tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38868737525928318062024-02-28T15:42:58.875-08:00The Spy Wise BlogThe Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-45977189258740004322009-07-22T16:31:00.000-07:002009-07-22T16:32:35.969-07:00A Spy Novelist by Nature: The Charles Cumming InterviewA Spy Novelist by Nature: The Charles Cumming Interview<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br />I first heard the name Charles Cumming when we appeared together on a panel for host Fionn Davenport’s “Culture Shock” news-talk radio show out of Dublin, Ireland in May 2008. While Fionn praised Charles’ spy novels, at the time I was in the dark about them—but I can be forgiven my ignorance. None of his books had yet been published in the states.<br /><br />That August, Penguin and St. Martins rectified that situation by finally releasing the first three novels that had long been available in the U.K. for American readers. The first, A Spy By Nature (2001), a novel partly based on Cumming’s own experiences with MI6, had introduced the flawed anti-hero, Alec Milius. The sequel, The Spanish Game (2006), had been described by The Times “as one of the six finest spy novels of all time.” Gratefully, Penguin sent me review copies of both Milious books, but didn’t include The Hidden Game, the 2003 novel Charles wrote without his now most famous character.<br /><br />I admit, my favorite of the batch of books Penguin sent me was Typhoon, a new thriller about a clandestine American plot to destabilize China on the eve of the Beijing Olympics. It highlighted the plight of the Uyghur Muslim population in Xinjiang, a semi-autonomous region of The People's Republic of China. No one could have predicted it at the time, but in July 2009, fiction met fact when Islamic separatists in that region underwent brutal suppression from the Chinese government, a circumstance still unfolding as of this writing.<br /><br />On top of all this, in March 2008 Charles Cumming published an interactive online story, The 21 Steps as part of a Penguin “We Tell Stories” project. In this new approach of using text with the possibilities of the internet, readers can follow the protagonist's travels through Google Maps.<br /><br />No wonder, then, Spywise.net wanted a chance to ask Charles a few questions. I admit it took some time to accomplish this—Mr. Cumming is a hard man to nail down—but finally he sat down and responded to a handful of my queries. So here are some insights into one of the most important spy novelists working today:<br /><br />----<br />Q: Much of your education dealt with English literature—how much of your formative reading involved espionage? Are there other literary influences that helped shape your style and perspectives on characters who get involved with shadow worlds, corruption, and the other themes you explore? <br /><br />I wasn’t really a fan of spy novels growing up. I read most of the Bond books when I was very young, but no Deighton or Ludlum or Ambler. I didn’t get to le Carre until I was at university. I came across a copy of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold on holiday in Egypt and read it in a single sitting on an overnight train from Luxor to Cairo. I was blown away by it – the structure is so intricate and precise, it’s like a symphony. I still think it’s le Carre’s best book. Otherwise, my influences were mostly American: I wrote my university thesis on John Updike’s Rabbit books and I love Philip Roth, particularly the later novels. Richard Ford’s The Sportswriter also had a profound effect on me. Growing up, I was far more of a movie fan than a bookworm. Dozens of films – from Sex, Lies and Videotape to The Godfather– also had an influence on the way that I tell stories. I think Tom Rob Smith has also talked about this in the context of Child 44. He came primarily from a movie background, not a literary mindset. <br /> <br />Q: The first part of A Spy By Nature (2001) deals with the recruitment of Alec Milius, a young and rather naïve would-be agent by the S.I.S. It’s often been noted that this section was influenced by your own experiences with MI-6. Beyond describing the procedures and I presume some of the characters, how much autobiography is in these passages?<br /><br />There are some very autobiographical passages, in the sense that the recruitment chapters are a precise and accurate account of what happened to me back in 1995. But a lot of Alec’s reactions and observations are his and not mine. Of course, we share certain character traits, but Alec is a lot more ambitious than I ever was, and a lot more paranoid. I dropped out of the MI6 recruitment at a very early stage. All of Alec’s experiences in the oil business and as an industrial spy are products of my imagination.<br /><br />Q: An important element of ASBN is that it isn’t a duel between opposing agencies in the traditional sense, but rather some one-upmanship between British Intelligence and the CIA. Did this result from the fact the story was set after the Cold War and old conflicts were now out-of-date? It seemed to me, from the phony commercial magazine Alec works for to the spy ring he infiltrates, you’re showing that secret manipulation is all around us on a variety of levels. <br /><br />It was certainly my intention to try something different to the run-of-the-mill Cold War, Us-Against-Them spy plot. One of the key themes in my books is the so-called Special Relationship between Great Britain and the United States. Of course, this is a very one-sided relationship: broadly speaking, we do what we are told by Washington. So I thought that it would be an interesting idea to explore the possibility that these two great allies spy on one another. There have been instances of this in the past: I believe there was an example of the Brits spying on the Americans during the Balkan conflict, for example. As far as Alec’s job at the magazine goes – yes, that was to create an idea that this is a young man who doesn’t have strong ethical beliefs, who is an opportunist and a liar. And he, in turn, is surrounded by liars. He was also unfaithful to Kate, his girlfriend, with a work colleague. In other words, large parts of his life are fabrications. <br /> <br />Q: The sequel, The Spanish Game (2003), was based in Spain, where you’d relocated. What made you decide to go back to Alec Milius after The Hidden Man (2003)?<br /><br />The Hidden Man was a story that had been turning around in my mind for several years. I had always assumed that I would write it after completing A Spy By Nature. There was no place for Alec in the story, so I left him out. (I’ve done the same thing with Typhoon, my new novel, which doesn’t feature Alec.) Commercially, this was probably a wrongheaded idea: publishers and readers prefer a series with a repeating character. But I was stubborn and followed my heart rather than my head. <br /><br />Q: The Spanish Game has been compared with the novels of John Le Carre and Len Deighton. For me, the most obvious connection is the fact Alec Milius is very human, very flawed, rather reminiscent of Bernard Sampson. What parallels do you see between your books and those of your predecessors—if any? Were you directly influenced by any of them?<br /><br />The influence of le Carre on my books is obvious, I suppose: the idea that you could write a spy thriller without necessarily including a lot of action and derring-do had a great impact on me. With le Carre, it’s all about character and the relationships between those characters; that’s also been the case with me. I’m really not that interested in guns and soldiers and ticking clocks on bombs. However, perhaps I absorbed too much of le Carre’s political cynicism. He can be a bit too quick to ridicule the great and the good. As far as Deighton goes, I am ashamed to admit that I have never read the Bernard Samson novels. People keep recommending them to me and I will one day get around to it. I loved Funeral in Berlin and The Ipcress File, but that’s as far as I got with Deighton. Apparently Horse Under Water is also wonderful. Funnily enough, I have his cookbooks, which are excellent.<br /><br />Q: For me, Typhoon (2008) was a major departure for you in that the scope widened considerably in setting, time, and characters. How did you come to envelope the Chinese Olympics with the rebellion brewing in the Muslim population in China?<br /><br />There are a number of reasons. First, I was keen to write about China in some capacity, but I wasn’t sure what angle to take. A story set around the Chinese economic boom seemed to make the most sense, until I realized that a story about a character who’s just trying to get rich isn’t particularly interesting for the reader. Then a journalist in Beijing started talking to me about Xinjiang and all the elements fell into place: ethnic unrest and rioting; the cultural clash between the Han and Turkic Muslim Uighurs; the West’s role in contemporary China. I also wanted to find a way of writing about Neo-Con folly in Iraq without writing directly about Iraq. So a crazy American plan to bankroll Muslim separatists in Xinjiang and to land-grab north-west China fitted that purpose perfectly.<br /><br />Q: It wasn’t until Typhoon that your books became widely available in the States—what took so long?<br /><br />It was just a commercial thing. A Spy By Nature wasn’t picked up by an American publisher when it first appeared in the UK in 2001. Then, after Spanish Game came out in 2005, Diane Reverand at St Martin’s Press bought my first three books in a block. My current editor, Keith Kahla, bought Typhoon last year, also for St Martin’s. It’s coming out in late October in the States. <br /><br />Q: I can’t help but think your online book, The 21 Steps, was an enjoyable project, both for the innovation of the concept and the nod to one of the founding fathers of the spy genre, John Buchan. How did this project come about?<br /><br />It was a joint production between Penguin, who were keen to expand their online activities, and a company called Six to Start, who are cutting-edge innovators in the realm of computer games and so forth. They invited six Penguin authors to contribute stories. I was given The 39 Steps because of my links to spy fiction. I tried to do a very light, very modern update of Buchan’s story, full of cliffhangers, narrow escapes and absurd coincidences. It was fun to do. <br /><br />Q: A frequent reviewer for Spywise.net (Mark Hooker) thinks the most prevalent genre in contemporary spy fiction is that of novels coming out from ex-members of the espionage community. Do you agree with this assessment? Are there authors you regard highly in this genre—I’m guessing someone you’ve read would be Dame Stella Remington. <br /><br />Well, not every so-called ex-member of the espionage community is responsible for the work that goes out under his or her name. Over here in the UK, most of the top-selling military and espionage thrillers are ghost written. They’ve been very successful, so I think you’ll see more and more war reporters, former spies and politicians releasing books of this kind. In fact, in ten or fifteen years time, ninety percent of the novelists writing under their own names today will probably be making a living ghostwriting fiction and non-fiction titles for ‘celebrity’ authors. There will be a handful of marquee novelists – the likes of Lee Child, Robert Harris, JK Rowling and so forth – and then a glut of one-off books by people who have become famous in other walks of life: as cooks, reality show contestants, athletes or gardeners. There has probably never been a worse time to be a debut novelist. If I was starting out now, I may not have had the chance to write The Spanish Game or Typhoon. The market has become completely crazy and ruthless and I wouldn’t have been regarded as a safe enough commercial entity. <br /><br />Q: Any news on film adaptations of your books? What’s next in the pipeline?<br /><br />A Spy By Nature and The Spanish Game are under option to Red Rum films, a company based in Hollywood. John Hodges, who wrote Trainspotting and Shallow Grave, has signed on to write the script for A Spy By Nature, which is wonderful news. The rights to Typhoon are still up for grabs!<br /><br />---<br />The official Charles Cumming website is—<br /><br />www.charlescumming.co.uk/ <br /><br />You can read The 21 Steps at—<br /><br />wetellstories.co.uk/stories/week1/ <br />wetellstories.co.uk/authors/charles-cumming <br /><br />You can read interviews with other spy novelists like Bill Raetz, T.H.E. Hill, Jeremy Duns, and Tod Goldberg by checking out the “Spies in History and Literature” files at—<br /><br />www.Spywise.net<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br />I first heard the name Charles Cumming when we appeared together on a panel for host Fionn Davenport’s “Culture Shock” news-talk radio show out of Dublin, Ireland in May 2008. While Fionn praised Charles’ spy novels, at the time I was in the dark about them—but I can be forgiven my ignorance. None of his books had yet been published in the states.<br /><br />That August, Penguin and St. Martins rectified that situation by finally releasing the first three novels that had long been available in the U.K. for American readers. The first, A Spy By Nature (2001), a novel partly based on Cumming’s own experiences with MI6, had introduced the flawed anti-hero, Alec Milius. The sequel, The Spanish Game (2006), had been described by The Times “as one of the six finest spy novels of all time.” Gratefully, Penguin sent me review copies of both Milious books, but didn’t include The Hidden Game, the 2003 novel Charles wrote without his now most famous character.<br /><br />I admit, my favorite of the batch of books Penguin sent me was Typhoon, a new thriller about a clandestine American plot to destabilize China on the eve of the Beijing Olympics. It highlighted the plight of the Uyghur Muslim population in Xinjiang, a semi-autonomous region of The People's Republic of China. No one could have predicted it at the time, but in July 2009, fiction met fact when Islamic separatists in that region underwent brutal suppression from the Chinese government, a circumstance still unfolding as of this writing.<br /><br />On top of all this, in March 2008 Charles Cumming published an interactive online story, The 21 Steps as part of a Penguin “We Tell Stories” project. In this new approach of using text with the possibilities of the internet, readers can follow the protagonist's travels through Google Maps.<br /><br />No wonder, then, Spywise.net wanted a chance to ask Charles a few questions. I admit it took some time to accomplish this—Mr. Cumming is a hard man to nail down—but finally he sat down and responded to a handful of my queries. So here are some insights into one of the most important spy novelists working today:<br /><br />----<br />Q: Much of your education dealt with English literature—how much of your formative reading involved espionage? Are there other literary influences that helped shape your style and perspectives on characters who get involved with shadow worlds, corruption, and the other themes you explore? <br /><br />I wasn’t really a fan of spy novels growing up. I read most of the Bond books when I was very young, but no Deighton or Ludlum or Ambler. I didn’t get to le Carre until I was at university. I came across a copy of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold on holiday in Egypt and read it in a single sitting on an overnight train from Luxor to Cairo. I was blown away by it – the structure is so intricate and precise, it’s like a symphony. I still think it’s le Carre’s best book. Otherwise, my influences were mostly American: I wrote my university thesis on John Updike’s Rabbit books and I love Philip Roth, particularly the later novels. Richard Ford’s The Sportswriter also had a profound effect on me. Growing up, I was far more of a movie fan than a bookworm. Dozens of films – from Sex, Lies and Videotape to The Godfather– also had an influence on the way that I tell stories. I think Tom Rob Smith has also talked about this in the context of Child 44. He came primarily from a movie background, not a literary mindset. <br /> <br />Q: The first part of A Spy By Nature (2001) deals with the recruitment of Alec Milius, a young and rather naïve would-be agent by the S.I.S. It’s often been noted that this section was influenced by your own experiences with MI-6. Beyond describing the procedures and I presume some of the characters, how much autobiography is in these passages?