price your time is our Cowl Tales podcast interview with the writer Barry Werth.
One final suggestion: A Suspicion of Spies: Dangers, Secret and Shadows – the Lifetime of Wilfred ‘Biffy’ Dunderdale.” Dunderdale is probably going largely unknown to American readers – however Cipher Transient knowledgeable Tim Willasey-Wilsey says he’s effectively price studying about. The previous MI-6 official was one among “a few dozen mates of Ian Fleming regarded as fashions for James Bond.”
If we haven’t given you sufficient to chew on but – take a look at all of our critiques right here and our Cowl Tales podcasts too.
The yr forward
We’re trying ahead to reviewing some attractive new books in 2025: “The Chinese language Phantom: The Hunt for the World’s Most Harmful Arms Seller”; “The Eurasian Century: Sizzling Wars, Chilly Wars, and the Making of the Fashionable World”; the cheerful sounding “Loss of life is Our Enterprise: Russian Mercenaries and the New Period of Non-public Warfare”; and “Task in Saigon: A Chilly Conflict Thriller” by CIA veteran Invoice Rapp.
One of many issues that makes Cipher Transient critiques of books so precious is that our reviewers are specialists in their very own proper. For those who suppose you might have the chops to be a Cipher Transient reviewer, take a look at our tips right here – and should you nonetheless suppose you’d be an excellent match – ship a observe to us at [email protected] to toss your hat within the ring.
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