Brig Berthold
Among my favorite reads ever. This essay will likely follow me through life, as I expect to reference it regularly. Rather heavy, quite deep, with undeniable truths layered in the text.
This is a fascinating account of Jim Nicholson's espionage, triple life, and disturbing justifications. The book does a great job outlining indicators displayed by those actively engaging in such activities. The specifics of Nicholson's situation are glaring.
Empathy for Nathan, and the situation his father placed him in, is nearly unavoidable. Candid testimony given by Nathan himself lights upon the path of a loving, confused son, being handled by a manipulative spy. A spy, so long on the job, he may have been unable to deviate from psychologically comfortable manipulation of those around him. Jim's marital infidelity, his dishonest use of money, and other evidences show an early developed, even enjoyed, deceptive narcissism.
Presented by the author, Jim stands to be released from prison in 2024. I can't wait to see if the seventy year old spy will flee to Russia, or remain in the USA.
This was a well crafted, well presented, and convincingly researched narrative of one man's path from loyalist to miscreant.
This is one of those books that everyone seems to love (if you read the ad copy) but I didn't get it. I liked Nesbo's prose. I liked the characters. I just wasn't on board with the plot. It felt meandering and uneccessarily cryptic. I did love the infusion of Austrailian folk lore; that was awesome. Overall, he was unclear about details I felt should be explicitly described. Instead, Nesbo used euphemism and symbolic language to reveal important details. It made me feel daft and I hated that.
Fascinating.
I am unsure where I fall on some of the issues debated within this book. For that reason, among others, my interest remained fairly tight throughout.
This is the best Court Gentry novel yet.
Maybe it was Mossad that did it for me. Maybe it was the presence of a truly skilled opponent. Or, maybe it was the details of what actually happened in Kiev. Either way, this one is the best.
I tried to read this years ago and found it laborious to the point of apathy. This time was different. Maybe it was my military service. Maybe the amount of cynicism I've contracted since that first attempt. Or maybe it's just dumb luck, but I found this book more delightful this time around.
Not entirely delightful. Some parts swing into the realm of meandering and uninteresting but on the whole this was enjoyable.
The parts that were hilarious were 100% slap-your-knee funny. Lots of it is dark. It's all dry and the satire bites hard. I can see myself referencing this in many ways in the future and recommending it to the right person will be a joy.
You should also know that this is not a “happy” book. It's a story about a bunch of careers ending, then starting up again, then reaching abrupt finality...before starting up again in the same place, with the same hopes, and the chance of seeing the same results. That being said, it was a wonderful insight into the lives of minor league baseball players, managers, umpires and even broadcasters.
I was not a fan of the way this book was structured. I felt like the flow was confusing and about as non-linear a story as one could write. Also, I was perturbed by the innumerable redundancies I came across. I'm not talking about the fact that everyone working in Triple-A Baseball lives with the same basic mindset. I was bothered by the author's persistent return to the exact same quote, by the exact same source, within the same context...separated by a few chapters at a time. This was so alarming because Feinstein's writing was absolutely marvelous from time to time.
If you can fight through the structure and forgive the fact that this book should have been around 200 pages—rather than the nearly 400 it is—you'll get what you want from it.
I absolutely recommend this but it's not your typical western and that's part of what makes it valuable.
This book exploded with some of the best writing I've experienced in a long, long time. The pacing was perfect and the characters were just plain wonderful. Relentless, things stayed that way through about 75% of the book. Then, something odd happened.
The writing never slipped, it was still literary gold. But the pacing slowed just enough to throw me off. Then, around 85-90%, the pacing increased to and it felt a bit rushed. These details did not ruin the experience, by any means. It was still a sweeping epic, spanning three generations, against arguably the greatest landscape in contemporary American literature but it lost me.
Like a Cohen Brothers film, I left feeling a bit unresolved, though not in a disappointing way. More in a “well that's life” residual feeling...if that makes sense.
This was an incredibly interesting read. It's very raw. If even half of this is true, Tyson should make a lot more sense. By the end, I found more empathy and more condemnation for this man.
This was a quicky and chewy read. I did the audiobook in about 1 day and it was really light. Decent characters, though. It was okay.
Those who want to learn about Daesh (ISIS) - Read this book.
Those who want to vastly improve their understanding of Daesh - Read this book.
