Books like The agency by John Ranelagh

Simon Singh traces the sweeping history of cryptography, from Mary Queen of Scots to Navajo Code Talkers and the Internet’s secure commerce, revealing how secrecy has shaped wars, nations, and technology.

A biography of Oleg Gordievsky, the Soviet double‑agent who, while working undercover in the KGB, supplied MI6 with critical intelligence that accelerated the collapse of the Cold War.

A revealing portrait of Allen Dulles, the CIA’s longest‑serving director, uncovering his influence over U.S. policy, covert operations, and alleged links to assassinations and global intrigue.

After World War II, the U.S. secretly recruited former Nazi scientists for Cold War research in a program called Operation Paperclip.

Proceedings and papers presented at the 1974 Washington conference "The CIA and covert action," sponsored by the Center for National Security Studies.

“[The United States’ goal in Angola] was not to keep out the Cubans and Soviets but to make their imperial efforts as costly as possible and to prove that, after Vietnam. we were still capable of response, however insane. It is this story that has been told, and in impressive and convincing detail, by John Stockweli, the former chief of the CIA’s Angola task force.’ His hook should not he missed. Since strategic thought survives by ignoring experience, it has a highly professional interest in avoiding accounts such as this. By the same token, all who are alarmed about the tendency toward such strategic thinking should strongly welcome Mr. Stockwell’s book.” —John Kenneth Gaibraith. New York Review of Books In Search of Enemies is much more than the story of the only war to be found when the CIA sought to recoup its prestige after the Vietnam debacle. Though no American troops were committed to Angola, only “advisors,” many millions were spent, many thousands died, and many lies were told to the American people, in waging a war without purpose to American vital interests and without hope of victory. In Search of Enemies is unique in its wealth of detail about CIA operations and convincing in its argument that the clandestine services of the CIA should be abolished. John Stockwell, who lived in Africa for ten of his early years, is a graduate of the University of Texas and an alumnus of the U.S. Marine Corps. After twelve years as a CIA officer, he resigned from the agency on April I. 1977

Intriguing biography of Mary Meyer, a witness to John F. Kennedy's murder, and the United States' central intelligence agency's investigation into the event.

A nonfiction exploration of alleged psychic influence, intelligence operations, and cult dynamics within the United States, focusing on brainwashing techniques, CIA involvement, and postwar society.

A comprehensive history of the CIA’s espionage campaigns against the KGB from 1985 through the Afghan war to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, detailing the operations of intelligence agents on both sides.

The CIA's hidden manual of magic and deception: How the agency taught its agents to use sleight of hand for espionage and covert operations during the Cold War.

Admiral Stansfield Turner offers an insider look at the U.S. intelligence community, revealing how political dynamics and personal relationships shape the decisions of the President and CIA leadership.

A candid look at the CIA's founding purpose, early successes, and enduring challenges of rivalry, mismanagement, and Soviet infiltrations over five decades of U.S. intelligence.

A CIA former officer publishes a wide‑ranging critique of covert operations, questioning U.S. leadership decisions and highlighting alleged manipulation behind the U‑2 Incident, the Kennedy assassination, and Vietnam policy.

An expose of CIA operations and the fight against government censorship, detailing 168 mandated deletions and the agency’s legal battle to suppress the book.