<br /><br />There are some very autobiographical passages, in the sense that the recruitment chapters are a precise and accurate account of what happened to me back in 1995. But a lot of Alec’s reactions and observations are his and not mine. Of course, we share certain character traits, but Alec is a lot more ambitious than I ever was, and a lot more paranoid. I dropped out of the MI6 recruitment at a very early stage. All of Alec’s experiences in the oil business and as an industrial spy are products of my imagination.<br /><br />Q: An important element of ASBN is that it isn’t a duel between opposing agencies in the traditional sense, but rather some one-upmanship between British Intelligence and the CIA. Did this result from the fact the story was set after the Cold War and old conflicts were now out-of-date? It seemed to me, from the phony commercial magazine Alec works for to the spy ring he infiltrates, you’re showing that secret manipulation is all around us on a variety of levels. <br /><br />It was certainly my intention to try something different to the run-of-the-mill Cold War, Us-Against-Them spy plot. One of the key themes in my books is the so-called Special Relationship between Great Britain and the United States. Of course, this is a very one-sided relationship: broadly speaking, we do what we are told by Washington. So I thought that it would be an interesting idea to explore the possibility that these two great allies spy on one another. There have been instances of this in the past: I believe there was an example of the Brits spying on the Americans during the Balkan conflict, for example. As far as Alec’s job at the magazine goes – yes, that was to create an idea that this is a young man who doesn’t have strong ethical beliefs, who is an opportunist and a liar. And he, in turn, is surrounded by liars. He was also unfaithful to Kate, his girlfriend, with a work colleague. In other words, large parts of his life are fabrications. <br /> <br />Q: The sequel, The Spanish Game (2003), was based in Spain, where you’d relocated. What made you decide to go back to Alec Milius after The Hidden Man (2003)?<br /><br />The Hidden Man was a story that had been turning around in my mind for several years. I had always assumed that I would write it after completing A Spy By Nature. There was no place for Alec in the story, so I left him out. (I’ve done the same thing with Typhoon, my new novel, which doesn’t feature Alec.) Commercially, this was probably a wrongheaded idea: publishers and readers prefer a series with a repeating character. But I was stubborn and followed my heart rather than my head. <br /><br />Q: The Spanish Game has been compared with the novels of John Le Carre and Len Deighton. For me, the most obvious connection is the fact Alec Milius is very human, very flawed, rather reminiscent of Bernard Sampson. What parallels do you see between your books and those of your predecessors—if any? Were you directly influenced by any of them?<br /><br />The influence of le Carre on my books is obvious, I suppose: the idea that you could write a spy thriller without necessarily including a lot of action and derring-do had a great impact on me. With le Carre, it’s all about character and the relationships between those characters; that’s also been the case with me. I’m really not that interested in guns and soldiers and ticking clocks on bombs. However, perhaps I absorbed too much of le Carre’s political cynicism. He can be a bit too quick to ridicule the great and the good. As far as Deighton goes, I am ashamed to admit that I have never read the Bernard Samson novels. People keep recommending them to me and I will one day get around to it. I loved Funeral in Berlin and The Ipcress File, but that’s as far as I got with Deighton. Apparently Horse Under Water is also wonderful. Funnily enough, I have his cookbooks, which are excellent.<br /><br />Q: For me, Typhoon (2008) was a major departure for you in that the scope widened considerably in setting, time, and characters. How did you come to envelope the Chinese Olympics with the rebellion brewing in the Muslim population in China?<br /><br />There are a number of reasons. First, I was keen to write about China in some capacity, but I wasn’t sure what angle to take. A story set around the Chinese economic boom seemed to make the most sense, until I realized that a story about a character who’s just trying to get rich isn’t particularly interesting for the reader. Then a journalist in Beijing started talking to me about Xinjiang and all the elements fell into place: ethnic unrest and rioting; the cultural clash between the Han and Turkic Muslim Uighurs; the West’s role in contemporary China. I also wanted to find a way of writing about Neo-Con folly in Iraq without writing directly about Iraq. So a crazy American plan to bankroll Muslim separatists in Xinjiang and to land-grab north-west China fitted that purpose perfectly.<br /><br />Q: It wasn’t until Typhoon that your books became widely available in the States—what took so long?<br /><br />It was just a commercial thing. A Spy By Nature wasn’t picked up by an American publisher when it first appeared in the UK in 2001. Then, after Spanish Game came out in 2005, Diane Reverand at St Martin’s Press bought my first three books in a block. My current editor, Keith Kahla, bought Typhoon last year, also for St Martin’s. It’s coming out in late October in the States. <br /><br />Q: I can’t help but think your online book, The 21 Steps, was an enjoyable project, both for the innovation of the concept and the nod to one of the founding fathers of the spy genre, John Buchan. How did this project come about?<br /><br />It was a joint production between Penguin, who were keen to expand their online activities, and a company called Six to Start, who are cutting-edge innovators in the realm of computer games and so forth. They invited six Penguin authors to contribute stories. I was given The 39 Steps because of my links to spy fiction. I tried to do a very light, very modern update of Buchan’s story, full of cliffhangers, narrow escapes and absurd coincidences. It was fun to do. <br /><br />Q: A frequent reviewer for Spywise.net (Mark Hooker) thinks the most prevalent genre in contemporary spy fiction is that of novels coming out from ex-members of the espionage community. Do you agree with this assessment? Are there authors you regard highly in this genre—I’m guessing someone you’ve read would be Dame Stella Remington. <br /><br />Well, not every so-called ex-member of the espionage community is responsible for the work that goes out under his or her name. Over here in the UK, most of the top-selling military and espionage thrillers are ghost written. They’ve been very successful, so I think you’ll see more and more war reporters, former spies and politicians releasing books of this kind. In fact, in ten or fifteen years time, ninety percent of the novelists writing under their own names today will probably be making a living ghostwriting fiction and non-fiction titles for ‘celebrity’ authors. There will be a handful of marquee novelists – the likes of Lee Child, Robert Harris, JK Rowling and so forth – and then a glut of one-off books by people who have become famous in other walks of life: as cooks, reality show contestants, athletes or gardeners. There has probably never been a worse time to be a debut novelist. If I was starting out now, I may not have had the chance to write The Spanish Game or Typhoon. The market has become completely crazy and ruthless and I wouldn’t have been regarded as a safe enough commercial entity. <br /><br />Q: Any news on film adaptations of your books? What’s next in the pipeline?<br /><br />A Spy By Nature and The Spanish Game are under option to Red Rum films, a company based in Hollywood. John Hodges, who wrote Trainspotting and Shallow Grave, has signed on to write the script for A Spy By Nature, which is wonderful news. The rights to Typhoon are still up for grabs!<br /><br />---<br />The official Charles Cumming website is—<br /><br />www.charlescumming.co.uk/ <br /><br />You can read The 21 Steps at—<br /><br />wetellstories.co.uk/stories/week1/ <br />wetellstories.co.uk/authors/charles-cumming <br /><br />You can read interviews with other spy novelists like Bill Raetz, T.H.E. Hill, Jeremy Duns, and Tod Goldberg by checking out the “Spies in History and Literature” files at—<br /><br />www.Spywise.netThe Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-81163936354567844962009-07-03T07:53:00.001-07:002009-07-03T07:53:45.846-07:00From Middletown - via Colony Three - to “The Village”: Five Fingers as Source for The Prisoner?<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br /> “To the entertainment world on two continents, I am Victor Sebastian, theatrical agent. These are my offices, but the business I'm about to transact can never appear on the company's books, not if I'm to survive. As it so happens, I'm another kind of agent. Counter-espionage. My employer: The United States government, although sometimes I pose as its enemy. My Code name: Five Fingers.”<br />(Preamble to Five Fingers, 1959)<br /><br />The year is 1959, and a double-agent for the U.S. government is on assignment in Rome. His name is Victor Sebastian, and his cover is as a theatrical booking agent looking for musical talent in Europe and the states. Sebastian is posing as a member of a Communist spy ring who, one morning, is ordered by his Commie contact to take a train from Rome to an airport from which he’ll fly to New York. Boarding the train, Sebastian finds it odd he’s the only passenger. Odder still, he falls asleep and wakes up—in a sleepy South Carolina town called Middletown. <br /><br />Or so he thinks. In Middletown, everyone seems friendly enough, even if Sebastian can’t place a call to his girlfriend’s hotel in New York. How had he got here? The mystery deepens when Sebastian awakens again, finds the people are the same, but they’ve lost their Southern accents. Now, he’s told this Middletown is actually in New England.<br /><br />Finally, Sebastian is taken to the town’s “mayor” who hopes Sebastian won’t mind the joke that has been pulled on him. The “mayor” reveals that Middletown is actually deep inside the Iron Curtain where everyone is a spy. Children and adults alike are immersed in everything American so they can be smuggled into the states without suspicion. (Later, Sebastian learns Middletown has been in operation for at least 16 years.) The “mayor” tells Sebastian that he has been brought to the town so he can be briefed on his next mission, to go to South Carolina and uncover one of their operatives who was a graduate of Middletown. This operative hasn’t been checking in—so Sebastian must find him and neutralize him.<br /><br />This story, “The Unknown Town,” broadcast on October 24, 1959 in the U.S., was the fourth episode of the short-lived NBC series, Five Fingers. For 14 episodes (two further episodes were filmed but never aired in the U.S.), American agent Victor Sebastian was played by David Hedison, an actor who’d come to prominence in the 1957 sci-fi classic, The Fly. Later, Hedison would co-star in the television incarnation of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea before appearing as American CIA agent Felix Leiter in two Bond outings, Live and Let Die (1972) and Licence to Kill (1989). His comely co-star for most of the Five Fingers dramas would also have an important role in the 007 canon. Luciana Paluzzzi, later the cold-blooded Fiona Volpe in Thunderball (1965), played a far different part in the character of Simone Genet, a talented singer who follows Sebastian around Europe and the states hoping their romance will become less mysterious, less subject to Sebastian’s unexplained comings and goings. Paul Burke played Robertson, Sebastian’s American contact.<br /><br />Regarding “The Unknown Town,” fans of the ITV series Danger Man will no doubt have noticed striking parallels between that drama and one Danger Man episode, “Colony Three”—as well as the concept for Patrick McGoohan’s follow-up series, The Prisoner. Written by Donald Jonson, broadcast on October 27, 1964, “Colony Three” had British agent John Drake (Patrick McGoohan) uncovering a similar town behind the Iron Curtain with the same purpose—to serve as a training center for agents who would ultimately penetrate British society after having spent time absorbed in the culture they’re to spy on. As this town is a place where no one has the freedom to come and go at will and no one knows who is a spy and who is an innocent civilian kidnapped to help create the Britishness of the town, many speculate “Colony Three” was an obvious precursor to The Prisoner where “Number Six,” like Victor Sebastian before him, is gassed before waking up in a mysterious “Village.”<br /><br />But did anyone involved with Danger Man or The Prisoner know about the Five Fingers story? It’s quite possible someone on the Danger Man staff saw “The Unknown Town” as Five Fingers was seen in the U.K. in its entirety beginning in January 1961 just as the first series of Danger Man was about to start production in Britain. Or perhaps Whitfield Cook, the writer for “The unknown Town” and Danger Man script-writer Donald Johnson both drew from another source describing such training towns. It’s clear one book, the 1951 Operation: Cicero, written by L.C. Moyzisch, was not the inspiration for this concept. While his memoir of historical double-dealing was turned into the 1951 film version of Five Fingers, the subject was a World War II operation with nothing to do with the Cold War. The TV incarnation, while crediting Moyzisch as writer, only borrowed the title with nothing else from the book or film beyond one episode, “Final Dream” (broadcast Dec. 5, 1959). In that story, one agent is code-named Cicero who leaks secret documents from his embassy, very like the original World War II account. <br /><br />Another possible inspiration might have been print articles speculating about the existence of towns for spies. While both producer George Markstein and Patrick McGoohan claimed they read a book dealing with “retirement villages” that helped inspire The Prisoner, they were talking about places where ex-spies could be quietly stowed away, not as part of any training facility. Trying to determine if any source might have mentioned an actual facility with these characteristics, I contacted a historian at the CIA. While he’s an author for intelligence journals, one book, and daily briefings for various presidents, in this circumstance he prefers anonymity. Still, his observations are credible enough when he wrote me there are no records of any such training towns.<br /><br /> “I've always assumed that such things were the product of screenwriters' imagination. The idea that the Soviets, for example, would have a secret town of Germans to train agents in how to live in West Germany, or a secret town of Americans in order to learn how to penetrate America is, frankly, not sustainable. Even in totalitarian dictatorships such a thing would get out. Even in North Korea, the paragon of totalitarianism, what we know is that occasional Western defectors would be required to help train agents and also to make propaganda films, but not to populate a training town. The literature doesn't support it, either. The most fantastic writer on Soviet intelligence is probably Viktor Suvorov, an alleged defector whose works have largely been discredited, and even he doesn't describe such training towns. Unless you count Oleg Kalugin, whose book The First Directorate describes his learning about America while assigned as a student in New York City. Now that's a training town, if you can make it there you can make it anywhere . . . .”<br /><br />So what inspired “The Unknown Town,” which preceded “Colony THREE” by four years? <br /><br />As he passed away in 2003, it is impossible now to ask Whitfield Cook where he got the idea for his Five Fingers script. It is worth noting he was a prolific scriptwriter for television shows in the 1950s and 1960s including work for Playhouse 90, Have Gun Will Travel, 77 Sunset Strip, and another short-lived spy series, the 1961 Hong Kong. He is best remembered for writing the adaptation of the novel, Strangers on a Train, that Czenzi Ormonde, Raymond Chandler, and Ben Hecht turned into the screenplay for the 1951 Alfred Hitchcock film. So it would not be unusual for the idea of a training town to be a product of his own fertile imagination, and perhaps Donald Johnson too came up with the concept with no particular source to inspire him.