Kristie Macrakis’ “Seduced by Secrets: Inside the Stasi’s Spy-Tech World” (Available at Amazon.com) is the study of Stasi or Ministry for State Security for East Germany. After East Germany’s fall, 4 decades of confidential records of Stasi became available for everyone and this gave an opportunity to analyze and understand the presently defunct but once powerful intelligence agency. The author of “Seduced by Secrets: Inside the Stasi’s Spy-Tech World” went through thousand of files of those records as well as interviewed some of the former agents of East Germany to write this book about the foreign and domestic intelligence operations of Stasi. Kristie successfully illuminates the laymen, intelligence professionals and historians about the accomplishments and challenges of high-tech espionage of the modern world, which otherwise is a world behind the Iron Curtain – aloof and unknown!

“Seduced by Secrets: Inside the Stasi’s Spy-Tech World” has two distinct parts. Each part takes a different route to explain the role played by technology in espionage during the Cold War. “High-Tech” – the first part is about the efforts of East Germany to secretly acquire technological information and technology from West so that the R&D cost for the domestic companies can be saved. Since humans were primarily responsible for gathering intelligence, the first part is about people like the agents, defectors, SWT (Sector for Science and Technology) elite, their goals and their operations.

“Spy-Tech” is the second part which is far more technical and dense. It includes the description of the various technologies created by OTS (Technical Operations Sector), which were used for spying. The application of those technologies is described in the second part. There are separate chapters about different gadgets and the containers which concealed those gadgets, radio intelligence, smell science, tracking people using radioactive and chemical substances, secret writing and invisible ink, surveillance and observation photography etc. Though the second part contains stories as well but Macrakis emphasizes more on the technologies and their applications used by Stasi for their intelligence operations.

The West knew that the Stasi was responsible for domestic spying but, the “Seduced by Secrets: Inside the Stasi’s Spy-Tech World” turned out to be an eye-opener for everyone. The international and foreign intelligence operations of Stasi are revealed in this book by Kristie.

Kristie Macrakis is a Harvard University Grad with a PhD in history/ science. Currently she is working as an associate professor at Michigan State University which she joined after spending one postdoctoral year in Berlin, Germany. Two of her other popular books are “Surviving the Swastika: Scientific Research in Nazi Germany” and “Science under Socialism: East Germany in Comparative Perspective”. Kristie has received awards and grants from Fulbright and Humboldt Foundation, National Science Foundation and Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

This soon to be released book should be in the wish list of any James Bond fan, especially those who are keen to find out the inner workings of the man that created the best-seller classics. The title of the book is Bond Code – The Dark World of Ian Fleming and James Bond by Philip Gardiner; it is yet to be released but should become available on April the 15th.

The book takes a peek at the life of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, and tries to decipher the codes behind the essential ideas that proliferated the series of books.

Essentially, though, the book tries to delve into some of the reasons Bond came into being by unravelling the mind behind the creation. It looks into, among other things, how and why the names of the titles of Bond novels were formulated. It also goes in detail about Fleming’s association with the secret service in Britain and how that influenced his ideas. It also introduces the idea that the real secret service, the MI6, grasped on to some of the ideas formulated in Fleming’s thrillers for real-life espionage.

No doubt there will be parts that have been regurgitated that any Bond fan will already be familiar with, however, this book does promise something different and, as a result, will be an interesting read.

At the end of last year I received a copy of The History of Espionage by Ernest Volkman to review from Carlton Publishing. It has got to be the most interesting history book that I have ever read! The book gives an account of historical events from the perspective of spies and intelligence. There’s a resounding theme throughout the book; if it wasn’t for the detailed intelligence from spies, wars and battles would never be won!

Volkman is a respected author and specialist in subjects relating to national security and military intelligence. Although the author is from the US, there is no bias towards any one nation in the book. Volkman starts with ancient civiliations in 72 CE and moves up to modern day, including the events of 9/11, the Madrid bombings, and the London July 7th bombings.

First chapter in the book

Did you know that the invention of the tin can was due to an intelligence report describing how the French stored food for their troops? Napoleon’s armies used glass jars to store their food so that they could march for longer without having to search for food. A British mechanic came up with the idea of using tin rather than glass to aid British troops. A lighter and more robust method of transporting food that gave British armies the advantage over the French.

Did you know that Cassanova was a spy? Or that Gengis Khan and Baden-Powell were top spy masters? Did you know that the NSA once used animal poo (faeces) to high one of their covert listening devices?

The book features thirteen chapters of well-researched spy history. Each chapter explains a period of time in which the actions of spies had a strong influence in how events unfolded. Between each chapter there is a two-page feature on an individual or device that has played a significant role in spy history. These two-page ‘articles’ are enjoyable snippets of information that don’t fill a whole chapter.

The History of Espionage is surprisingly light reading. Volkman uses a story-like style to describe events that stops this book feeling like a history textbook. You’ll be amazed to discover just how much intelligence and spies have influenced our history. A thoroughly good read for all spy and history enthusiasts!

