What do the main intelligence agencies do and where do they operate? How do they recruit personnel? What are real life honey pots and sleeper agents? What about truth serums and enhanced interrogations? And what are the most common foibles of popular spy fiction?

With the voice of over forty years of experience in the Intelligence Community, Bayard & Holmes answer these questions and share information on espionage history, firearms of spycraft, tradecraft techniques, and the personalities and personal challenges of the men and women behind the myths.

Though crafted with advice and specific tips for writers, SPYCRAFT: Essentials is for anyone who wants to learn more about the inner workings of the Shadow World.

"As a writer, I'm always looking for those books that open my eyes to the shadowy ways the world truly works. I found just such a resource in the insightful, well-researched, and oftentimes humorous book by Bayard and Holmes, SPYCRAFT: Essentials. For any author, this is the new bible for crafting stories of espionage. It's also perfect for anyone who wants to know the lengths nations will go to keep or steal secrets and the methods they will use to do so. This is a bombshell of a book."

~ James Rollins

New York Times Bestselling Author of The Demon Crown

"Bayard & Holmes have done readers and writers of the espionage genre a great service. This tome illuminates the 'inside baseball' terminology often used, providing valuable context to the reader. Importantly, they do not just focus on the CIA, but go broader and cover differences in other parts of the US Intelligence Community. From novices to experts, I suspect everyone will find something in this book that they did not know before."

~ Doug Patteson

Film Technical Advisor and Former CIA Officer

"Bayard and Holmes have done the unprecedented: crafted a fully informative, while wholly unclassified, overview on American spycraft with a special focus on preparing novelists for realistic scene writing. That said, this little treasure should not be limited to writers. Because it delivers solid, valuable information as a comprehensive primer on how the Intelligence Community really operates, SPYCRAFT: Essentials is a must-read for all involved Americans."

~ Rob DuBois

Retired US Navy SEAL and NSA Collector

"An instant classic. Detailed, insightful, and authentic, SPYCRAFT: Essentials for Writers is my go-to reference for all things espionage."

~ Grant Blackwood

New York Times Bestselling Author of the Briggs Tanner Series

"An essential addition to every thriller writer's library. If you want to know how the Intelligence Community really works, read SPYCRAFT: Essentials and you'll get it right every time. Piper Bayard and Jay Holmes know their stuff!"

~Diane Capri

Award Winning New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Hunt for Jack Reacher series.