<br /><br />Oh, how did Victor Sebastian’s mission turn out? After a few twists and turns, he discovers a young man named Davey—played by Michael J. Pollard—was the Middletown-trained spy who’d decided he wanted to be American and hide his origins. Sebastian makes this possible—but this is no place for spoilers. It’s interesting to note another memorable actor, Alan Napier played the character of Wembley. In the 1960s, he played Alfred on the comic-spoof, Batman.<br /><br />---- <br />Dr. Wesley Britton is the author of four books on espionage, the most recent being The Encyclopedia of TV Spies (Bear Manor Media, 2009). Many of his articles, interviews, and reviews are posted at:<br /><br />www.Spywise.netThe Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-7257783001768544322009-06-15T18:18:00.001-07:002009-06-15T18:18:31.793-07:00Review: William Johnson’s Thwarting Enemies at Home and Abroad: How to Be a Counter-Intelligence Officer<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br /><br />Johnson, William R., d. Thwarting Enemies at Home and Abroad: How to Be a Counter-Intelligence Officer.<br />Foreword by William Hood, p. cm.<br />Originally published: Bethesda, Md.: Stone Trail Press, 1987.<br />Re-published by Georgetown University Press, Feb. 2009.<br />ISBN 978-1-58901-255-4<br />$21.95<br /><br />Determining the purpose of and audience for the republication of William Johnson’s 1987 Thwarting Enemies at Home and Abroad: How to Be a Counter-Intelligence Officer is tricky. Never intended for the general reader, Thwarting Enemies was clearly written as a “Counter-Intelligence 101” textbook for trainees, with researchers and scholars likely finding it a useful resource. Then and now, it’s also a good volume for fiction writers to have on hand if they want to get their particulars correct. But what would make this Cold War overview of interest for audiences, or future counter-intelligence officers, in the post-9/11 world?<br /><br />I admit, the opening pages didn’t convince me Georgetown University Press was all that certain itself. For one matter, the very brief introductory paragraphs aren’t especially revealing. They claim Johnson’s “seasoned wisdom about the principles and tactics of counterintelligence” teaches “readers how to think about counterintelligence, and these basic principles carry through from era to era. Updates to account for current events and the latest gadgetry would have short-term benefit but would be dated once again within a few years.” Likely so, but then they say “the author passed away before republication was planned, so we elected not to attempt revisions that could not be approved by the author.” If no revisions then, a modern reader might expect some background details in the “Foreword” preparing them for what they might expect in the following pages.<br /><br />However, in but two pages, William Hood provides a brief biography of Johnson, which does establish the author’s considerable bona fides. According to Hood, Johnson was an active participant in the D-Day invasion, and then joined the CIA in 1948 where he first worked “in the vital European counterintelligence field” before returning to Washington for “a senior assignment managing CIA's Far Eastern counterintelligence operations from 1960 until his transfer to Saigon in 1973.” Hood credits Johnson with helping create the network and structure in a new areana for the CIA as its predecessor, the O.S.S., had not been widely used in the Pacific theatre of WWII. More details are offered in the About the Author” description at the end of the book, such as: “As a young case officer he had several of the best coaches in the business of counterespionage, among them the Americans Jim Angleton, Bill Harvey, and Bill Hood. He was also coached by some British officers who cannot be named . . . He spent the last year of his service with CIA writing a classified counterintelligence training manual for young case officer recruits.” After his retirement in 1977, Johnson “organized and managed a series of seminars and lectures on intelligence as a function of government that was part of the University of Colorado's annual Conference on World Affairs.”<br /><br />Without question, Johnson was more than qualified to craft this handbook for future counter-espionage agents. But the question remains: while useful before the fall of the Berlin Wall, what gives this book continuing value beyond being supplementary reading for new recruits? More than technology has changed—for example, Johnson’s discussion on wiretaps includes legal advice that was outmoded the day the Patriot Act was signed into law. The publisher apparently thinks, if you pick up this book, you already know what it is. Or they didn’t think it worthy enough for a more detailed introduction where the issues of the changes of the past 20 years could be addressed--while selling the point that basic principles, thought-patterns, strategies, etc. are the same now as they have ever been. In particular, all of Johnson’s accounts deal with the old duels with the KGB and GRU—battling modern terrorists is a different fish completely. Or is it? Some one could and should have addressed this in introductory pages.<br /><br />None of this, of course, is criticism of Johnson’s own work as he passed in 2005. Undoubtedly, had anyone asked, he’d have opted to at least delete the sections on technological uses of surveillance equipment based on land-lines, concerns no longer relevant in the cell-phone age. Such deletions would have been simple enough as the book is organized in a series of segments on a variety of topics. Many of these segments are indeed still useful and, gratefully, told with wit and assurance. For example, the section on “double agents” reads, in part:<br /><br />“No term is more misused by amateurs and greenhorns than `"double agent.’ Once in the discussion preceding a routine polygraph test, I told a greenhorn operator that one of my specialties was running double agents and managing double agent cases. So young smartypants stuck a surprise question at the end of the first series, "Are you a double agent?’ The breathing stylus on his machine jumped off the chart, and he had to write `Laugh at the point of my answer. I then explained that the proper question would have been, `"Are you a penetration?’<br /><br />If you check the dictionary, you will probably find that a double agent is an agent working for two services at the same time. This will produce an image in your mind of somebody like Peter Lorre in the old movies, who spies on everybody and sells his information to the highest bidder. Today we'd call a double agent like that a `freelance,’ if we could find one. The fact is that since about 1945 the spy business has become a major international industry. Freelancers freelance just once. Then they either get gobbled up by professional services or (most often) they instantly go out of business. In other words, double agents, like all agents, are controlled by one service at a time. If control shifts from X to Y, a successful counterintelligence operation has been mounted by Y. To a professional CI officer . . . double agent’ means one of two things: a playback or a provocation. And it means an agent, not a staff officer.” (91-92)<br /><br />This excerpt is typical of Johnson’s both personal and world-wise tone—he is out to share his experience, and with that experience comes a wealth of opinions. He discusses the problems of field offices having to work with the constraints of bureaucracy, budgets, and especially analysts who don’t properly collate the information in the files. There’s no shortage of advice: “Never neglect overt sources. Read the newspapers. Remember that information in the press is at best only 40 percent accurate, but though it may not give you useful facts, it conveys attitudes. The context in which a person is mentioned often tells you more about her than what is alleged or stated.”(181)<br /><br />Such observations are the core of the book’s value—the passing along of one lifetime of experience, emphasizing the very human elements of CI operators. What Johnson handles most deftly is explaining and clarifying the many aspects of counter-intelligence, a far more complex profession than merely trying to stop our enemies from stealing our secrets. Johnson opens by asking readers if they have the 5 essential traits of a CI officer, and then discusses the distinctions between this work and other law enforcement agencies (and how to work with them), how to manage physical and technical surveillance, how to get and use doubles, moles, and defectors, the ins and outs of deceiving targets, and all of this recounted in a very compact, succinct style.<br /><br />In the end, Thwarting Enemies at Home and Abroad: How to Be a Counter-Intelligence Officer clearly remains indispensible reading for potential CI agents, and we should all be grateful such a volume is available for them. It’s been noted many times that, due to political maneuverings during the Bush administration, the CIA lost many of its experienced hands and a new generation of agents and operatives don’t share the same continuity of mentoring as in the past. Other readers can pick up information that remains topical, as in Johnson’s “Interrogation: How It Really Works” which includes a discussion on “The Myth of Torture.”(page 34). Still, this re-publication is likely to have a limited market beyond those in the “need to know” realm. That is, those curious about a career in CI, those taking their first steps into it, or those studying and keeping an eye on this important aspect of spycraft. One of these readers may, someday, help put out an updated edition retaining the wisdom of Johnson while taking the time to demonstrate why we still need it.<br /><br />----<br />For other book reviews, see the “Spies in History and Literature” files at<br /><br />www.Spywise.netThe Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-39464970142523746382009-05-31T20:09:00.001-07:002009-05-31T20:09:15.264-07:00Before Bond, Before Blofeld: The Roots of Spy-Fi<br /><br />By Wesley Britton <br /><br />Since 2000, spy collector extraordinaire Danny Biederman has been showing his fascinating collection of “Spy-Fi” artifacts at places ranging from CI headquarters to the International Spy Museum to the Queen Mary. Visitors to such venues have seen the original shoephone from Get Smart, the sleeve gun from The Wild Wild West, and the pen communicator from The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Then, in 2004 Biederman published a coffeebook paperback, The Incredible World of Spy-Fi: Wild and Crazy Spy Gadgets, Props and Artifacts, From TV and the Movies (Chronicle Books). This collection of Danny’s photographs demonstrated that after all these years, you don’t have to be a spy fan to fondly remember the then cutting-edge technology of the “Spy Renaissance.”<br /><br />Certainly, the 1960s is the decade most noted for “Spy-Fi.” After Goldfinger’s laser-cannon cut down the doors of Ft. Knox in 1964, the large and small screens were filled with secret agents both employing and battling the futuristic science dreamed up by script writers. The Avengers took on “diabolical masterminds” that could control the weather, build cybernauts, and shrink John Steed down to size. The men from U.N.C.L.E. took on THRUSH which, if novelist David McDaniel got it right, stood for the “Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjection of Humanity”—emphasis on the technology, whether created or stolen by all those international evildoers. When James Coburn became Our Man Flint in 1965, he battled baddies who weren’t merely out to blackmail the super-powers for ransom; they wanted the world to bow to their utopian designs under threat of weather controlling technology. Two years later, In Like Flint sent the agent into outer space a decade before James Bond took Holly Goodhead around the world one more time in Moonraker (1979). Perhaps “Spy-Fi” reached its 1960s apex in The Prisoner when, each week, Number Six battled technological attempts to break down his stubborn humanity.<br /><br />Then came the ‘70s, and we saw 007 finally go under the sea and into space, bionic agents saving us from aliens and Bigfoot, and then following decades gave us computer nerds getting zapped with new tech from VR5 to Jake 2.O to Chuck. However, the roots of all this weren’t in the ‘60s. “Spy-Fi” had been there all along, beginning in the earliest of spy novels and silent movies which established the tropes of secret agents vs. technological advancements in warfare:<br /><br />a. the mad scientist out for world domination, whether for himself or larger entity;<br /><br />b. the more naïve scientist who finds himself the victim of his own experiments and becomes an unwitting pawn by friends or enemies of his/her country;<br /><br />c. the attempts by nations or corporations to create powerful weapons to give them the advantage in global or regional conflicts. <br /><br />Battling the Huns<br /><br />The origins of “Spy-Fi” were in the first years of the 20th Century when British novelists dramatized the growing fears of the German threat before World War I. There was William Le Queux whose “Duckworth Drew” stories were precursors to later adventures focused on new technology as when he encountered an "electronic eye," an Italian device that detonated mines. Edgar Wallace wrote a <br />number of serialized stories like Code No. 2 (April 1916) which anticipated future technology including a computer-controlled hidden camera and infrared photography. Not surprisingly, the influential John Buchan also veered into speculation about the future. In Mr. Standfast (1919), the heroic Richard Hannay posed as a pacifist to uncover a German spy planning to destroy the English army by releasing anthrax germs on its mainline of communications.<br /><br />During this very imaginative and rarely realistic period in spy fiction, secret laboratories churning out new explosives and <br />chemical weapons were part of the Victorian silent movie melodramas. In short films primarily made for female audiences, <br />little girls and their older counterparts had to help out their beloved lovers and fathers threatened by evil “Hun” agents <br />working for the Kaiser and his legions. Occasionally, these efforts bordered on science fiction. For example, In the 15 <br />episode serial, The Black Box (1915), a detective invented a device allowing him to see who is calling him on the <br />telephone. In The Secret of the Submarine (1916), the hero and heroine cheated the Japanese out of a device that could <br />extract Oxygen out of water. <br />Hollywood favorite Marion Davies starred in one of the oddest of such stories, The Dark Star (1919). Davies played a girl <br />who has memorized secret plans held in a supernatural relic that had fallen from space with mysterious powers. Jennifer <br />Garner would encounter similar threats almost 90 years later. <br /><br />One movie ahead of its time was The Eleventh Hour (1923) about a Secret Service agent foiling the plans of a blackmailing <br />Prince to steal new explosives. Like future masterminds, mad Prince Stefan had a secret submarine, a hidden wireless <br />cabinet, airplanes, motorboats, deadly lions and one device popular in the period, secret trapdoors. In the main, most stories <br />featured secret formulas on paper; the “Macguffin” wasn’t usually the device itself, but rather a description hidden in some <br />private code.<br /><br />Still, fantasy found its way into unexpected places. Long before The Wild Wild West fused the Western, SF, and espionage, Ghost Patrol (1936) featured a government agent looking for looters who prey on crashed airplanes. Turns out, there's a mysterious ray coming from a radium mine that's taking down the planes. Singing cowboy Gene Autry took a turn at such fare in his first serial, The Phantom Empire (A.K.A. Gene Autry and the Phantom Empire, 1935). In the story, considered one of the first science-fiction serials, Autry discovered an underground civilization 20,000 feet beneath his Radio Ranch. Technologically advanced, these survivors of a lost continent use radium for ray guns and early television.<br /><br />Nazis and Reds<br /><br />In the run-up to and during World War II, most spy fiction was in a more realistic mold, with fantastic stories reserved for children’s radio programs. Superman, Tom Mix and The Shadow were among many heroes called on to serve as counter-spies on the home front. One film predecessor to similar movies of the 1950s starred Peter Lorre as a baron in Invisible Agent (1942). In the WWII propaganda picture, Lorre's character was a Japanese agent who's trying to shake down the son of the Invisible Man for his invisibility serum. This set the stage for four TV series with transparent secret agents, although all starred leads on the side of the angels. As described below, more invisible bad guys would return on the large-screen—after all, what better spy gimmick than being unseen?