This was a great read. The authors took a complex topic and attempted to simplify the information in such a way that the layman might understand. In terms of simplification and establishing an effective breakdown of the information, I believe the authors have succeeded. In terms of making the information accessible to the layman, I feel the beginner would benefit from the information contained within this book, though a more knowledgeable reader will glean immense detail. The nuances expressed in the text pertaining to the differences between al Qaeda in Iraq and Daesh, are intricate and critical to the overall understanding.
The authors also wrap up the text with a phenomenal breakdown of terrorism, salafi practices of Islam, as well as definitions and practices of Jihad in its myriad forms.
Solid gold fun!
Coming of age, pirate history, adventure, morality, it's all there. Even gender equality, if you can believe it.
Recommend
Holy crap, this book was so good. The characters were interesting, the stakes were top-shelf, the storytelling was solid.
The cover of this book includes a quote by Scott Sigler which reads, “Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow.” I could not do a better job explaining this book. For all its sci-fi-ness, it is delectably medieval. I think this book could easily appeal to a very wide audience. Be aware, this book has some delightful violence that may be quite intense for some. But, I believe the author did a hell of a job handling that intensity.
I literally put the book down, muttering “holy crap,” at least one time per chapter in the final 1/3 of the book. I'm talking, through the finish, people.
Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Do not visit the jail until you read this book.
Having read a handful of books written by, or about special operators, this book was recommended for specific reasons. Namely, the author's humility.
With clean writing and well crafted detail, this book delivered on the promises I had heard. Rumor and speculation surrounding the operation conducted to kill or capture Osama bin Laden (UBL) have plagued American society. This account provides back story, relevant context, and a bit of human interest while avoiding the self aggrandizement seen elsewhere.
The introduction, proclaiming a tireless emphasis on security and intelligence-based content adjustment, was the best foot to put forward. Those promises seemed to have been kept. The epilogue, calling Americans everywhere to donate time and/or funding to wounded warrior programs and groups, earned even more respect. As a wounded warrior myself, this touched me.
This book has two lives, thus, requiring two opinions.
1- As a fictional work, aimed at entertainment, the book succeeds until the climax. In the end we aren't entertained. Rather, readers are forced to accept the reality Le Carré has been insisting upon since the introduction. The characters were interesting and easy to relate with; especially John Avery. The storyline was smooth and we follow an incipient intelligence operation from composition, through training, and to execution. The execution was hacked off, leaving us feeling betrayed and left in the cold. With that, we see the author's brilliance, brashness, and the real story he showed us.
Calling this a Smiley novel is a stretch but the little gray man does make intermittent appearances.
**SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT**
2- Reading the introduction by the author, penned in 1991 and almost thirty years after original publishing, insight is obtained. His goal was to show the world the more realistic side of intelligence work. The mistrust between allied agencies. The deliberate lies told to recruited agents. The mystery of failed operations.
At the beginning of the story, we are shown a failed operation. One that ought to have been quite simple. We then observe as the same agency stages another operation, this one much more complex. As both fail, by the end of the book the author has shown us a complete cycle; ominous though it is.
This novel should be a study in all that can go wrong during an intelligence collection operation. The point punctuated by a poorly equipped group of overly eager “wanna-be's” lead by one or two “has been's.” A nightmare of counterintelligence indicators are on grand display as the ineptitude goes unanswered. The author chose not to highlight the damage done by such crude lacks of security. The behavior was more befitting a gaggle of middle schoolers in a lunch room rather than a military intelligence agency.
The book stressed me out, and for that, I think Le Carré deserves some sort of award.
This book was incredible.
I read spy novels like Michael Jordan scores points. Rarely am I this impressed by a spy story. It retained all the elements you expect from good espionage fiction but this book adds things to that list almost unseen anywhere else.
I cannot say enough good things about the characters, the storyline or the writing style. I would write more in this short review, but I can't, because I already have book two and I'm busy.
I have loved everything Gladwell does. I find his logic the most fascinating experience. Somehow, he gives you a glimpse into the subject matter but also into the way he thinks and processes information. All of which is held together by incredible writing. Visceral. Immersive. Cerebral. Academic.
The storyline was engaging, the writing was incredible, the experience was pleasantly surprising. As this was my first experience with Jane Austen, I can only hope subsequent selections from her works will inspire even greater admiration for the mastery with which this book was written. I sat in awe, repeatedly, as I the parade of Austen's abilities left me wondering why I've ever bothered placing pen to paper. Despite this, I felt inspired all the while to attain such skill. She truly is worthy of the reputation she has held for so long.