Did you ever wonder how many types of Spies are out there?

By David McClelland

Many years ago, I read the John le Carre novel, published in 1963, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, about a British cold war spy. Graham Greene called it the "finest spy story ever written." That story raised uncomfortable questions about espionage in a democracy. When I read a review of that novel recently, it made me wonder what other types of spies are out there.

My research revealed that spies come from many different backgrounds and are recruited by espionage agencies for a variety of reasons. Of course, many spies are attracted by the money, but some are motivated by deeply held beliefs and are known as "walk-in" spies because they require no persuasion. Yet others become spies because they are being blackmailed, and still others because it makes them feel important. As "plants," spies work their way into target organizations where they can collect intelligence. Recruiting an "agent-in-place" is sometimes easier than penetration. These trusted "insiders" have access to secrets even before being recruited and they are be recruited by either blackmail or bribery.

Since biblical times, traders kept their eyes and ears open when they traveled abroad.
M16, the British secret service agency, encouraged businesses to sell parts for weapons such as the "Supergun" to Iraq in the 1980's. The exporters brought back intelligence that was considered to be highly valuable by M16.

Most spies are "illegals" and, if they are discovered, our government prosecutes them.

Women have often served as spies, especially during times of war. They were often successful and unsuspected, especially if society assumed that women's proper role was in the domestic, and not the public, sphere. Some women who were spies for the North during the Civil War that helped the Union's cause were Pauline Cushman, Sarah Emma Edmonds, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Van Lew, Mary Edwards Walker and Mary E. Bowser.

In fiction, The Good Shepard is the story of an American traitor who once said that the best way to hide a lie is to wrap it in several layers of truth. It is a trick that serves not only spies, but also clever Hollywood scriptwriters. Such is the case of The Good Shepard, a clock-and-dagger thriller that purports to tell the story of the CIA's early days as seen through the eyes and career of Edward Wilson, played by Matt Damon. Wilson is patterned after legendary spy-catcher, James Jesus Angleton.

Three books on spies which you may find of interest are, Spies, A Novel, By Michael Frayan, Spies, the Undercover World of Secrets, by David Owen and Antonia Mendez and Spies: Real People, Real Stories. If you like spy stories, I recommend these.