<br /><br />After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two terms were coined to define what followed—the Cold War and the Atomic Age. While the massive destruction of modern warfare in World War I had shocked the planet, the new reality of both nuclear weapons and the power of atomic radiation placed technology in the forefront of espionage fiction. Suddenly, films with plausible scripts included threats of nuclear annihilation from simple uranium hidden in wine bottles in Hitchcock’s Notorious (1946) to the more fantastic idea of third parties capable of nuclear blackmail as in Thunderball (1965). With no relationship to espionage, films in the mold of Frankenstein (1931) like The Fly (1958) dramatized what can happen if scientists fly too close to the sun. Likewise, giant monsters in B movies with big apes, giant insects, or Godzilla—whatever he was—seemed cautionary parables about larger consequences if science is not kept in check. You didn’t need an atomic bomb to make the point—any unusual device would do in the hands of those with dark agendas.<br /><br />For example, imaginative “Spy-Fi” of this era included Dick Barton, Special Agent (1948), the first of a movie series starring Don Stannard as the character created for radio. In the first film, a disillusioned scientist planned to poison England's water supply. In Dick Barton Strikes Back (1948), Barton defeated a scientist (Sebastian Cabot) planning to destroy the city of Blackpool with an atomic ray gun. Finally, Dick Barton at Bay (1950) had Barton rescuing a kidnapped scientist and his daughter when spies want his death ray machine. During the 1960s, that synopsis would fit countless Euro-spy flicks starring a host of would-be Sean Connerys. <br /><br />The Children’s Hour<br /><br />During the McCarthy Ear, as with WW II, the more fantastic spy stories were designed for children. On radio, Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy became Armstrong of the S.B.I.. For one 1950 season, Jack became a counter-spy for the Scientific Bureau of Investigation. On television, both British and American youngsters could see super-spies like Atom Squad, a cheaply produced 15-minute science-fiction TV series aired weekdays at 5:00PM EST. Broadcast live from the studios of WPTZ in Philadelphia, the title referred to a secret government agency dealing with threats to the planet from evil doers and mysterious technology like weather-controlling machines or giant magnets that could disrupt shipping. In the same mold, Captain Midnight was originally a radio serial airing from 1938 to 1949 before becoming a TV program from 1954 to 1956. While the 39 episodes were overtly science-fiction adventures for the young, the stories shared the same tone of anti-Communism as in adult-oriented 1950s Cold War dramas. Over half of the Captain’s escapades dealt with enemy agents, national defense, military technology, and despots planning to rule the world.<br /><br />More expensive productions included The Invisible Man (1958-1959) with live actors saving England from Communist agents. More known for its novelty than scripts, the show takes its historical place as the first spy show produced by Ralph Smart, the producer who followed with Danger Man two years later. In 1959, The World of Giants was another live-action children’s effort. The most expensively made series of its day, the 30 minute black and white World of Giants was inspired by the success of the 1957 film, The Incredible Shrinking Man, along with a plethora of other tiny people B movies. In this case, it was an American FBI agent scurrying under doors and lifting up heavy telephone receivers. <br /><br />Dr. Mabuse<br /><br />But not all “Spy-Fi” was targeted to youngsters in their living rooms. Before Bond, one popular film series began with director Fritz Lang's 1922 Doktor Mabuse, der Spieler (Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler). While interesting ploys were used by the mad doctor, hypnotism wasn’t really a SF trope. But Lang directed two sequels, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse [1933] and The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse in 1960. The 1960 project interested him as he wanted to use new film techniques and say new things about the times. After the atomic bomb, civilization could be destroyed and, in the rubble, a new realm of crime could be built up.<br /><br />Thousand Eyes has Dr. Mabuse running his criminal empire from the Hotel Luxor. As with Ernst Stavro Blofeld who’d debut in 1963, His face is unseen as he gives orders leading to the takeover of a corporate empire using murder and blackmail. As with the later Bond films and the sci-flavored technology they inspired in countless imitations, the mechanical devices show the omnipotence of the evil doctor, especially his surveillance gizmos allowing him to watch his prey. He had seemingly overriding power including TV cameras in every room in the hotel, and can thus regulate as well as survey movement. But, as with Bond, this power turned out to be illusory--one good man can overcome a fiend.<br /><br />New directors took up the series beginning with Return of Dr. Mabuse (1961), and science-fiction had a more prominent role in the scripts. This German-made production had FBI agent (Lex Barker) and Interpol agent (Gert Frobe, Goldfinger himself) after the doctor who’s out for world domination again using invisible assassins. Perhaps the best sequel to illustrate what the new movies were all about is The Invisible Horror (A.K.A. The Invisible Dr. Mabuse, 1962). IN this tale, Mabuse (Wolfgang Preiss) was after "Operation X," a device so secret it was said to be more important than super-bombs or rocket ships. Turns out, it’s a device that can make him invisible. FBI agent Joe Como (Lex Barker) was also after the secret project a mad professor invented who hid in a lab. After an accident disfigured him, he created the machine so he can be with the unwitting love of his life, an actress (Karin Dor, later to star in You Only Live Twice). For most of the film, Barker tries to convince West German policeman Gert Frobe that Mabuse actually exists while Dor wants someone to believe her, that an invisible man is haunting her theatre dressing-room and giving her invisible kisses. Worse--the mad professor is watching her bathe--it's when he moves a bath towel that Barker finally nabs him. Now, this was humor for adults. <br /><br />Once more, Peter Van Eyck and Klaus Kinski starred in Scotland Yard vs. Dr. Mabuse (1963) with and Wolfgang Preiss as the evil doctor again using hypnoses to control police and politicians. The run ended with The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse (1964) with Interpol agent Major Bob Anders (Peter Van Weyck) sent to protect the secret death-ray mirror the evil Dr. Mabuse (Claudio Gura) is after. By this time, two James Bond movies had debuted—Dr. No (1962) and From Russia With Love (1963). While the final scenes of Dr. No set the stage for, well, all the fantastic stages of hidden retreats for megalomaniacs, it wasn’t until You Only Live Twice (1967) that the 007 films became overtly “Spy-Fi.” So Dr. Mabuse must be considered a series more precursor to Bond rather than one of many series to come influenced by the world of Sir James.<br /> <br />The Meaning of it All <br /><br />Admittedly, this short overview might indicate that early “Spy-Fi” was primarily seen in media geared for juveniles and therefore of interest only as historical artifacts in entertainment history. However, a number of issues arise from these sometimes primitive projects that first brought together espionage and science fiction.<br /> <br />One reason such fare is largely forgotten today is that technology marches on—if the adventures are based only on imaginative gimmeikry, which often becomes quickly antiquated, there’s little for future readers or viewers to enjoy. At least, “Saint” creator Leslie Charteris was concerned about this in 1966 when he claimed he worried about issuing new editions of his Saint books. In his “Forward” to the new publication of his 1931 Alias The Saint, Charteris wondered if he should update the old tales. He admitted the archaic telecommunications and transportation technologies in The Saint’s early adventures had changed significantly. In a similar “Foreword” to his 1965 edition of The Saint Overboard (1935), Charteris said his Jules Verne-like machines used by mad scientists were outdated as quickly as the books went to print, making his futuristic aqualungs and bathyspheres commonplace and uninteresting thirty years later. So Charteris said he was reluctant to bring out new editions thinking readers would be better served by new books with new settings and new topical references. <br /><br />But Charteris learned new readers would indeed be interested in these yarns because They featured a memorable character who, like Sherlock Holmes or James Bond, transcended his times. Good storytelling can be admired long after the “Macguffins” have lost their novelty.<br /><br />In addition, “Spy-Fi” was often a mirror of public concerns, especially after the Russians exploded their first atomic bomb and put Sputnik into orbit. In my first book, Spy Television (Prager Pub, 2004), I noted:<br /><br />----<br />To a large extent, the “Spy-Fi” TV series of the 1960s and later were also extensions of the monster and space alien films of the 1950s, often cautionary fables about technology in the new Atomic Age. Likewise, secret agents contended with mind and body switches, artificial intelligence machines gone amok, genetically enhanced plants or animals, miniaturization rays, and deadly laser beams. Before worries about biological warfare became headlines after the September 11, 2001 attack on America, TV spies had long fought terrorists of every stripe employing artificially enhanced diseases as weapons. Long before The X-Files and the 2001 version of The Invisible Man employed new twists in cryogenic stories, spy shows used the old motif of artificial immortality to resurrect Hitler, transfer scientist’s minds into robots or computers, and seek out real and bogus Fountains of youth. Ironically, after September 11, much of this imaginative speculation seemed prophetic. For example, when news accounts reported powders carrying anthrax germs were found in mailed envelopes in October and November 2001, this author immediately recalled this had been one `Macguffin in a 1969 Avengers story, "You'll Catch Your Death."<br /><br /> In “Spy-Fi,” Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World was as influential as Ian Fleming, at least in terms of the goals of modern madmen. Super-villains were typically “zealous puritans intent on cleaning up social decadence” and earthly corruption by destroying humanity to have the species progress. Villains in series like The Wild Wild West were often social activists to the extreme, as in one terrorist wishing to use tidal waves to destroy polluters.<br /><br />Each week, independent, freewheeling secret agents brought down such egomaniacs with Utopian designs for reshaping and controlling the world. Private investigators solved crimes against man; realistic agents solved crimes against society. But secret agents opposing SF masterminds fought crimes against nature. In the 1950s, this allowed writers to portray Communism as a force against nature, particularly human nature. This theme reached its height in The Prisoner when its 17 episodes were designed to be cautionary parables about the rights of free minds in a world seeking conformity and enforced order. Even in the shows created for pure entertainment, themes that warned of the dangers of ill-used technology, chemical, and biological tampering with genetics and the environment took the spy out of the sometimes claustrophobic Cold War atmosphere into wider vistas of adventure. And, as Cawilit and Rosenburg noted, the technological trappings allowed for ambivalent parables about the meaning of new gadgetry. Whatever devices secret agents had were used up before the final confrontations when one man stood alone against machinery that filled volcanoes. If technology was the deciding factor, Blofeld and his imitators would have won. (note 1)<br /><br /> From another perspective, Martin Willis once claimed the new emphasis on overheated technology had much to do with the return of James Bond in the person of Pierce Brosnan. Willis claimed the Bond series had always portrayed a 007 who had an ambivalent relationship with technology. This was shown in the popular "Q scenes" when Bond first demonstrates mastery over the gadgets before famously showing disrespect for them by destroying them in one scene or another. When Daniel Craig took on the mantle, it might seem the Bond people had decided “Spy-Fi” had run its course. No “Q” scenes in the Craig films; the evil “Quantum” wants international power by way of controlling natural resources. So—has “Spy-Fi” really run out of gas? What might we expect in the future?<br /><br />“Toys vs. Boys”<br /><br />By the dawn of the Twenty-First Century, a debate over the uses of new technology and espionage was a concern within the actual intelligence community. By 1998, the central debate was whether the emphasis should be “toys vs. boys,” that is, should technology supersede the place of agents in the field? This interest in “toys” in both fact and fiction seemed appropriate on a number of levels. In the post cold war era, the intelligence services of many nations monitored the manufacturing, sales, and purchases of advanced weaponry by countries such as Pakistan, Korea, Iran, and Iraq. At the time, satellite reconnaissance capabilities seemingly made the task easier. As the new millennium approached, drawing from old science-fiction stories, the NSA was working on computers integrating biological entities including bacteria used to build transistors. Such machines were planned to be able to reproduce themselves, combining electronic components with DNA. As Frederick Hitz put it, Will Smith's Enemy of the State (1998) was set in a world of computer hackers where stealing financial information and manipulating data are all taken for granted. In other words, the cutting-edge was now expected, not surprising.<br /><br />Despite all this, with unintentional irony, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft told the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 25, 2001 that the new war on terrorism was being fought with “antique weapons.” On September 11, 2001, counter-terrorist experts like Jeffrey Beatty claimed the teams who destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged the pentagon used “Low tech, high concept“techniques which turned commercial planes into bombs. As many later noted, the 19 terrorists might have been primitive technologically, but were well-organized, sophisticated agents who were masters of espionage tradecraft.<br /><br />What all this means is that a once sub-genre in entertainment is now part of popular culture and the imaginations of real-life “Q”s are now focused not so much on creating new weapons, but rather means to foil those who know terror and devastation don’t require sophisticated high-tech. Surveillance and counter-surveillance are now center stage because countries like North Korea and Iran look to very real, and very old, technology to assert their place in international affairs. It seemed appropriate that on May 28, 2009, viewers of CNN saw “eye-in-the-sky” photographs of North Korean nuclear facilities; the following day, President Obama announced the creation of a new “Computer Czar” to oversee the security of U.S. government computers, especially in response to the ongoing threat of Red Chinese infiltrations.<br /> <br />Perhaps we’ve gone beyond “Spy-Fi.” If Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble) on Fringe is any indication, mad scientists may now be more useful than fearsome. With creators like J.J. Abrams merging old formulas with new twists (Alias, Fringe), perhaps a new tradition is just around the corner, something that won’t remind us of invisible cars or weather-controlling machines that pale as opposed to such forces as Global Warming. <br /><br />----<br />Notes<br /><br />1. I freely admit 90% of this article drew from my first three books on fictional espionage. Many of these points and ideas are developed in great detail, especially in Beyond Bond: Spies in Film and Fiction (2005.) These books, by the way, include the citations that might lead readers to my original sources.