Recommendations based on The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayalby David E. Hoffman

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal

    by Ben Macintyre
    The true story of a legendary British spy, who betrayed his country and family.

    Master storyteller Ben Macintyre’s most ambitious work to date brings to life the twentieth century’s greatest spy story. Kim Philby was the greatest spy in history, a brilliant and charming man who ... (Goodreads)

  2. Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw

    by Mark Bowden
    The pursuit of Pablo Escobar and his criminal empire by Colombian and American forces.

    A tour de force of investigative journalism-this is the story of the violent rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, the head of the Colombian Medellin cocaine cartel. Escobar's criminal empire held a nation ... (Goodreads)

  3. Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War

    by Mark Bowden
    A detailed account of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, where US soldiers fought Somali militia in a brutal urban warfare.

    On October 3, 1993, about a hundred U.S. soldiers were dropped by helicopter into a teeming market in the heart of Mogadishu, Somalia, to abduct two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord. The action ... (Goodreads)

  4. Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street

    by Sheelah Kolhatkar
    A thrilling account of the insider trading scandal that rocked Wall Street and the man who made billions from it.

    NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER • “An essential exposé of our times—a work that reveals the deep rot in our financial system . . . Everyone should read this book.”—David Grann, author of, Killers of the ... (Barnes & Noble)

  5. The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple

    by Jeff Guinn
    A deep dive into the history of the Peoples Temple and the life of its leader, Jim Jones.

    2018 Edgar Award Finalist—Best Fact Crime “A thoroughly readable, thoroughly chilling account of a brilliant con man and his all-too vulnerable prey” ( The Boston Globe )—the definitive story of ... (Barnes & Noble)

  6. American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road

    by Nick Bilton
    The thrilling account of how the FBI tracked down the founder of the notorious online black market, Silk Road.

    The unbelievable true story of the man who built a billion-dollar online drug empire from his bedroom—and almost got away with it. In 2011, a twenty-six-year-old libertarian programmer named Ross ... (Goodreads)

  7. The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn

    by Nathaniel Philbrick
    A gripping account of the legendary battle between General Custer and the Lakota Sioux.

    "An engrossing and tautly written account of a critical chapter in American history." —,Los Angeles Times, Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Hurricane's Eye , Pulitzer Prize finalist Mayflower , ... (Barnes & Noble)

  8. Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan

    by Bill O'Reilly
    A narrative of the U.S. in final days of WWII, and the strategies used to end the war in the Pacific.

    The powerful and riveting new book in the multimillion-selling, Killing, series by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard Autumn 1944. World War II is nearly over in Europe but is escalating in the Pacific, ... (Goodreads)

  9. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

    by Alfred Lansing
    True story of a remarkable Antarctic expedition, a testament to the power of courage and tenacity.

    The harrowing tale of British explorer Ernest Shackleton's 1914 attempt to reach the South Pole, one of the greatest adventure stories of the modern age. In August 1914, polar explorer Ernest ... (Goodreads)

  10. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

    by John Carreyrou
    The rise and fall of Theranos, a fraudulent blood-testing startup, and the deceitful actions of its founder Elizabeth Holmes.

    The full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of a multibillion-dollar startup, by the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end in the face ... (Goodreads)

  11. A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership

    by James Comey
    Former FBI Director James Comey's memoir about his career and experiences with President Trump.

    Former FBI Director James Comey shares his never-before-told experiences from some of the highest-stakes situations of his career in the past two decades of American government, exploring what good, ... (Goodreads)

  12. John Adams

    by David McCullough
    Biography of the second President of the United States and his contributions to the founding of the nation.

    The enthralling, often surprising story of John Adams, one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived. In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous ... (Goodreads)

  13. Nerd Do Well

    by Simon Pegg
    Autobiography of Simon Pegg, detailing his journey from a nerdy kid to a successful actor and writer.

    Zombies in North London, death cults in the West Country, the engineering deck of the Enterprise: Simon Pegg has been ploughing some bizarre furrows in recent times. Having blasted onto the small ... (Goodreads)

  14. The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia

    by Candace Fleming
    A detailed account of the Romanov family's rise to power, their downfall, and the events leading up to their tragic end.

    Here is the tumultuous, heartrending, true story of the Romanovs—at once an intimate portrait of Russia's last royal family and a gripping account of its undoing. Using captivating photos and ... (Goodreads)

  15. Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man's Miraculous Survival

    by Joe Simpson
    Gripping account of a mountaineer's harrowing survival after a fall in the Peruvian Andes.

