Agent M: The Lives and Spies of MI5's Maxwell Knight

Spying is the art of knowing who to trust-and who to betray

Maxwell Knight was perhaps the greatest spymaster in history, rumored to be the real-life inspiration for the James Bond character "M." He did more than anyone in his era to combat the rising threat of fascism in Britain during World War II, in spite of his own history inside this movement. He was also truly eccentric—a thrice-married jazz aficionado who kept a menagerie of exotic pets—and almost totally unqualified for …