<br /> <br />2. Another example of “Spy-Fi” that didn’t really fit this overview was the “Stainless Steel Rat” stories that Harry Harrison first began publishing in 1957 in Astounding Science Fiction. My analysis of this series, “Espionage Around the Galaxy: The Spy-Fi of Harry Harrison” is posted at www.LeslieCharteris.com in the “Features” section.<br /><br /> For many more features on fictional and factual espionage, check out the offerings at—<br /><br />www.Spywise.netThe Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-33156644942400797282009-05-07T05:48:00.001-07:002009-05-07T05:48:40.171-07:00DVD Review: In A Word--Intelligence <br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br />On April 29, 2008, Acorn Media released the first season of Canada’s Intelligence on DVD in the Region 1 format. Finally, those of us south of the border got our first chance to experience one of the finest espionage-oriented television series ever produced. On April 14, 2009, Acorn released season two, and I’m impatiently waiting its arrival in the Netflicks catalogue. At the same time, I’m wondering—why can’t American networks do something on this level of, well, intelligence?<br /><br />The multi-layered program debuted as a two hour movie in November 2005 and ran as a series from October 10, 2006 to December 10, 2007 on the CBC, roughly Canada’s equivalent of the BBC. Producer and writer Chris Haddock created Intelligence, describing the show as "half gangster, half espionage," and that’s a fair summation. That is, if you can accept mobsters without Italian accents and no desire for bloodletting. The gangster half of the show revolved around Ian Tracy as Jimmy Reardon, a third-generation Vancouver crime boss overseeing his family's legacy in shipping, money laundering, and pot smuggling. The espionage half centered on Klea Scott as Mary Spalding, daughter of an Army intelligence officer and head of Vancouver's Organized Crime Unit. A black woman operating in a male-dominated realm, she wanted to move upstairs to become chief of he Asia Pacific Region of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS). (Scott had earlier portrayed the co-starring role of FBI agent Emma Hollis on the third season of Chris Carter's Millennium).<br /><br />Throughout the two season run, Spalding and Reardon had parallel storylines, with both their criminal and law enforcement activities complicated by rivalries with their respective competitors, most notably American agencies or gangs seeking control over Canadian interests. In the pilot, Spalding—as savvy, crafty, and strong-willed a spymaster as has ever been seen on either the small or large screen—began building her own independent network of informants by crafting an uneasy alliance with Reardon. She offered him immunity from prosecution in exchange for his becoming an informant on major criminal activity, notably gun smuggling like ships in Panama carrying arms destined for the Congo. At the same time, Spalding planted a dancer in Reardon’s club to spy on him while she established a relationship with the head of an escort service. And, after discovering one of her Chinese translators is a mole, Spalding turned him into her own double-agent.<br /><br /> Meanwhile, the calm and non-violent Reardon works with as much diplomacy as he can muster to avoid gang wars with two rising groups, the “Bikers” and “The Disciples.” In his view, there are drugs he doesn’t want to touch anyway, there is enough territory for everyone to have their own piece of the pie, and he is hoping to be out of the criminal business in five years. He has his own informer inside the Vancouver police department, Rene Desjardins (Michael Eklund). Reardon tries to appease his ambitious but reckless brother Michael (Bernie Coulson) who wants his own place in the sun. On top of all this, Reardon is constantly dogged by his neurotic ex-wife, Francine Reardon (Camille Sullivan) who threatens to bring his empire down. Neither Spalding nor Reardon know it, but American law enforcement is working to get Reardon on U.S. soil so they can bust him while the American DEA is using a heroin smuggler in much the same way as Spalding is working Reardon.<br /><br /> Throughout season one, Spalding also learns her agency—indeed all of Canadian intelligence—is riddled with moles as well as subordinates who’d like to see her go, especially the vicious veteran intelligence agent Ted Altman (Matt Frewer), her scheming second-in-command. (Frewer was once a pop cultural icon in the form of “Max headroom” during the 1980s.) Along the way, Spalding learns just how far the tentacles of the U.S. reach into Canadian intelligence. This is called "deep integration" of U.S and Canadian political and economic systems which included American intelligence agents infiltrating Canadian institutions. In particular, when Spalding began investigating the Blackmire group, a corporation out to steal Canada’s fresh-water resources, she ultimately discovered the organization was a front for the CIA. Oh, lest we forget, the Chinese and Vietnamese have their own plans as well . . .<br /><br />If all this seems like much too much for any one series to carry, Intelligence was driven by well-crafted scripts by Chris Haddock who carefully blended in new characters and developments from episode to episode. Using a snowballing menu of perspectives, his storylines unfolded in well-balanced shifts from the criminal machinations to the turf wars inside Canadian law enforcement. Better, every character was fully realized, totally believable, and, especially in the case of Spalding, almost jaw-dropping in their abilities to maintain their own balancing acts. All this overlapping of criminal conspiracies and espionage in the plots drew, in part, from Haddock’s notion that drugs are the crucial modern industry. In his view, information--the buying and selling of “intel” on everything from heroin trafficking to international terrorism--is the most addictive and profitable drug of all. <br /><br />While it was on the air, Intelligence developed a strong fan base, received critical favor, was sold to 143 foreign markets, and earned 11 Gemini nominations. However, at the end of the second year, citing poor ratings, the CBC did not schedule the show for a third season. Haddock publicly claimed the network was responding to pressures from higher-ups who didn’t like dramas of this kind on the network. He backed his point by noting, after initial interest from the company, the CBC was noticeably unsupportive of the series with minimal promotions throughout the two year run. This makes me wonder if Canadians have other infiltrations to worry about—perhaps the very sort of thinking that has doomed many a U.S. classic has moved across the border. Along with our CIA, perhaps they’re getting our breed of network executives. Too bad. It’s not often we get something like Intelligence, but at least we Yanks can now at least appreciate shows we knew nothing about during the original broadcast. <br /><br />If I haven’t made it clear—don’t miss Intelligence! It is something special for anyone who ever appreciated The Sandbaggers, Danger Man, or, well, few shows are like it. With any luck, more in its mold will be coming—and would be most welcome from any country of origin.<br /><br />----<br />I hereby thank David Spencer from the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers for calling my attention to Intelligence as part of my research for The Encyclopedia of TV Spies. <br /><br />More reviews by Dr. Wesley Britton are posted at—<br /><br />WWW.Spywise.netThe Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-14196469709729417682009-05-03T16:04:00.001-07:002009-05-03T16:04:48.310-07:00OSS 117, 007, and Alfred Hitchcock: A French Secret Agent and the Bond Bonanza<br /><br />By Ron Payne<br /> <br />FOR MANY YEARS I WAS AWARE OF FRENCH THRILLER WRITER JEAN BRUCE, WHO WROTE THE ADVENTURES OF SECRET AGENT HUBERT BONISSEUR DE LA BATH, better known in France as "0SS 117." Bruce, who created his suave and sophisticated agent, four years before Ian Fleming created BRITISH AGENT 007, earned millions writing about the character---and in the 1960s---at the height of the Worldwide Bond-Craze, Gaumont Studios, the oldest and certainly one of the greatest film studios in the world, started making motion pictures about Monsieur de la Bath 0SS 117.<br /><br /> SINCE 2006, when Parisian actor Jean Dujardin became the French equivalent of a new Sean Connery, with the hit Gaumont Studio production of OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies, there has been a renewed interest in the French counter-intelligence agent. THE NEW de la Bath adventure, OSS 117: Lost in Rio, also starring the charismatic Dujardin, soon to be released in Europe, promises to be a blockbuster for the great French studio, which only sixteen months ago lost a distribution-contract with Sony Pictures.<br /><br /> Hubert (pronounced U-Bear) Bonisseur de la Bath was created in 1949 to immediate literary success in France. Jean (pronounced like Sean) Bruce wrote like an angel doing Figure-Eights, effortlessly on ice, when he wrote about de la Bath, who has everything going for him that Bond does. He is handsome, cool-in-danger and good with the ladies. Ian Fleming read Jean Bruce, when he travelled in France and Bruce's books were easy to find in London bookstalls.<br /><br /> BUT the enormous popularity of the character has yet to catch on in America, though he has his admirers in this country as well. de la Bath has been portrayed on screen by Sean Flynn, the late son of movie idol-swashbuckler Errol Flynn. (Sean was lost in Vietnam, when captured by the North Vietnamese while riding his motorcycle. He was a photographer and war correspondent, like his father years earlier in the Spanish Civil War [1937] and the younger Flynn was held hostage for a year and executed.)<br /><br /> Frederick Stafford, who starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s production of Leon Uuris’s Topaz, also starred as de la Bath and gave the character a genuine James Bond-like persona. (It was because of his OSS 117 role that Hitchcock hired Stafford for the Topaz role.) Producer Harry Saltzman remarked at the time of the Topaz release, "If Frederick Stafford had not been French, but English, he might have followed directly in Sean Connery’s footsteps as Bond."<br /><br /> Kerwin Matthews, most famous in the United States as Gulliver in The Three Worlds of Gulliver and "The Sinbad" series (one in which he co-starred opposite Mrs. Bing Crosby) was also successful in the role. BUT FOR THE SAKE of comparisons, it was John Gavin, who later became President Ronald Reagan’s Ambassador to Mexico, who stands out. Gavin, who played the romantic lead in Hitchcock’s Psycho, opposite Vera Miles, was a rising star at Universal Pictures before leaving for France and undertaking the role of Agent OSS 117. At Universal, Gavin felt lost in a relentless attempt by Universal executives to pigeon-hole him in roles better suited for Rock Hudson, who was the studio's top star at the time. If GAVIN was not being proposed for the next "Tammy" picture, he was made to fill out his contract playing "Destry," a character created by James Stewart in Destry Rides Again and who was later played by Audie Murphy. Gavin's Destry television series soon hit the dirt and Gavin picked-up the trail for France and GAUMONT STUDIOS, when his Universal Pictures agreements expired.<br /><br /> FRANCE WAS GOOD for John Gavin and his tenure as "0SS 117" was a successful one, if not the most successful of any other actor who played the role. (See his film, OSS 117: Double Agent at www.sinistercinema.com under Espionage and Spy Films).<br /><br /> IN 1971, after George Lazenby, on bad advice from his Business Manager Ronan O'Rahilly, resigned from the role of James Bond after just one film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the producers, Harry Saltzman and Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli were desperate to find a new Double-0-seven. John Gavin, on the strength of his '0SS 117,' was signed to a contract to be the next James Bond in Ian Fleming’s Diamonds Are Forever. Mr. Gavin was given a script and United Aartists went on alert that John Gavin, would, indeed, be starring in the diamond smuggling caper, set to be filmed in Amsterdam, South Africa, London, Las Vegas and UNIVERSAL PICTURES (his old studio) in the spring. Diamonds Are Forever was to be EON Productions’s first Bond film completed in the United States. (Exterior scenes of Miami Beach in Goldfinger were 'Second Unit' sequences, with interiors and Fort Knox filmed at Pinewood Studios outside London.)<br /><br /> John Gavin, an American of Mexican descent, who played a French secret agent as Hubert Connoisseur de la Bath, was now ready to become ENGLAND's MOST FAMOUS EXPORT---James Bond, 'DOUBLE-0-SEVEN,' Ian Fleming’s GENTLEMAN AGENT with THE LICENCE TO KILL. <br /><br />DOUBLE-0-SEVEN-DOUBLE-TAKE<br /><br /> Albert R. Broccoli liked John Gavin." Harry Saltzman liked John Gavin. Enter David Picker, Executive Vice President of United Artists. "WE WANT CONNERY....!" GET CONNERY BACK, AT ANY PRICE...! became the "War Cry" at United Artists, then a subsidiary of the giant San Francisco insurance firm, Trans-America Corporation.<br /><br /> SUDDENLY, producers Saltzman and Broccoli were faced with a new casting crisis. Broccoli had already turned down Burt Reynolds (because he was not English) and Reynolds claims he turned down Bond earlier (because "No one can play Bond but Sean Connery. ") Either way, John Gavin (who was definitely not English and had no woes about being compared with Connery) was already signed. His name was on the deal. The contract was "in the pocket."<br /><br /> TURN AROUND "007 STYLE."<br /><br /> There are many stories circulating that John Gavin was in a holding pen, contractually, during this period. That, actually, he was the back-up-plan, in the event Sean Connery could not be lured back into the ring to once again put on his gloves as Bond and go for the 'Championship.'<br /><br /> THE ANNOUNCEMENT GOES FORTH: Sean Connery "IS" JAMES BOND in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER." Dennis Selinger, Mr. Connery's agent at International Creative Management in London "inks the deal" that makes the future SIR SEAN, "the highest paid movie star in the world," up until that time. For a then staggering $1.2 million, plus a large percentage of the gross receipts (not to mention the financing of 2 motion pictures of Mr. Connery's choice by United Artists-- He does The Offence, which UA finances and Connery stars and produces in London), the legendary icon returns in the role that made him famous. Jill ST. John is signed as his co-star, and rumors of a romance between the two starts immediately during filming. Lana Wood is signed as 'Plenty O'Toole' and country-western singer-sausage king, Jimmy Dean, becomes Willard Whyte, the Howard Hughes of Diamonds Are Forever overnight.<br /><br /> John Gavin, though he is passed-over for the "superstar-making-role-of-a-lifetime," is paid $100,000 for his participation by the producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, as Roger Moore, receives a call at the end of filming telling him "to cut your hair and lose weight. We think you're going to be the next James Bond." <br /><br />---<br />For more on Frederick Stafford and how Alfred Hitchcock used him in Topaz, check out:<br /><br />Killers, Traitors, and 007: The Influences on and Failures of Alfred Hitchcock<br /><br />Posted in the “Spies on Film” files at<br /><br />WWW.Spywise.net<br /><br />There, you’ll learn how this film not only employed a former OSS 117, but a former Bond girl, namely Karen Dor from You Only Live Twice.The Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-72575115594165979942009-05-02T07:20:00.001-07:002009-05-02T07:20:41.908-07:00Free AgentReview: Jeremy Duns Goes Dark in Free Agent<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br />Free Agent by Jeremy Duns<br />Viking Adult (June 25, 2009 in U.S.) <br />Hardcover: 352 pages <br />ISBN-10: 0670021016 <br />ISBN-13: 978-0670021017 <br /><br />One tendency in book promotions that’s always driven me a bit nuts is the desire of literary agents, publishers, and reviewers to classify new novels and writers by comparing them to what has come before. I understand why. The point is to tell potential readers that, if you liked the latest by, say, Charles Cumming, you’ll enjoy this new offering by Ramone Unknown or whomever. But, in spy fiction, there’s another element in all this puffery. That is to attempt to anoint new novelists as those worthy of taking on the mantles of the Holy Trinity of Fleming, Le Carre`, or Deighton. Sometimes, the likes of Robert Littell will be mentioned to signal that the reviewer knows there’s been a wealth of spy fiction since the 1960s. Still, the theme often continues to be--what is the new writer doing that carries on the legacies of those who shaped the templates of espionage literature?