This week, we feature a thrilling memoir of one spy’s takedown of the KGB and a 17th-century book full of wisdom still cherished by modern-day leaders.
Espionage
‘The Spy in the Archive: How One Man Tried to Kill the KGB’
By Gordon Corera
What happens when you know almost all of a nation’s secrets and you hate what that nation has become? This was the difficult question Vasili Mitrokhin was forced to wrestle with. The KGB officer, who had been given the run of the secret police’s archives, decided to play the long game. Over the course of many years, he took meticulous notes on the activities of the KGB within and without the Soviet Union, and then delivered them to Britain’s spy agency MI6. A story of courage and conviction.
Pegasus Books, 2026, 336 ages
Fiction
By Thomas Schlesser
Mona, 10 years old, suffers temporary blindness. Fearful that her condition may become permanent, her grandfather takes her, every Wednesday for a year, to absorb a piece of art and be filled with beauty. From Botticelli to the moderns, she studies a painting or sculpture, after which the two discuss it and life in general. If you’re looking for an action novel, this isn’t your book. If you’re looking for a tender tribute to a child and her grandfather and to Western art, this is the book.
Europa Editions, 2025, 432 pages
Historical Fiction
‘Mr. Midshipman Easy, By Frederick Marryat’
By Frederick Marryat
First published in 1836, this tale recounts the adventures of John Easy as a midshipman in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. Easy, the spoiled son of a rich, foolish country squire is transformed into a competent officer. Mephistopheles Faust, an escaped slave and former African prince becomes Easy’s coxswain, serving as his loyal right hand. Much of this story is based on Marryat’s own experiences as a Royal Navy midshipman during that period. This edition is illustrated and annotated.
Classics Illustrated, 2016, 220 pages
Medicine
‘99 Ways to Die And How to Avoid Them’
By Ashely Alker
There are all sorts of ways to die. This book examines different ways death can take you. It also offers strategies to avoid death. A collection of short chapters outlines each different way to die, explaining each risk. The author, an emergency medicine doctor, draws on both personal and professional experience to illustrate her points. It makes for reading that is entertaining and informative, revealing, and often hilarious. Probably bad bedtime reading, as it might keep you awake instead.
St. Martin’s Press, 2026, 384 pages
Classics
By Baltasar Gracían
Translated and introduced by Christopher Maurer, this compact collection of maxims and aphorisms by a 17th-century Spanish Jesuit became widely popular on publication, then fell into relative obscurity until Maurer retrieved it from the shadows. Readers have compared its mix of morals and hard-nosed practical advice to writers like Marcus Aurelius and Sun Tzu. Gracían brings wit and worldly knowledge to every page. It’s a special favorite of business and tech leaders like Elon Musk.
Doubleday, 1992, 208 pages
For Kids
By Paul Galdone
This retelling of Grimm’s fairytale features a poor shoemaker who awakens one morning to find the shoes he had prepared to create the next day had already been masterfully made. This nightly ritual continues on. Finally, he and his wife decide to stay up all night to see who has been performing this great service to them. A fun, must-have classic.
Clarion Books, 1986, 32 pages
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