From Hitchcock to Herron, Spies on Screen is the first comprehensive guide of the modern era, including the British and American films that have defined the genre alongside their foreign influences. It features more than 900 case studies and covers every major espionage movie and TV series, by way of romance, escapism, explosive action and gritty realism. Written by a lifelong lover of espionage on screen, each entry notes the director, key actors, writers, plot outlines and their inspirations - from both the real world and fiction.

More popular than ever, the genre that first exploded during the Cold War continues to offer an insight into the world around us, reflecting topical concerns surrounding geopolitics, personal betrayals, issues of privacy and state control, cyber wars and counterterrorism. In a series of compelling and accessible essays, this guide defines the trends, themes and transformations of spying across more than a century of hot and cold conflict.

Taking in everything from Oscar winners, Nobel laureates, auteurs and real-life spies to the high octane thrills of Bond and Bourne and the calculated cool of mole hunter George Smiley; from silent movies to the latest streaming series - they are all here. Whether you are hoping to discover a new series or to reconnect with a forgotten classic, look no further.

"James Bond would not last five minutes in Slough House. His suits are immaculate, his cars are Aston Martins or BMWs and his martinis come shaken, not stirred. Jackson Lamb, meanwhile, is coarse, churlish, badly dressed, spectacularly rude and notoriously smelly" - Daily Express