Unknown adventures of famous espionage aces, new names of major spies (such as the famous writer Somerset Maugham), original versions of secret operations (for example, the Penkovsky case) - the reader will find all this in the book by the English publicist Phillip Knightley, published in the UK called "The Second Oldest Profession". The book instantly became a bestseller and was translated in many countries. The author, perhaps for the first time, managed to show in detail, as far as possible, the system and features of the activities of the leading intelligence services - SIS, CIA, KGB. At the same time, Knightley’s judgments are distinctive, do not always coincide with the views of other researchers, and in the manner of presentation they are completely original. Written in a fascinating and sometimes ironic manner, the book is read with no less interest than a good detective novel.