I’ve long believed that the best spy kit is the stuff that you make yourself. Most spy gadgets are electronics based, so gaining electronics knowledge is the key. This is why I think the 101 Spy Gadgets for the Evil Genius Book is such a good book, as the focus is on modifying existing technology to create a spy gadget. However, the 101 Spy Gadgets does offer a few circuits to build from scratch too. But we don’t have to stop with just spy gadgets!

If you’ve done very little electronics work, then you might need some help getting started. The Evil Genius book range are known for their quirky subject areas, appealing to the desire to create something weird and wacky (and often a little dangerous too!). I’ve included a range of books that focus on the electronics topics, and the 51 Hi-Tech Practical Jokes book is a classic example of this.

If you have a family member who’s a little creative in the electronics world, then they may appreciate one of these books as a gift for Christmas or a Birthday. Even if they don’t follow the instructions in the book exactly, they’ll certainly get some cool ideas.

Hmm, I fancy that Hi-Tech Practical Jokes book for myself! Where’s that credit card…

It’s not that often that I get a little excited about a CCTV kit, but for some reason I really like those portable TFT screens that seem to be everywhere these days. This inexpensive Colour CCTV Monitoring Kit features an external CCTV camera and 7 inch TFT screen that’s packed with features.

The camera itself is IP44 rated, and therefore suitable for use externally on your property. The camera has infra-red LEDs for night vision up to 5 metres, a built in microphone for audio capability, and uses a standard 12V power supply provided in the kit. Maplin even supply 18 metres of cable to allow you to permanently wire the camera. The TFT camera comes with a remote control, allows up to 2 cameras to be connected at once, and has an AV output that allows you to connect it to a DVR for archiving video footage.

CCTV systems can be very expensive, with new cameras, monitors, DVR systems, etc. If you just want a camera to see who’s at the door or to keep an eye on the children in the garden, this camera is perfect! The Colour CCTV Monitoring Kit is currently on special offer at Maplin for just over half price (£79.99). Even at full price, the CCTV and TFT kit is only £149.99.

The Incredible World of Spy Fi features over 40 years of spy gadgets collected from a great number of spy film studios by Danny Biederman. Biederman features 200 of his favourite spy gadgets packed with photos and trivia. The book features sections on James Bond, The Man From U.N.C.L.E, Mission: Impossible, Austin Powers, Alias and more!

His collection is so complete, that he had a visit and invitation from the CIA to showcase a selection of his massive treasury at the CIA headquarters. If you love the spy movies, you’ll love this book!

Every so often, you find a decent security or surveillance book for sale. I’ve put together a whole list of Security Related Books that you can find on Amazon. Since Amazon is an international trusted retailer of books, you should be able to obtain a copy of a book you’re interested in regardless of what country you live in.

I’ve read a few of them, and have only recommended ones that I own or would actually buy myself. The photo above is for the book Electronic Surveillance Devices by Paul Brookes. I’ve got a copy of this book and I really like it. The circuits are useful, and its a great little read too. You can see a few pages of the book on Amazon just in case you need convincing to buy it!

If you have any security related books that are not listed here, please let me know the title and ISBN and I’ll add them to the book section on Spy Review!

There’s a great new book that’s appeared all about spying! It’s called The Spycraft Manual: The Insider’s Guide to Espionage Techniques, available on Amazon for around £10 (or about $15 in the US), so a fantastic price for a book, let alone one about surveillance!

The Spycraft Manual is a book giving step-by-step instructions on the tradecraft and skills that spooks use. Areas of interest include codes, surveillance techniques, methods of entry, infiltration, operational techniques, sabotage, self-preservation and information about intelligence agencies.

The author is an instructor for these skills, and so I expect the book to be an interesting and informative read. It’s already on my Wish List on Amazon!

This book blends MacGyver with Q, making quite sophisticated surveillance equipment using deprecated and 2nd hand devices. The author admirably articulates the overpriced nature of spy gadgets at high-priced so-called spy stores, highlighting the motivation for making your own kit.

I recently purchased this book having waited ages for it to be published. I certainly wasn’t disappointed! When they say 101 spy gadgets, its no exaggeration! However, there are a couple of items that I considered slightly dubious as spy gadgets (such as referring to using audio editing software!).

Many of the parts are salvaged from existing and cheap devices (VCRs, Camcorders, etc) in addition to common and inexpensive electronic components. The author does assume some electronics expertise on the part of the reader, but these are the most basic of skills that can be picked up in an afternoon with a basics of electronics book.

There are too many gadgets to list here, but some of my favourites are:

• Digital Camera Hacking (7 projects)
• Adapting a VCR for time-lapse recording
• Amplified Ears Project
• Night Vision Camera
• Remote Controlled Pan and Tilt Camera Control
• Spy Camera Killer
• And of course, the video controlled robot!

It’s a great read, and I’ll be playing about with some of the ideas soon! I recommend you look at the book 101 Spy Gadgets on Amazon, as it costs less than £20! It’s the cheapest I could find it!