I-Spy is one of the many academic-historic non-fiction titles written by Amit Bagaira, one of the leading non-fiction authors in India. This book is a collection of (almost) research papers prepared by the author on the secret operations conducted by the leading intelligence agencies in the world – like CIA, RAW, Mossad, MI6, FSB and many others. Well, it is necessary to tell the readers that the complete title of this book gives away the major theme – I-Spy: A Peep into the World of Spies. So, let me get into the details of this as well as offer my review based upon my careful study. Here we go again!
The book begins with an introduction to the basics of spy world – it’s like the readers are introduced to the classes about to commence – abbreviation, basics of a spy-life and also the terms used and their details – assets, intel, etc. So, after the basics of spying and abbreviations, the readers are taken into the world of intelligent games – best of the intelligent officers clashing with each other to get the first-hand information that can help their country grow and outfox the agenda of their counterparts as well as stop the menace of terrorism and anti-peace progressions.
Amit Bagaria has ranked the top 10 intelligence agencies in the world and surprisingly enough, his ranking keeps MI6 at the top and CIA on the second spot – the most surprising, however, is the inclusion of ISI at 5 and RAW at 9. Can you accept it? It is up to you and your conscience but Amit Bagaria has given ample reasons for his rankings like they are. Moreover, all the chapters are based upon the ranked intelligence agencies and their works in various domains. As you might have guessed, CIA, despite being on the second spot, takes the limelight and also the most number of pages in the book.
The style of writing has been very inclusive and the author has given ample space to the tactical details that a reader of such books would like to see and read in a book. I-Spy is a very welcoming piece of literature that takes the worth of modern non-fiction Indian literature in English to a whole new level. And for this, one has to commend Amit’s attempt!
To conclude the review of I-Spy, I only have to add that such books must have a proper way of presentation. I would have loved to rate it 6 out of 5 only if Amit has added a list of citations or even a proper list of books he has used to write this book and gather sources. However, that does not take away the efforts Amit Bagaria may have done for this wonderful output in the form of I-Spy: A Peep into the World of Spies. You can get a copy of this book from Amazon India by clicking the link below.
Buy the book from Amazon India – click here
I am Abhishek for Intellectual Reader and I will be back with more book reviews soon.
I-Spy
186
Pros
- Interesting Subject
- Quality Narration & Bold Narrative
Cons
- Too Prosaic at times
- Lack of decorated references