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Book Cover for: Stars & Spies: The Astonishing History of Espionage and Show Business, Christopher Andrew

Stars & Spies: The Astonishing History of Espionage and Show Business

Christopher Andrew

Paperback
Regular price$19.99With free membership trial$9.9950% off your first book+ Free shipping
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A vastly entertaining and unique history of the interaction between spying and showbiz, from the Elizabethan age to the Cold War and beyond.

'A treasure trove of human ingenuity' The Times

Written by two experts in their fields, Stars and Spies is the first history of the extraordinary connections between the intelligence services and show business. We travel back to the golden age of theatre and intelligence in the reign of Elizabeth I. We meet the writers, actors and entertainers drawn into espionage in the Restoration, the Ancien Régime and Civil War America. And we witness the entry of spying into mainstream popular culture throughout the twentieth century and beyond - from the adventures of James Bond to the thrillers of John le Carré and long-running TV series such as The Americans.

'Thoroughly entertaining' Spectator
'I found it extremely difficult to put this book down' Daily Telegraph

Book Details

  • Publisher: Vintage
  • Publish Date: May 9th, 2023
  • Pages: 352
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 7.70in - 5.10in - 1.50in - 1.00lb
  • EAN: 9781784708719
  • Categories: • Intelligence & Espionage• Film - History & Criticism• Theater - History & Criticism

About the Author

Christopher Andrew is Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Cambridge University, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, in-house historian for MI5, former Visiting Professor of National Security at Harvard University, and guest lecturer at numerous universities. With Oleg Gordievsky, he published KGB - The Inside Story, the book that revealed the identity of the fifth man. He is also the author of The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized Official History of MI5. Professor Andrew is also a frequent presenter of BBC TV and radio programs on history and world affairs.

Dr Julius Green is an award-winning theatre producer and circus director, with over 250 productions to his credit. He is also an entertainment historian, who received an MA in History from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and was awarded his PhD by Goldsmiths, University of London. His books include How to Produce a West End Show and Agatha Christie: A Life in Theatre.

Praise for this book

A treasure trove of human ingenuity, and testament to our need to tell and believe stories, it deserves a front-row seat at any budding Bond's bedside. The Times

Andrew and Green have carried out a huge amount of impeccable research, which they relay with infectious gusto... I found it extremely difficult to put this book down. Daily Telegraph

Anyone who loves a good spy story will find and enjoy hundreds of them here. Economist

Perfect...read as you settle into James Bond on Christmas afternoon. -- Daily Telegraph, *Books of the Year*

Praise for previous books:

"A comprehensive exploration of spying in its myriad forms from the Bible to the present day."--Ben Macintyre, "By the Book,"New York Times Book Reviewon The Secret World
"For anyone with a taste for wide-ranging and shrewdly gossipy history--or, for that matter, for anyone with a taste for spy stories--Andrew's is one of the most entertaining books of the past few years."--Adam Gopnik, New Yorker

"The book is astounding...Every page brims with the plots for a dozen movies and Robert Ludlum thrillers. Thanks to what they have done, no history of the last half of the Cold War can be written the same again." --Los Angeles Times Book Review on The Sword and the Shield

"Fascinating and instructive. . . . As complete and thorough as such a history may be and as engrossing as any spy novel." --Los Angeles Timeson Defend the Realm