<br /><br />I’m as guilty as anyone else in this regard. As I turn the pages of new books, I find myself thinking how this read reminds me of one classic or another—or not. Take Free Agent, the first book from Swedish spy expert Jeremy Duns. Free Agent can’t help but beg comparison with the novels written during the Cold War as it is set in 1969 and the background is filled with reminders of the defections of Kim Philby and the “Cambridge Spy Ring.” Duns tosses out obvious bread crumbs to remind us of his forbearers—the British Secret Service is referred to as “The Circus” and he even briefly invokes the name of the Dreaded SMERSH. One Russian handler has the code name “Sasha,” the same moniker as the mole James Jesus Angleton feared throughout his tenure as head of counter-intelligence for the CIA. In the first pages of Free Agent, we’re reminded of operations during the aftermath of World War II where the lead protagonist, Paul Dark, was first tutored in the then nastiest tasks in undercover missions—taking out alleged ex-Nazis. Like Deighton before him, Duns added “family of spies” elements as it was Dark’s father who mentored his son in the unsanctioned killings of old enemies. Toss in the old lover who was supposedly murdered but wasn’t—which will allow double-agent Paul Dark to eventually investigate a mystery with very personal dimensions. Sound familiar?<br /><br />The major twist in the story is that this book centers on a mole hunt from the mole’s point of view told in the first person. This means, in very short time, the reader knows Paul Dark is no heroic figure. In the first chapter, he murders the chief of MI6 because Dark’s 26 year cover as a Soviet plant is about to be blown. From that point forward, the main story is how Dark tries to hide his tracks of that murder and his quest to keep his treason secret. In the first 100 pages, I was indeed reminded of a past master, Graham Greene, in particular The Human Factor. Not the style or character development, but Greene’s often obvious sympathies with those on the other side of the Cold War fence. (Duns has admitted one influence was Derek Marlowe's book, A Dandy in Aspic, which also dealt with a traitor but was, admittedly, a very different breed of story.) However, unlike the characters of Greene or even Le Carre`, there’s no ideological or class war involved in Free Agent. We have a despicable narrator on the run with only one mission—to save his own skin. <br /><br />The early passages, for me, were the most problematic. I was never clear what Paul Dark’s real motivations were for being a traitor to Queen and country. Yes, he was angry over rogue British operations he felt were not any different from the perceived evil of the Soviet bloc. His first contact, Anna, an alleged nurse in a hospital, ran intellectual Marxist circles around his thinly thought out defenses of the British way of life. But, in one scene he rejects her romantic overtures, the next she’s being removed in an ambulance, and then suddenly he wants to be a double-agent. For 26 years, he apparently never rethought his actions. Well, perhaps that’s the point. A simple broken-heart was all it took to keep him going for his entire career in MI6.<br /><br />This is what makes Paul Dark difficult to empathize with. In the early pages, we see what Dark does but with little depth to tell us why. After his killing of his chief, we hear no words of remorse, no thoughts of the consequences of his actions beyond his drive for self-preservation. He’s able to avoid suspicion for his chief’s murder largely due to his agency’s astonishing lackadaisical response to their superior’s disappearance. With all the worries about moles, you’d think they’d be all over that situation with fine-tooth combs. Instead, Dark maneuvers himself a trip to Lagos in order to track down the one man who can finally expose him and do so in time to allow Dark to come up with reasonable explanations for his disobeying orders. Perhaps he is right—his strange behavior can be explained away. To his superiors at least, if not for we readers. This was a guy I wanted caught. I presumed what we would encounter, sooner or later, was some form of redemption. Well, to a minor degree, that’s what happens.<br /><br /> It’s after Paul Dark arrives in Nigeria during the Biafra War that Free Agent becomes what it was meant to be—a fast-paced “flight and fight” thriller where we forget Dark isn’t a character we should be rooting for. Not to give too much away, he comes to learn of the betrayals that set him up to become a dirty double all those years ago. He finds himself having to stop the assassination of British Prime Minister Harold Wilson who’s come to Nigeria to draft a peace plan. By the last page, we are at last rooting for a traitor and cold-blooded murderer trying to get out of it all—but that won’t happen until, at least, the announced sequel—Free Country.<br /><br />What all this means is that Free Agent is like those thrillers of old that readers would pick up in airport terminals and lose themselves in while traveling to their probably less than exotic destinations. And then forget about. It’s a book that shows the research that went into it. For example, Duns’s setting of Biafra, far from a typical location for a spy novel of the time, is a welcome change from the usual European cities or Caribbean islands where Bond and his ilk fought most of their duels with super-charged gangsters in proxy Cold Wars. We even get the Flemingesque “sacrificial lamb,” a journalist named Isabel who Dark picks up and becomes an immediate and competent partner in his adventure before her convenient disposal. Too bad—she was the most intriguing supporting character, but yet another whose motivations remain an open question. <br /><br />I admit being curious about the next two books in the trilogy. Will Dark get out from under the thumb of the Soviets? Will he actually pay a price for his long-standing treason and other crimes? Sure, he saves the day in the end, but he isn’t redeemed in any real sense. Well, stay tuned. Duns is competent enough a storyteller to fill in the holes. So far, we’ve gotten a very readable page-turner if not a new iconic figure to invest ourselves in.<br /><br />---<br />For other book reviews by Wesley Britton, see the “Spies in History and Literature” files at—<br /><br />WWW.Spywise.netThe Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-59010497112630808592009-04-23T18:21:00.001-07:002009-04-23T18:21:52.664-07:00Michael Westen at Sea: A Review of Burn Notice: The End Game<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br /> Burn Notice: The End Game<br /> by Tod Goldberg<br />Paperback: 288 pages<br />Publisher: Signet (May 5, 2009)<br /> ISBN-10: 0451226763<br />$5.99<br /><br />You spend the majority of your life in the company of spies and you begin to realize certain truths, chief among them that in order to be a good spy, you have to love your job. Statistically speaking, this is unusual. Most people hate their jobs. Most people wish they were doing something more interesting with their lives. So they go home and they watch television shows about people they can never be, or they read books about fantasy worlds they'll never inhabit, or they get on to the Internet and take on a persona, either on a message board or in a role-playing game, and they while away their free time pretending and then wake up the next day and head back to the cubicle maze. But when you're a spy, every day has the potential to be completely unlike the previous day. That kind of adrenaline is difficult to replace. I wanted to solve my burn notice and get my job back not merely because I wasn't overly fond of being manipulated by forces that wanted to use me for their own devices, nor because I found their belief that I'd capitulate to their will—as however many other burned agents had over the years—specifically rude and disrespectful, never mind that it's never fun being shot at on a regular basis. No, I wanted to solve my burn notice because I wanted my life back—the life I'd chosen. Dealing with the mundane was not a job I was uniquely qualified for. (Tod Goldberg, Burn Notice: The End Game) <br /><br />One of my favorite reading pleasures during the 1960s was stopping by the book section of our local department store and finding new titles based on my favorite TV shows. There were so many choices and they seemed to come out like magazines, new books every month—The Avengers, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Invaders, GetSmart. Many were published in long-lasting series like U.N.C.L.E. with its 23 titles coming out like clockwork. <br /><br />Back in those days, the adventures were short, usually around 160 pages. The books sold for about 45 cents. (I just noticed there’s no cent mark on my keyboard, a sign of the times for sure). You came to know certain authors would be interesting, like David McDaniel or Keith Laumer. Others would be odd, as in John Garforth’s unusual Avengers stories. The best you could hope for would be tales where the characters were true to their TV personas and the plots would keep you turning the page. I turned many a page. <br /><br />Back then, of course, we didn’t have DVDs or on demand channels or YouTube so our only connections to our heroes in between the weekly broadcasts were the floods of merchandising items aimed for my generation, the lunchboxes, guns, magazines, books. For me, the tie-in novels were special. They were like extra episodes, extra stories about my heroes that Hollywood didn’t have time to film. When the spring repeats began and the summer replacement series kicked in, we had books to read. The actors might be on break, but the characters they played were still in danger, still jet-setting around the world, still taking on clandestine assignments with no commercial breaks. <br /><br />I felt some of that old excitement when I read Tod Goldberg’s first Burn Notice novel, The Fix, when it came out last year. Once again, I had a book to read about some interesting characters when the show itself was on hiatus. That’s true again of his second contribution, End Game, again published when there aren’t any new episodes airing on USA. What are Mike, Sam, Fi and the rest doing while the next season is in preparation? Well, Tod Goldberg has one story to tell. <br /><br />While reading End Game, and its predecessor The Fix, I admit thinking back to adventures of old and how times have changed. For one matter, the Burn Notice novels have a much heftier page count. That cent mark has no place on the cover. More importantly, Goldberg has opportunities and challenges few novelist of the ‘60s had. Take the character of John Drake in the Danger Man books. What did the writers, or TV viewers for that matter, know about Drake’s background? Where did he come from? What did he do when not on the business of NATO or Her Majesty’s Secret Service? With no back-story to work with, novelists were limited to sticking to fast-moving plots, and in many of those books, any agent’s name would have worked as well as any other. Sometimes, as in the Mission: Impossible or I Spy novels by John Tiger, the writer created a virtual alternate reality—using the character names but creating personal descriptions and circumstances never seen on television. <br /><br /> Luckily for Tod Goldberg, Michael Westen is a completely different story. Not only is Westen operating in his home town, Westen can’t distance himself from his past. Not with Mom and little brother Nate around. Mom, in particular, is always seeking—dare we use the term?—quality time with her son. So starting off End Game with Michael enlisting Fi to help him with the simple task of seeking out a Mother’s Day present and card give End Game character aspects we’d not seen back when the families of spies were neither seen nor heard. <br /><br />Another challenge—and opportunity-- for Goldberg are Westen’s trademark “When you’re a spy” monologues. Westen’s first-person observations on spycraft give us alleged insights into what secret agents are doing out in the wilds, while at the same time giving Goldberg a chance to expand into areas scriptwriters can’t. (Does anyone really think any spy ever knew or used all the things Westen describes?) Meaning, the spy tidbits have to come quickly and not take up too much screen time on TV, but Goldberg’s monologues allow us to hear Michael’s thoughts and reactions to what is happening around him. I thought this was a bit more memorable in The Fix where Westen admitted feelings about Fi we can only infer from their on-screen chemistry. But there are choice scenes in End Game, notably the epilogue where Michael has to endure bonding time with Mom and a New Age therapist. A moment when Michael begins musing about his circumstances saying “When you’re no longer a spy . . .” <br /><br />Speaking of Fi, I think she’s the least tapped resource on Burn Notice, whether in the scripts or novels. True, her particular skill set, and her lust to employ it, don’t require a lot of exposition. She is in the bind of many a TV heroine, trapped in a “will they, won’t they” realm that keeps her on the romantic hook—spiced with a major dose of attitude. Still, in End Game, she’s a conscience for Michael, a mix of a woman who’s most comfortable when she gets a chance to shoot someone while chiding Michael about his inability to be responsive to simple human courtesy. It’s Sam Axe that really thrives as a supporting character in the Goldberg books. He’s a sly con, a deft handler of all the gadgets, a quick analyzer of situations, almost a one-man IMF team. In the novels, we can see what he’s doing to investigate things we rarely see onscreen where, normally, we only hear his telling Michael what he’s found out, not how he found out. This is due, in large part, to Goldberg’s admitted love for the character and the actor who plays him, Bruce Campbell. (For more on this point, see my interview, “Having A Burn Notice Jones This Week? Tod Goldberg Has the Fix for You” posted at WWW.Spywise.net.)<br /> <br />I admit, I think Goldberg was more successful bringing the Burn Notice formula to life in his first book. It seemed richer, full of more surprises. The second-time around, I was more aware this was essentially another episode in the life of Westen and Co. that, because of the limitations of tie-in projects, couldn’t move the overall story arc of the series forward. In tie-in novels, by definition, we can’t see any character development or relationship changes. So, like many of the episodes from the last season, the “Burn Notice” storyline is only in the background. What we get is the Westen team taking on a gang war in Florida after the family of Paolo Fornelli, Helmsman for a yacht in the Hurricane Cup, are kidnapped. Would the super-rich stoop so low as to rig a winner-takes-all race? Of course they would. But there’s more to the plot than boat racing. But this is no place for spoilers. I suppose one disappointment is the final scene when Michael and Fi are out at sea, going to the very boundaries of Michael’s official confinement. While zigzagging around on the water, they’re more observers of the action than full-fledged participants, mainly checking out the fruits of their elaborate sting operation. Or maybe I’m just too used to agents sparring with the villain up to the very last minute, then heroically leaping into the icy waters below. <br /><br />In spite of these quibbles, there’s no denying that it’s all here, the banter, the wry humor, Fi’s beloved explosions. Of course, explosions--the book begins with Michael driving past an exploding yacht, and he keeps moving so no one will think he had something to do with it. He will, of course. And so will you—if you’re a Burn Notice fan, this is one you won’t want to miss. If you’re not already a fan of the show, well, shame on you, and check this book out after spending a few happy hours with the DVDs of Seasons 1 and 2. Then The End Game will be waiting for you.