The Big Book of Espionage

by Otto Penzler

No one does an anthology better than Otto Penzler of the Mysterious Bookshop. His anthologies are filled with stories; this one is no exception coming in at over 800 pages. This may make it the perfect gift for someone that you know this holiday season. They will be immersed in tales that will keep them going for a while.

The book starts with an essay on espionage in its glamorous fictional guise. It is pointed out that the lives of real spies may be a bit more dull. Then come the stories. They are by writers well and less well known and cover historical eras including The Great War, World War II, “Other Terrors, Other Battles,” and The Cold War. Some of the many authors included are W. Somerset Maugham, John Buchan, Edgar Wallace, Eric Ambler, Erle Stanley Gardner, Joseph Finder, Sara Paretsky and Ian Fleming, among others.

This is a great book for you or someone on your gift list. Highly recommended.