
And I can't mention Hopkirk's name without referencing his book Mission to Tashkent which tells the story of FM Baily, a British agent trapped in Central Asia by the Russian Civil War. This guy was James Bond when Flannery O'Connell was in diapers. He was so good at spycraft and disguise that the Cheka hired him to capture himself. Great firsthand insight into the depredation and brutality of the Bolsheviks.

Oops, I meant Ian Flemming, not Flannery O’Connell.