<br /><br />---<br />For other articles, interviews, and reviews from the author of The Encyclopedia of TV Spies, check out all the features at—<br /><br />WWW.Spywise.net<br /><br />Ordering information for Burn Notice: The End Game can be found at:<br /><br />www.amazon.com/Burn-Notice-Game-Tod-Goldberg/dp/0451226763The Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-4101695972681586752008-03-19T16:29:00.000-07:002008-03-19T16:30:22.156-07:00"Blood Under the Bridge": A Review of The Company“Blood Under the Bridge”: A Review of The Company<br /> (Sony Home Video, 2007)<br /><br />by Wesley Britton<br /><br />Time Capsules <br /><br />While his 1962 play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf had nothing to do with the Cold War, one phrase from Edward Albee’s award-winning script--“blood under the bridge”--can easily be used to describe the residue left behind from what the intelligence agencies of both East and West had inflicted on each other for over 40 years. In retrospect, there was considerable real and metaphorical “blood under the bridge” in the proxy wars, inter-agency turf wars, moles, traitors, defectors, and para-military operations from 1947 until the 1989 tearing down of the Berlin Wall. Bloodied remains include the reputations of the CIA and British Intelligence. There was the “blow back” and public failures of misbegotten adventures. Before the collapse of the U.S.S.R., there had been the Hollywood blacklists, civil rights violations during the 1960s, Congressional hearings into secret hanky-panky, and deaths of Western agents resulting from the betrayals of moles like Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen. Could all this blood be summarized in one book, one film, or—as in the case of TNT’s The Company, one miniseries?<br /><br />Judging from Norman Mailer’s sprawling 1991 Harlot’s Ghost, Mailer didn’t think one 1,000 page opus would do it. The first part of his saga—from the creation of the CIA to 1963—was as far as Mailer went in Part One of his uncompleted exploration. However, in 2002 Robert Littell's best-selling The Company: A Novel of the CIA dramatized events from the formation of the agency after World War II to the foiled 1991 coup to oust Soviet leader Mikail Gorbochov by tracing the professional and private lives of three generations of agents on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Choosing watershed moments from each decade, Litell brought the careers of actual operatives and directors from Allen Dulles, James Jesus Angleton, Richard Helms, and William Casey into his dramatization of the covert world. Litell's own fictional characters were given creditability by the author's use of historic details from vacuum tube radios to watches that needed winding before the advent of new technologies. Readers saw the history of defectors and moles in Berlin, failed covert activities in Hungary in 1956 and Cuba in 1961, and the political jousting between elected policy makers and the intelligence community in the 1970s and 1980s. Graphic scenes of torture and assassinations, office debates over ends and means, and battlefield love affairs exhibited past behaviors while pointing to the future in scenes in Afghanistan and dead-drop exchanges between Robert Hanssen and his Russian handlers. In each section, the torch was passed from generation to generation, and with each change of characters a sense of purpose, history, and destiny made it clear the novelist saw the CIA as a force to be proud of and necessary in the ongoing battles between the good guys and those with less honorable intent. (note 1)<br /><br />The year before, director Tony Scott had offered a much tighter retelling of the agency’s history in his Spy Game, a feature film starring Robert Redford as Nathan D. Muir and Brad Pitt as Muir’s younger protégée, Tom Bishop. Centering on their father-son relationship, Scott showed how two generations of spies engaged in the “Great Game” in flashbacks filmed to look like the movie styles of the period in which they were set. Spy Game dramatized espionage in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and ironically concluded with the climactic moment of a suicide bomber bringing down a building in Beirut. (note 2) That incident signaled the coming shift in geopolitical conflicts, leaving behind the East vs. West duels to look ahead to the new War on Terror. “The Great Game” had had its beginning, middle, and end, so it would be new blood to take on a very different enemy. Still, in Spy Game, Harlot’s Ghost, and The Company, questions remained about the past. What had been the meaning of it all? Had the good guys won or left standing mainly by default?<br /> <br />As it happened, Tony Scott returned to these questions four years later through his brother, fellow filmmaker Ridley Scott. With screen writer Ken Nolan, Ridley had worked on Black Hawk Down (2001) and the two were reunited when producer John Calley began exploring the idea of making Littell’s The Company into a feature film. The Scott brothers and their collaborators determined a two-hour project wouldn’t be sufficient. They began expanding the project into a three-part, six-hour mini-series with director Mikael Salomon who’d helmed the 2004 TNT mini-series, The Grid. As he’d grown up in Berlin in the 1960s, he could bring a dimension of realism to the first segment when the producers considered using several directors for each part. Then, it was decided to use Salomon for all three parts for continuity even though each film would have very different elements. (note 3)<br /><br />Synopsis<br /><br />Broadcast on TNT from Aug. 5—Aug. 19, 2007, Nolan’s considerably streamlined script focused on three idealistic Yale graduates (class of 1950) and their evolution. Jack McAuliffe (Chris O'Donnell) and Leo Kritzky (Alessandro Nivola) were recruited into the newly created CIA. Russian-born Yevgeny Tsipin (Rory Cochrane), who likes Americans but hates what the country stands for, is recruited into the KGB by Starik (Ulrich Thomsen), a spymaster planning to destroy America’s economy. (As they younger characters would have to age over forty years in the series, the actors were asked to shave their heads so different wigs could be used.)<br /><br />Setting up a relationship akin to that of Redford and Pitt in Spy Game, the first episode had McAuliffe and his mentor, Harvey Torriti, known as “The Sorcerer" (Alfred Molina) distressed to have their missions blown in Berlin in 1954. Torriti became certain there was a mole inside British intelligence leaking information and began setting traps to uncover him. At the same time, McAuliffe meets Lili, his principal informant and love interest (Alexandra Maria Lara) who’s feeding the CIA dis-information. Despite the disbelief of actual CIA counter-intelligence director James Jesus Angleton (Michael Keaton), Torriti’s scheme revealed MI-5 veteran Adrian “Kim” Philby (Tom Hollander) had been a KGB spy since the 1930s. Because Angleton had not seen through Philby’s “elegant artifice,” however, Philby was able to escape along with other members of his “Cambridge Spy Ring.” McAuliffe then tried to help Lili defect to the west before the KGB can take revenge for her mission being blown. Too late to save her, McAuliffe suspected her dis-information operation was one of the traps Torriti arranged to uncover Philby. He is correct, but Torriti denied the charge as the two toasted their mixed victory. <br /><br />In the more action-oriented second episode, McAuliffe was involved in both the 1956 Hungarian revolution (filmed in Budapest) and the 1961 Bay of Pigs fiasco (shot in Puerto Rico). In Hungary (a setting that hadn’t been included in the first feature film script), the secret police captured McAuliffe when he tried to encourage local resistance to the Communist government. To get him out, Torriti let the Russians know if anything happened to the CIA agent, dead KGB operatives would be the result. After he is freed, McAuliffe learns he’d been captured due to a leak in the agency by a Soviet mole code-named “Sasha.” But he becomes resentful when the Hungarian revolution, spurred on by his labors and Western radio broadcasts, was crushed by Russian tanks as the American government refused to support their own propaganda with military power.<br /><br />This circumstance repeats when McAuliffe is sent to work with Cuban rebels being trained to invade their home country while Toritti sets up failed plots to kill Castro. McAuliffe is in Cuba during the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion and is angered when his government, again, failed to back up its own rhetoric with military support. We see the consequences in two very different conversations. On the Cuban beach, Roberto Escalona (Raoul Bova), a Cuban-born resistance fighter, tells McAuliffe he must leave despite his team being massacred as no American body should be found to discredit the invasion as being anything but true patriots seeking to take back their country. Back in Washington, Senator J. William Fulbright (Richard Blackburn) argues with CIA director Allen Dulles (Cedric Smith), saying the U.S. can’t complain about Russian involvement in other nations when the CIA was doing the same.<br /><br />The first hour of the much praised third part focused on Michael Keaton’s portrayal as chain-smoking James Jesus Angleton and his obsession to uncover “Sasha.” The second half dealt with the revelations that brought the careers of Jack McAuliffe, Leo Kritzky, and Yevgeny Tsipin to their various climaxes. In a long, tense interrogation, Angleton grills Leo Kritzky as all the signs point to his guilt, but he is seemingly vindicated and freed. Then, mirroring the friendship of Angleton and Philby, McAuliffe learns his old friend Kritsky was indeed the traitor responsible for all his failed missions. By the series end, McAuliffe has become a lonely, childless veteran uncertain what he has accomplished. Yevgeny Tsipin learns his mission had been so ill-considered—that of bankrupting the U.S. economy—that his life’s work had only resulted in only one bad day for Wall Street. In the final moments, as the Cold War winds down, McAuliffe and Toritti discuss the meaning of their careers—despite the failures, the good guys won in the end. Or did they?<br /><br />Evaluating the Series<br /><br />The distinguished international cast featured actors able to mimic the mannerisms of historical personages, notably Tom Hollander who recreated Kim Philby’s famous stutter. (In 2003, Hollander had played another member of Philby’s ring, Guy Burgess, in the mini-series, The Cambridge Spies.) As with the 2006 film The Good Shepherd, which dealt with some of the same time period and themes, most critics recognized the series was more drama than history. In The Company, for example, Kim Philby’s cover was blown in 1954—in fact, he wasn’t discovered until 1963. While the producers said the film didn’t affirm the CIA but rather conveyed their respect for the lives of its agents, some reviewers noted the look back at the Cold War revealed that the duels between the CIA and KGB did not end with any clear-cut victors. <br /><br /> In Oct. 2007, the well-regarded miniseries was released by Sony Home Pictures on DVD and became available for download. Are the six-hours worthy of three evenings of your life?<br /><br />Absolutely. As many have noted, the tone and pace of each episode is quite different, and each part can be viewed as stand-alone episodes or, better, in sequence. Some have complained the second film, with half set in Hungary, the second in Cuba, doesn’t have much character development. (note 4) Perhaps not, but each half of this film mirrors and reinforces the themes of the other—that while successive administrations were willing to give the CIA various marching orders to stir the Cold War pot, U.S. presidents weren’t willing to go to the brink of nuclear war. But Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy had few qualms about inciting revolutions that left behind “blood under the bridge” in European streets and on tropical beaches. This, after all, is what kept the Cold War from becoming hot—contained battles that never led to a full scale holocaust.<br /><br />True enough, the miniseries can’t match the complexity of the novel and the book remains one of the classics of all spy literature. But whether or not the events retold here are remembered history for older viewers or a Cliff’s Notes overview for younger watchers, the mini-series is heads above most other made-for-TV espionage productions. I’d deem it far superior to The Good Shepherd in terms of both character development and complexity. Highly recommended.<br /><br />Notes<br /><br />1. See Britton, Wesley. Beyond Bond: Spies in Film and Fiction (Praeger Pub., 2005). P. 209. <br /><br />2. A review of Spy Game is included in my “THE INDISPENSIBLES: THE BEST 30 SPY FILMS OF ALL TIME” posted at this website.<br /><br />3. Many details used here came from the interviews included on the 2007 DVD extras.<br /><br />4. Useful, and informative reviews of the series include:<br /><br />Eliason, Marcus. “TNT's `The Company' an ambitious effort.” Aug. 2, 2007. Accessed: Feb. 12, 2008. <br />http://www.tnt.tv/series/thecompany/<br /><br />Elber, Lynn. “Alfred Molina turns spy in `The Company.'” AP News. July 25, 2007. Accessed. Feb. 12, 2008.<br />http://www.tnt.tv<br /><br />For more reviews, interviews, essays, and explorations into literary, film, and TV spies, check out the other files posted at<br /><br />WWW.Spywise.netThe Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-2308603148979358412008-03-01T16:17:00.000-08:002008-03-01T16:18:39.137-08:00Geoffrey Jenkins, His Lost 007 Thriller, and the Hunt for a Continuation NovelistGeoffrey Jenkins, His Lost 007 Thriller, and the Hunt for a Continuation Novelist<br /><br />By Ronald Payne<br /><br />Editor’s Note: The item below is very unique. First, it is an appreciation of neglected thriller writer Geoffrey Jenkins and his connections with Ian Fleming. Then, Ron Payne sheds some light into the history of the never published James Bond continuation novel, Per Fine Ounce. Finally, Ron makes an interesting appeal to thriller writers, biographers, and film makers—there’s a hot franchise waiting for some creative minds.<br /><br />--- <br /><br />Of course, everyone knows about the fantastic world of agent 007 and his creator, Ian Lancaster Fleming. It is still hard for me to believe that the man who gave me such joyful and exciting reading as a teenager will soon be honored in centenary celebrations for his extraordinarily influential career.<br /><br />However, Fleming did more than simply write “some of the livingest” thrillers ever created, in the words of British author O.F. Snelling who wrote about James Bond in his Double O Seven—James Bond Under the Microscope. Fleming also opened the door for his protégée at The Sunday Times, Geoffrey Jenkins, who created one of the most popular thrillers of his era, 1959's A Twist of Sand. What Fleming and Jenkins shared in common was the ability to project a reader forward into the most breathtaking adventure with what seems effortless aplomb. Jenkins's hero,<br /><br />Commander Geoffrey Peace, is every bit as charismatic as agent “double-0-seven.” If one does not believe this, keep in mind, Peace was first portrayed in the 1966 film of A Twist of Sand by the British actor, Richard Johnson, who was producer Cubby Broccoli’s<br />second choice for Bond, after Cary Grant had graciously turned down the role, stating: "I can only play James Bond in one film and not a series." (Grant was best man at Broccoli's wedding to wife Dana in Beverly Hills in 1959, the same year A Twist of Sand was published to widespread critical accolades, both here and in the UK. In England,<br />the novel was an instant bestseller and Ian Fleming threw his name into the hat when pushing Jenkins's future as a “master of suspense.”)<br /><br />Geoffrey Jenkins, like Fleming, had read the thrillers of John Buchan (The 39 Steps and Green Mantle), H.C. McNeil's "Bulldog Drummond" series, written under the pen name “Sapper,” and the works of Dornford Yates, featuring that dare devil adventurer, Jonah Mansel. What set A Twist of Sand apart from other books of the 1950s and early 1960s is that Jenkins intentionally updated the formula of his predecessors, just as Fleming had done only a few years earlier in such books as Casino Royale and From Russia, With Love.<br /><br />As Fleming predicted, Geoffrey Jenkins was a master from the start. A Twist of Sand is, perhaps, his best written novel and would have been an ideal vehicle for a Hitchcock film. Jenkins, though a native of South Africa, lived in London and shared many of Hitchcock's views on how thrillers should be presented. As both a book and film, A Twist of Sand had all the ingredients. Greed. Gold. Bad guys who really are sinister and frightening. Yes, girls. On screen, we saw a beautiful and passionate blonde portrayed by Honor Blackman (“Pussy Galore" of Goldfinger and Cathy Gale of the pre-Diana Rigg Avengers.) And, of course, the darkly rugged Richard Johnson as Commander Geoffrey Peace, an actor who went on to play Bulldog Drummond in the technicolor films, Deadlier Than The Male and Some Girls Do. It’s high time, I should think, that Commander Peace gets a new lease on life.