The Looking Glass WarThe Looking Glass War
Score Classic
What it's about
An incompetent military espionage outfit, losing ground to the more professional Circus, tries to regain its glory by checking a defector's story of Soviet missiles in East Germany.
Why it's worth reading
It was one of the ten best-selling books of 1965.
You'll love it if you liked
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
A Small Town in Germany
The Mask of DimitriosGood to know
It's a satire of spying.
By the numbers
- Readers9 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller44 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #576 of the 623 mysteries and thrillers we rank
- #877 of the 924 classics we rank
- #2864 of the 3,056 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Gripping, Adventurous
More by John le Carré
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
Smiley's People
The Honourable Schoolboy
A Perfect SpyIf you like this, read next
The Godfather
Rebecca
The Day of the Jackal
Crime and Punishment
The Pillars of the Earth
In Cold BloodExplore the best-of lists
All 47 best-of lists →
Mysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 623 ranked
Classic booksTop 25 · 924 ranked
Books of the 1960sTop 25 · 104 ranked
Fantasy booksTop 25 · 504 ranked
Literary novelsTop 25 · 325 ranked
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelsTop 25 · 63 ranked
Memoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 ranked
Science fiction booksTop 25 · 333 rankedQuick answers
Is The Looking Glass War worth reading?
Yes. It was one of the ten best-selling books of 1965. It ranks #2,864 of the 3,056 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 55.9 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Looking Glass War about?
An incompetent military espionage outfit, losing ground to the more professional Circus, tries to regain its glory by checking a defector's story of Soviet missiles in East Germany.
How long does it take to read The Looking Glass War?
About 6 hours (246 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Looking Glass War?
If you liked it, try The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John le Carré, A Small Town in Germany by John le Carré or The Mask of Dimitrios by Eric Ambler.