The Books Spies Loved in 2021

A SpyTalk survey found an eclectic mix, but one debut thriller in special emerged

TURNS OUT retired spies and counterspies are like you and me after all—at least in their choices of books. Sure, they like the well turned spy novels of the high-lit variety—do I really need to cite Le Carré?—but their tastes even more often run to deeply reported, reflective books on politics, history, the environment and culture.

With the holiday book-…