Books: 101 Spy Gadgets for the Evil Genius

There are countless books out on espionage technique. Very few are applicable to actual tradecraft, and most seem to be unfortunately published by Paladin Press. There are a few gems out there, and the recent book, 101 Spy Gadgets for the Evil Genius, is clearly one of them.

As the book promised, there are 101 projects that result in actual espionage devices for a reasonable amount of money and have actual real-world applications. The authors assume that readers have some technical aptitude with electronics and present each project with an electronic diagram. Their recommendation seems to be “dive right in,” and I’d have to agree that the only way to learn is by doing. Topics include:

• Creating phone taps ranging from a world-wide accessible one from your PC to a hard-wired one that lets you sneak onto conversations undetected.
• Building all sorts of camera electronics with a reasonable (typically less than $80) budget – normally these camera are sold for $500+.
• Exploring the myth of laser listeners with an actual working project.
• Building audio transmitters – from FM bugs to building one from a FRS radio.

One of my favorites: a camera “killer.” This devices will let you target a camera with a laser, and then render it useless via an infrared laser. Brilliant idea.

I immediately grabbed this book when a friend of mine brought it to my attention. At first I was just a bit skeptical at the idea of a “spy robot” project, since it brings to mind one of the worst inventions that Q created. However, it is very well thought out and practical. The robot is based on the SWAT bomb-squad robots, and has the capability to record audio / video as well as deploy devices. Not that I see myself building one in the future, but a great concept.

The bad part about this book is that I immediately went out to by components and went to work that evening. It became, well, a bit obsessive. But I must say, even with very little background in electronics, I have learned more than I expected, and have working devices to boot. Highly recommended.