The Complete Idiot's Guide to Spies and Espionage

The "Idiot's Guide" books have the worst name ever. If anyone spots you reading one of these bright orange tomes, they more than likely think you are an idiot. That's really not the case with this book. The guide to Spies and Espionage is an amazing intro to the field of espionage and international spying. Everything is presented clearly and with proper writing style (not too playful, not too stiff). For those looking for tons of gadgets and movie-like action, you may be disappointed, as the book focuses more on the history of spying rather than the procedures and rules of the game. Thrilling missions and incidents are retold with detail, yet also they are very brief. The book seems to strike a perfect balance without getting bogged down at all. You can breeze through a few chapters in an hour and still learn a great deal. Again, as I said, a great jumping off point for anyone interested in the field

A pretty good brief history with a good lesson in terms and trade craft. Has some good event history.