Books: Essential March Reading

Already three months into the year, and you haven't started brushing up on your tradecraft? The field of espionage offers many good resources and far more poor ones. Before handing over your hard-earned money on any spy book, make sure it is well reviewed. As a rule of thumb, I would steer clear of Paladin press and see what other alternatives are out there.

The CloakNet picks:

• The Spycraft Manual. If you want a good solid introduction to modern espionage, this is the book to buy. Well-priced at under $15, it offers the basics on escape-and-evasion, weaponry, basic modern equipment, some explosive coverage, and the basics of being a real-world spy. Good basics on lockpicking and surveillance as well, but really poor coverage of cryptography (is anyone that reads about a concealed briefcase MP5 even going to consider a basic substitution code)? There are some chapters that are a bit off-kilter in form, but lots of good information. A worthy buy.
• How to Open Locks with Improvised Tools. If you are going to buy one practical book, make this your pick. The authors guides you through many different methods, from lock picks guns to how to open handcuffs, all while assuming you do not have access to basic lock picking tools. Considering that you will more than likely not being carrying picks when you most need them, this book will be invaluable to you. And by the way, please don't carry picks with you anyway - they will get you into trouble.
• The Spy's Guide: Office Espionage. Not a bad book at all, but brief. Some very good advice here on how to engage in some real and useful tradecraft. Even covers how to sneak into an corporate event (which, yes, does work - my advice: have a good cover) and disguise. A weird project is also covered on how to make a concealment device from a water bottle; I'll be honest, I haven't built it, but I don't see how it could work. A bit tongue-in-cheek, but useful nonetheless.
  
• Ultimate Spy. Let me let you in on a little secret: WWII spy techniques still work, and are valuable today. Learn how it was done by examining equipment and some brief descriptions of techniques in this book. Don't expect heavy reading though: it is mostly a picture-by-picture book of an espionage collection. You will get good ideas from it though.
  

You should also avoid a few of the not-so-good. Some to give a miss:

• Sneaky Uses for Everyday Things. A bizarre book. Sometimes it seems it was written by a survivalist that wasn't too far gone, sometimes it seemed suited for maybe a young adolescent. Good ideas on how to find wire, substitute batteries, and even modify radios. Bad ideas include making a power ring (a ring... with a magnet. Wow.) and a security camera that uses a dart gun to shoot the shutter button on a camera. Oh so poor. Read at the bookstore instead.
• Surveillance Countermeasures. Some good elements in here but reads worse than my Social Statistics textbook. It does indeed cover four-square surveillance, vehicular methods, and some electronics methods. However you are better off with a book like The Spycraft Manual which has the basics plus more.
• Running a Ring of Spies. Man, did this guy want to impress upon the reader how absolutely worldly and cool he is. Best lesson from this book, the false flag - if you don't know it, you will be taken by it sooner or later - even bill collectors will use it). Some good things here and there, but nothing that justifies the money spent. Skip it.

A final free resource: if you haven't already, bookmark the Foreign Policy blog. You will be kept up-to-date with a regular briefing and get the scoop on the most important regions.