22 NOVEMBER 1997, page 47

John Grigg

Anyone interested in the perennial troubles of Ireland will find Oliver Knox's Rebels & Informers (John Murray, £20) enlightening as well as racy and enjoyable. The book......

Oleg Gordievsky

One of the most sensational books to have reached the British readership this last year was the document compilation 'Verona: Soviet Espionage and the American Response,......

Bruce Anderson

Any new novel by Allan Massie is an eager- ly awaited event. This year, there have been not one, but two. Antony (Sceptre, £16.99) is not quite as good as Augustus, and Shadows......