Irregular Books

The Handbook of Practical Spying from the International Spy Museum is not a large book, but it’s a useful reference nonetheless. Don’t consider it as a comprehensive guide to spying. As the title of the book indicates, it’s a practical handbook, getting its ideas across with just as much writing as is required for the task.

This handbook is efficient in its length, but it remains fun and fast in pace. Spying is an appealing subject because it suggests secrecy, deception, and high stakes suspense.

So, why would the people at the International Spy Museum even think of creating a handbook of spying, giving away all its secrets? Well, of course, the book does not really give away the true secrets of modern spycraft. Instead, the book attempts to guide people in the fundamentals of thinking and organizing your life as a spy might.

This book teaches that, in practice, being a good spy means keeping secrets. It means not talking. It means being observant. It means training the mind to pay attention to small details.

Really, these are skills that many people use in their everyday lives. As the Handbook of Practical Spying develops, it becomes clear that the author is really talking about a strategy for successful living in general, not just for spying in particular.

The context of spying is a gimmick that adds some drama to what would otherwise be a generic book of advice, but it’s a gimmick that works. The truth behind the spy adventures of fiction seems to be that the work of real spies is often just as tedious as the work the rest of us do.

This realization makes spies less exciting, but it also makes everyday life more interesting. A book that helps readers appreciate the intrigue in their own life demonstrates a generous attitude.