Spying is a branch of philosophy, although you would never guess it from that expression on Daniel Craig’s face. Its adepts interrogate the surface of reality — people, landscapes, texts — knowing that they will discover extraordinary hermetic meanings. They study fragments of documents, whispers of messages, and from these, they summon entire worlds.
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'The Secret War', £30 and 'Queen of Spies: Daphne Park, Britain’s Cold War Spy Master', £20 are available from the Spectator Bookshop, Tel: 08430 600033. Sinclair McKay is the author of The Lost World of Bletchley Park and The Secret Listeners.
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