He tracked down the elusive World War II double agent GARBO in Venezuela. He identified and interviewed German Intelligence chief Admiral Canaris’ mistress. He was responsible for the exposure in the early 1980s of British military officer Leo Long and retired diplomat Edward Scott as Soviet spies. And now he has identified the fourteen spies he believes made the greatest impact on the 20th century.
Join International Spy Museum Historian and Curator Dr. Andrew Hammond live in conversation with renowned intelligence historian Nigel West. They will discuss how West used newly declassified files and his own comprehensive knowledge to choose the Spies Who Changed History: The Greatest Spies and Agents of the 20th Century. His criteria for selection is the degree to which each can now be seen to have had a very definite influence on a specific course of events, either directly, by passing vital classified material, or indirectly, by organizing or managing a group of spies. Those selected were active in the First World War, the inter-war period, the Second World War, the Cold War and even the post-Cold War era. From the lead of the “White Lady” spy ring in German-occupied Belgium during the First World War to a 27-year-old secretary in the 1930s, the list is full of surprises. After their conversation, you can ask Andrew and Nigel for their insight into other aspects of the secret world they have come to know and understand so well. It’s hard to believe that the mysterious and shadowy characters they will unveil really did exist.
West books will be available for sale and signing after the conversation.
