Libraries may seem quiet, unassuming places, but peel back the cover and you will find a covert world of magical manuscripts, espionage secrets, and overdue adventures. With National Librarian Day approaching on April 16, SPYSCAPE celebrates the book-slingers and spies lurking in the shadows.
Spies in the stacks
It may sound like the plot of a dystopian novel, but the FBI’s Library Awareness Program was set up during the Cold War to spy on American reading habits. One librarian who refused to snoop for the Bureau was even imprisoned. The FBI seemingly abandoned its program in the ‘80s… or did it? The practice seems to have returned under a new guise.
Imagine having access to the personal bookshelves and libraries of top secret agents. Well, you do now. We asked real-life spies trained by the CIA, FBI, GCHQ, Mossad, and KGB to share their all-time favorite titles to create the ultimate reading list. Here are the Top 50 spy novels chosen by intelligence operatives - you won't find another list like it anywhere else in the world.
Puzzle lovers will adore this unique custom cube. Each of its six sides features a different design. With 43 quintillion unique positions it’s more complex than any spy story! Get ready to have fun and be challenged.
Beware of the eBook reader as a potential snitch. From the second you buy an electronic book or borrow one from the library, data is logged about your title, your reading speed, whether you skip to the end, and even your location - and that’s just the start of the spying. The next time you dive into an eBook, you may want to consider what your reading habits reveal and read our top tips to protect your privacy.
Three days after WWII was declared in 1939, the director of the American Library in Paris began the Soldiers' Service for French and English fighters. Dorothy M. Reeder also ran an underground network to hand-deliver books to Jewish readers who were banned from libraries. She soon drew up an evacuation plan for staff, but the feisty librarian read up on tradecraft tactics, determined to defy the Nazis.
Get a FREE copy of a hot new thriller, spy story, or crime novel every Monday with a special Story Mondays ticket to SPYSCAPE HQ. Next Monday it's Broker of Lies. From critically acclaimed, bestselling novelist Steven James comes a smart, wire-tight, and emotionally resonant thriller that asks just how far across the line we might go to see justice carried out. Don't miss your FREE copy when you experience SPYSCAPE HQ next Monday.
When American spies need intel on North Korea, the Vatican, or countries that don’t officially exist they turn to their in-house library or Intellipedia, an online reference portal with intel on everything from drone strikes to poisons and cryptography. Intellipedia lets spies collate data from 18 US intelligence agencies to create their own secret database - but who’s using it and for what?
After Joe Woodland invented the barcode - now seen on everything from books to Japanese tombstones - there were protests at grocery stores by conspiracy theorists who believed they hid the Satanic number 666. While Woodland was actually inspired by the Morse code dots and dashes he’d learned as a Boy Scout, the barcode - and its latest incarnation, the QR code - have a spooky history and a secret life.