    Joe Simpson and his climbing partner, Simon Yates, had just reached the top of a 21,000-foot peak in the Andes when disaster struck. Simpson plunged off the vertical face of an ice ledge, breaking ... (Barnes & Noble)

  16. Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice

    by Bill Browder
    The true story of a man's fight for justice in the face of corruption, injustice and murder.

    A real-life political thriller about an American financier in the Wild East of Russia, the murder of his principled young tax attorney, and his dangerous mission to expose the Kremlin's corruption. ... (Goodreads)

  17. Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley

    by Antonio García Martínez
    A memoir of a tech entrepreneur's rise and fall in Silicon Valley, exposing the cutthroat culture and unethical practices of the industry.

    Liar’s Poker meets The Social Network in an irreverent exposé of life inside the tech bubble, from industry provocateur Antonio García Martínez, a former Twitter advisor, Facebook product manager and ... (Goodreads)

  18. Open

    by Andre Agassi
    Autobiographical account of a tennis star's career, struggles, and personal growth.

    From Andre Agassi, one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court, a beautiful, haunting autobiography. Agassi’s incredibly rigorous ... (Goodreads)

  19. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

    by Phil Knight
    The story of one man's dream to start a business and the obstacles he encountered along the way.

    In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and CEO Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of ... (Goodreads)

  20. Mossad: The Greatest Missions of the Israeli Secret Service

    by Michael Bar-Zohar
    A thrilling account of the daring missions and covert operations carried out by the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency.

    "This book tells what should have been known and isn't—that Israel's hidden force is as formidable as its recognized physical strength." — Israeli President Shimon Peres For decades, Israel's ... (Barnes & Noble)

  21. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

    by Edmund Morris
    A biography of Theodore Roosevelt, chronicling his early life, political career, and rise to the presidency.

    Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time Described by the Chicago Tribune as "a classic," The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt stands as one of the greatest ... (Goodreads)

  22. Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest

    by Stephen E. Ambrose
    An epic narrative of the American soldiers of Easy Company during World War II.

    As good a rifle company as any, Easy Company, 506th Airborne Division, US Army, kept getting tough assignments–responsible for everything from parachuting into France early DDay morning to the ... (Goodreads)

  23. Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America

    by Jill Leovy
    In-depth examination of unsolved murder cases in inner-city Los Angeles, exploring themes of violence and racial injustice.

    On a warm spring evening in South Los Angeles, a young man was shot and killed on a sidewalk minutes away from his home, one of hundreds of young men slain in LA every year. His assailant ran down ... (Goodreads)

  24. The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance

    by David Epstein
    Investigates the role of genetics in athletic performance, challenging the notion of natural talent and hard work as the sole determinants of success.

    Now a, New York Times, Bestseller! With a new chapter added to the paperback. In high school, I wondered whether the Jamaican Americans who made our track team so successful might carry some special ... (Goodreads)

  25. Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies

    by Ben Macintyre
    A detailed account of British spies and their role in the secret operations of WWII.

    In his celebrated bestsellers, Agent Zigzag, and, Operation Mincemeat, Ben Macintyre told the dazzling true stories of a remarkable WWII double agent and of how the Allies employed a corpse to fool ... (Goodreads)

  26. Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning

    by Peter C. Brown
    Exploring how to maximize learning potential by applying evidence-based methods.

    To most of us, learning something “the hard way” implies wasted time and effort. Good teaching, we believe, should be creatively tailored to the different learning styles of students and should use ... (Goodreads)

  27. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

    by Ashlee Vance
    A revealing look into the life and accomplishments of tech innovator Elon Musk.

    Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the ... (Goodreads)

  28. Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World

    by Stanley McChrystal
    Exploring the challenges of leading and managing in a world of complexity, uncertainty, and rapid change.

    The retired four-star general and and bestselling author of, My Share of the Task, shares a powerful new leadership model As commander of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), General Stanley ... (Goodreads)

  29. Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin

    by Hampton Sides
    An exploration of the investigation and manhunt for Dr. King’s assassin, James Earl Ray.

    On April 23, 1967, Prisoner #416J, an inmate at the notorious Missouri State Penitentiary, escaped in a breadbox. Fashioning himself Eric Galt, this nondescript thief and con man—whose real name was ... (Goodreads)

  30. Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble

    by Dan Lyons
    A humorous account of an older man's experience in the chaotic world of Silicon Valley start-ups.

    For twenty-five years Dan Lyons was a magazine writer at the top of his profession–until one Friday morning when he received a phone call: Poof. His job no longer existed. "I think they just want to ... (Goodreads)