In the first weeks after World War II, a squeaky-clean new second lieutenant named James D. Cronley Jr. is spotted and recruited for a new enterprise that will eventually be transformed into something called the CIA. In his first assignment, he's got seven days to extract a vital piece of information from a Soviet agent, but there are enemies everywhere--and, as Cronley is about to find out, some of them even wear the same uniform he does.

"The first novel in a new Cold War fantasy series, where the Berlin Wall is made entirely of magic. When a breach unexpectedly appears in the wall, spies from both sides swarm to the city as World War III threatens to spark. When Soviet magicians conjured an arcane wall to blockade occupied Berlin, the world was outraged but let it stand for the sake of peace. Now, after ten years of fighting with spies instead of spells, the CIA has discovered the...

In what Christopher Lehmann-Haupt of The New York Times called "the plot of plots," Robert Littell has created the CIA "legends" Francis and Carroll, dubbed "The Sisters Death and Night" by their cohorts. But few know what these enigmatic and extremely dangerous operatives do. They plot-and they're plotting the perfect crime. They've located the perfect pawn-the Potter, the exiled ex-head of the KGB sleeper school-and, with artful deception, the Sisters...

Provides information about the Cold War, a political power struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, focusing on how spies and intelligence agents were used in an attempt to gain the advantage, and looking at milestones in the stand-off, including the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the building of the Berlin Wall.

"Through a lens of primary sources, this fascinating book looks at the pivotal crisis of the Cold War during which the Soviet Union set up nuclear missiles in Cuba. The key leaders, including Fidel Castro, Nikita Khrushchev, and John F. Kennedy are introduced, and the complexities of the crisis are covered including proxy wars and communication systems. Relations today between countries are examined to consider whether a new Cold War may be looming."...

Fourteen-year-old Janie Scott, newly arrived in London from Los Angeles in 1952, becomes friends with a mysterious apothecary and his son, Benjamin Burrows, and is drawn into a dangerous adventure with Benjamin when his father is kidnapped and Russian spies try to steal his book of secrets.

"When the Great Depression hits, Florence Fein leaves Brooklyn College for what appears to be a plum job in Moscow--and the promise of love and independence. But once in Russia, she quickly becomes entangled in a country she can't escape. Many years later, Florence's son, Julian, will make the opposite journey, immigrating back to the United States. His work in the oil industry takes him on frequent visits to Moscow, and when he learns that Florence's...

"During the Cold War, many liberal anti-communist writers, artists, musicians, and intellectuals ended up working for organizations that were CIA fronts. CIA protocol dictated that one individual in the various organizations would be investigated, sworn to secrecy, and told about the CIA connection and funding. That individual was, in Agency parlance, witting. Everyone else was unwitting. The Unwitting is about a husband who is witting, a wife who...