Espionage & Secret Operations
Hidden histories of covert operations, secret plots, and intelligence warfare that shaped the course of history.
- Espionage
- Secrets
- Intelligence
Some of the stories included
The Zimmermann TelegramHow a secret 1917 German offer to Mexico, promising the return of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, was intercepted by British codebreakers and helped bring the United States into World War I.
The Theremin's Strange LifeInventor Leon Theremin created a touchless instrument, spied for the Soviets in New York, and designed a bug hidden in the US Great Seal.
The Gunpowder PlotThe 1605 plot by English Catholics to blow up the House of Lords and kill James I, how an anonymous letter exposed it, and how it became Bonfire Night.
Alan Turing and the Thinking MachineHe conceived the computer and broke the Enigma code, but Alan Turing's revolutionary career was cut short by a criminal conviction.
The Crypto AG ScandalThe CIA and West German intelligence secretly bought Crypto AG in 1970 and read the secrets of more than 120 nations.
Jack the RipperIn 1888, a killer terrorized London's East End, exposing the city's deep social divides and creating an enduring mystery.
The Death of LumumbaThe 1961 overthrow and killing of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the independent Congo, and the foreign powers involved.
The Cuckoo's Egg: Hunting a Hacker From a 75-Cent ErrorAn astronomer chased a 75-cent billing error at Berkeley and uncovered a hacker selling secrets to the KGB.
The Bay of Pigs InvasionThe CIA's disastrous failed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro using Cuban exiles.
Operation MincemeatHow a corpse carrying fake secrets tricked Hitler into diverting troops and clearing the way for the invasion of Sicily.
The Dreyfus AffairA torn memo in a Paris wastebasket sent an innocent French officer to Devil's Island, exposing a nation's deep-seated antisemitism.
Rudolf Hess Flies to ScotlandOn May 10, 1941, Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess bailed out over Eaglesham, Scotland, after a solo flight of nearly 1,000 miles to seek peace.
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