Reviewing and collecting spy fiction and nonfiction
It is rare for an author to also be a good reader of their own work. However, remembering Adam Sisman's discussion of John le Carré's theatrical bent and abilities as a mimic in his book John le Carré: The Biography it's not entirely surprising that le Carré's narration of his novels is excellent. Single & …
Everyone has their guilty pleasures and one of mine is reality TV. When spies and reality TV mix, how can I resist? SPY was a BBC show that aired back in 2004 and spun out of the success of the show MI-5. 8 regular folks were given spy-like training and sent on psuedo-spy missions. 3 …
The first rule of Spy Club. Don't talk about Spy Club. 12 men received the invitation. On an unseasonably cool afternoon at the end of June they made their way across England to a back room of the Savoy Hotel. They came singly or in pairs, pushing through the wooden revolving doors and strolling anonymously …
The Illinois Holocaust Museum is hosting another traveling spy-themed exhibit following up on its successful hosting several years ago of Spies, Traitors and Saboteurs. This new exhibit, Operation Finale, is focused on the secret plan to kidnap Adolf Eichmann and bring to him to Israel for trial. Eichmann was one of the officers responsible for …
I've written previously about how much I enjoy Adam Hall's Quiller. In The Berlin Memorandum, released in 1965 and retitled to The Quiller Memorandum in the US. Today I'd like to highlight a few of the signed copies of Quiller books I own. The first edition of the The Berlin Memorandum has a flat red dust …
A few weeks back I wrote about books that John Le Carré has either introduced or recommended. I've found six more Le Carré books that either have a JlC written introduction or essay. There was also a recent le Carré blurb. The Rape of a Nation by Marcus Bleasdale - Forward by JlC. A book …
I recently read A Small Town in Germany by John le Carré and loved it. It's surprisingly maligned by most critics and fans but it’s very readable. The book follows Alan Turner, the Foreign Office cleanup man, as he's sent to the British embassy in Bonn, Germany to track down some damaging files that have …
Continue reading A Small Town in Germany by John le Carré – An appreciation and rarity