<br /><br />I have been granted the great privilege of becoming the Literary Agent for the Estate of Geoffrey Jenkins. Indeed, it is a true honour for me. David Jenkins, the son of the novelist, is a wonderful gentleman and his wisdom regarding everything pertaining to his father's legacy has been most inspiring. He and I are in agreement about one thing that remains steadfast between us: "The novels of Geoffrey Jenkins, most of which are now out of print, need to be reissued by the best publishers in America and the U.K.. In addition, to me, it is extraordinary that Geoffrey Jenkins's original publishers,<br />HarperCollins, have not searched for a continuation novelist to keep the Geoffrey Peace character alive and robust--not to say, kicking. So, the Geoffrey Jenkins Estate and I are looking for the best thriller writer in the world to write the next Commander Geoffrey Peace novel. No easy task.<br /><br /><br />Per Fine Ounce<br /><br />Which brings us to Per Fine Ounce, the lost Geoffrey Jenkins James Bond novel. In 1966, Geoffrey Jenkins was contracted by Glidrose Productions, Ltd. to write the first James Bond Continuation Novel under the pen name “Robert Markham,” later used by Kingsley Amis when he published 1968's Colonel Sun. Anne Fleming, Ian's widow, had some reservations about copyright problems if a continuation novelist were brought in. Peter Fleming, Ian's brother, was the top man on the board of directors at Glidrose (now Ian Fleming Publications) when the Jenkins contract was finally drawn-up and signed. The novel, which would have taken 007 to South Africa, would have dealt with gold smugglers in much the same way Diamonds Are Forever dealt with the diamond pipeline. Peter Janson-Smith, who was Ian Fleming's British agent and one of Glidrose’s editorial directors remembered that the Per Fine Ounce manuscript was rejected, though he was never clear on exactly who did the rejecting or why. There had been some concerns as to who would publish the book, whether it would be Fleming's original publisher--Jonathan Cape, Ltd.--or Jenkins's publisher, William Collins and Sons or some combination of the two joining forces for maximum exposure and leverage in the literary market place of 1967 England.<br /><br />The rejection created hard feelings between James Bond film producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli toward the board of directors at Glidrose. In 1979, I asked Reginald Barkshire why Cubby Broccoli had not filmed the continuation novel, Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amis. Mr. Barkshire--a delightful man and generous with his time with me, said simply: "Mr. Broccoli will never film a continuation novel." Before that statement, Saltzman and Broccoli had every intention of filming the Jenkins novel. In the meantime, Geoffrey Jenkins's second Commander Geoffrey Peace thriller, Hunter Killer, was published in America and England. In the opening pages, Commander Peace is believed dead. His body is on board a British nuclear sub. It has not been confirmed, but has been widely speculated that Harry Saltzman bought this scene from Hunter Killer for the 1967 James Bond film, You Only Live Twice, as some small recompense to Geoffrey Jenkins after the rejection of Per Fine Ounce.<br /><br /> As the agent for the estate of Geoffrey Jenkins, I am now on a mystery hunt. The original manuscript of Per Fine Ounce has simply disappeared. David Jenkins and I now possess 18 pages of the original story and it is quite good. However, we are missing some 300 odd pages of what might have been the best James Bond thriller after Fleming. We are searching the archives of many universities and there is still the possibility that the Harry Saltzman Estate might have a copy of the unpublished manuscript. After all, it was Harry Saltzman who personally championed Jenkins's story to Glidrose. It was Saltzman, who more than anyone else, wanted to film Per Fine Ounce.<br /><br />A New Franchise?<br /><br />Well, where does all this lead? I have had several New York publishers contact me about publishing Per Fine Ounce. It cannot be published as a James Bond novel, of course, because of copyrights and trademarks belonging to Ian Fleming Publications. However, "Commander Geoffrey Peace" can be easily substituted for "Commander James Bond" and what an exciting story we would have, if the pages David Jenkins and I possess are any indication of the skill and high level of literary craftsmanship. Jenkins was<br />in top form in 1966. Some of his best thrillers were still ahead of him.<br /><br />So the extant pages of Per Fine Ounce offer us all an intriguing possibility. If a continuation novelist were to pick up the gauntlet, a thrilling new story with a heavy dose of Jenkins with a dash of Fleming could excite readers once again. At the same time, there should definitely be a biography of Geoffrey Jenkins, not only one of the world's greatest thriller writers, but one of South Africa's greatest novelists. After all, Jenkins's books sold 50,000,000 copies during his life time and there is still life in his creation, Commander Geoffrey Peace, not only in literature, but also potential films.<br /><br />So, as literary agent for the Jenkins estate, I would like to hear from all serious writers and their agents. Once contacted, we will do our best to read your proposal in a timely manner. We are looking for three things at the moment:<br /><br /> (1.) a good continuation novel, based upon the Commander Geoffrey Peace character, which means the writer must read A Twist of Sand and Hunter Killer and be previously published by a commercial house.<br /><br />(2.) we are interested in a professional biographer for an in depth biography of Geoffrey Jenkins.<br /><br /> (3.) we are interested in working with a studio/film director with a track record in Hollywood or London for a proposed film series based on the Peace character, ala James Bond. Producer/director/writer<br />credentials are essential. We will be blunt about this: a producer, director, screen writer with attached 'financing' will be given carte blanche treatment.<br /><br />David Jenkins and I are big fans of<br />www.spywise.net<br /> and will keep all Geoffrey Jenkins fans posted.<br /><br /> Ronald Payne for The Geoffrey Jenkins Estate<br />wr.payne@hotmail.com<br /><br /><br />To learn more about Ronald Payne, check out his “Untold Tales of 007” articles as well as his archives of O. F. Snelling material in the “James Bond Files” at<br /><br />WWW.Spywise.netThe Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-42834592938813330662008-02-09T08:22:00.000-08:002008-02-09T08:23:35.208-08:00Sleepers, Moles, and The Piglet Files: British Spy Comedies on U.S. DVDIn America, TV spy comedies have not always been a rich barrel of laughs. Of course, the bar was set very high in 1965 with Get Smart!, the standard by which everything since has been measured. We got the forgotten Double Life of Henry Phyfe and occasionally short-lived offerings like the Canadian produced Adderly. Mostly, we got a plethora of children’s shows from Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp to The Adventures of Dynamo Duck. Not until Seth MacFarlane’s 2005 animated American Dad! did U.S. viewers get another long-running half-hour satire of the espionage genre. In the main, TV spy humor has been an ingredient in cliché ridden hour-long “dram-odies” of varying quality as in NBC’s 2007 recycling of old premises—Chuck-- and USA’s clever summer series, Burn Notice.<br /><br />Not so in England. Of course, they’ve created the lion’s share of the best spy dramas ever aired from Danger Man to The Sandbaggers to Reilly, Ace of Spies. They’ve given us the templates for the best in escapist fare from The Avengers to Department S to The Saint. Along the way, U.K. studios have produced nuggets few Yanks have seen or even heard of beyond the devoted followers of cult TV. How about Jason King or The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs? In Britain, they’ve enjoyed DVD releases of many of their homegrown favorites like Man in a Suitcase and The Ghost Squad. They even beat Hollywood to the punch, issuing The Man From U.N.C.L.E. movies still not available on this side of the pond.<br /><br />But, of late, some notable comic DVD nuggets have come out suitable for region 1 players, available for purchase or rental via Netflix. Here are two offerings worthy of any lover of witty yarns and satirical digs into the ribs of British—and American—intelligence.<br /><br />---<br />The Piglet Files<br /><br />For decades, PBS stations have thrived on Saturday and Sunday evenings re-broadcasting classic British sit-coms. Monty Python, Good Neighbors, To the Manor Born, and Keeping up Appearances have all enjoyed long shelf-lives and been the focus of many an annoying pledge drive. But public broadcasting missed a good bet by not offering The Piglet Files.<br /><br />Originally broadcast from Sept. 7, 1990 to May 10, 1992, 21 half-hour episodes were produced by London Weekend Television. For three years, ITV aired 7 of these satires each season centered on gawky gadget expert Peter "Piglet" Chapman (Nicholas Lyndhurst). Chapman was drawn into the world of espionage at a time when the Cold War was winding down and Britain’s professional spies were falling behind in technical competence.<br /><br />Billed as “A spy in search of a clue,” Chapman was not the only secret agent worthy of this description. In the pilot, “A Question of Intelligence,” aristocratic MI5 chief Major Maurice Drummond (Clive Francis) became exasperated with his agents’ ineptitude in surveillance missions. When asked to monitor one suspected home of a Russian spy, for example, they discover they are not only watching the wrong house, they are watching it from inside the very house supposed to be under surveillance. When asked to place a bug inside the wall of another home, his agents mortar in the receiver instead of the microphone.<br /><br />In scripts by Brian Leveson and Paul Minett, Drummond decided to solve these problems by having local university professor Chapman fired from his job so he has no choice but to agree to become a technological trainer for the agency. Delighted to become a spy of sorts, Chapman insists on a code-name, even though no one else is using one. MI5 finds the last available designation—the embarrassing “Piglet.” Chapman would quickly rue the day he accepted that moniker.<br /><br /> Modest and average in intelligence, Chapman was smarter than most of his co-workers, but only by degrees. They included Major Andrew Maxwell (John Ringham) and the buffoonish Dexter (Michael Percival). Piglet’s wife, Sarah (Serena Evans), was convinced her husband was having affairs as he tried to keep his secret life hidden from her. Throughout the series, she found herself screaming in frustration when she can’t get simple answers to simple questions, even when she is kidnapped and no one will tell her why.<br /><br />Outside of Get Smart!, not many spy shows have a laugh track—or deserve one. But with a mix of witty dialogue, Unusual scenarios, and characters that turn the realm of John Le Carre on its head, it’s hard not to join in with the taped audience response. Perhaps the post-Cold War scripts are a bit dated, but only by a degree or two.<br /><br /> The major quibble I had with the May 2003 DVD release of the first season from Bfs Entertainment is that, for some reason, each disc only has three or four episodes. Why not all 21 episodes in a full box set? Despite this strange packaging, The Piglet Files is well worth exploring and adding to your espionage collection.<br /><br />Trivia notes: The original Music for the series was provided by Rod Argent, a former hitmaker with the groups The Zombies and Argent. An accomplished caricaturist, Clive Francis’s humorous drawings of himself and Lyndhurst can be seen in the show's credits.<br /><br />---<br />Sleepers<br /><br />In the case of Sleepers, PBS didn’t miss the boat. From Oct. 27 to Nov. 17, 1991, this high-quality miniseries was aired on Masterpiece Theatre after it was broadcast on the BBC in the spring of that year. In a far different vein from Piglet, the satirical plot of Sleepers is more like a well-done adaptation of a well-written novel. Still, like Piglet, it satirizes the post-Cold War intelligence realm in which international spy agencies don’t<br />seem to know exactly what the adversary is doing—or why.<br /><br />In the first episode, “”The Awakening,” an opening montage use stock footage from the 1960s (showing then Prime Minister Harold Wilson, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev among others) to evoke the year 1966. Then, 25 years later, a hidden room is discovered beneath the Kremlin, revealing a complete recreation of a 1960s British town.<br /><br />In the script by writers John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch, the puzzled Reds investigate the room and uncovered a long-forgotten plot by Andrei Zorin (Michael Gough) to place two sleeper agents in Britain, one in the industrial north, the other in the commercial South. From the point of this discovery, a chain of events spins out in many comic directions involving the Russian secret services, the American CIA, and the British MI-5. All of them are uncertain of what is happening with many misinterpretations of what they’re finding. <br /><br />At the center of the storm are the two agents who, after 25 years, have become British in every way and have no desire to be KGB agents. Vladimir Zelenski is now Albert Robinson (Warren Clarke), a Union official at a factory in Eccles, happily married with three children. Sergei Rublev has become Jeremy Coward (Nigel Havers), a great capitalist success in London. Meanwhile, Zoran has been living in an insane asylum and still carries his secrets.<br /><br />Then, one of Robinson’s children accidentally activated his antique radio in his attic, and the sleeper was surprised to hear a Russian voice commanding him to reactivate his life as a spy. He ran to meet with his old contact, and the pair learn Major Nina Grishina (Joanna Kanska) is flying to London to bring them home. Her arrival prompted both the CIA and MI5 to investigate what the KGB is after. Things just don’t add up. Why would two ordinary Brits do a Cossack dance on a dam after throwing an old radio into the water? Why is Robinson determined that he keep track of his daughter’s toy monkey, “Morris,” which was left on his car seat when he left home? Why is a top security KGB agent poking around sleepy English hamlets and why does the CIA care? This is no place for spoilers—suffice it to say Acorn Media released the mini-series on DVD and it’s a genuine nugget.<br /><br />For trivia buffs: Warren Clarke’s other espionage roles included work for The Avengers, Callan, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. <br /><br />Notes<br /><br />The Piglet Files<br /><br />According to<br /><br />www.amazon.com/Piglet-Files/dp/B00007BI1W<br /><br />The Piglet Files is currently out of stock. However, I can attest that<br /><br />www.netflix.com/Movie/The_Piglet_Files/60030901<br /><br />has the series for rent. Another favorable review is posted at:<br /><br />www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/pigletfiles.php -<br /><br />Sleepers<br /><br />Amazon has both used and new copies for sale:<br /><br />www.amazon.com/Sleepers-Nigel-Havers/dp/B000L2127W<br /><br />And Netflix has the two discs for rent.<br /><br />---<br />For other reviews of TV, literary, film, and even radio spies—check out—<br /><br />WWW.Spywise.netThe Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-82501215124256981992007-10-19T17:41:00.001-07:002007-10-19T17:41:35.386-07:00All About Super Spy Cars: And a New CHITTY, CHITTY, BANG-BANG Coming in 2008<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br />May 2008 is going to be a feast for all fans of Ian Fleming. As part of the James Bond author’s centenary celebrations, we’ll be seeing Sebastian Faulks’ Devil May Care, the first 007 continuation novel since the Raymond Benson series; Samantha Weinberg’s The Moneypenny Diaries: Final Fling; Kev Walker’s graphic novelisation of Charlie Higson’s SilverFin; not to mention an exhibition dedicated to the 007 author.<br /><br />On top of all this, Fleming’s 1964 classic for children, Chitty, Chitty, Bang-Bang, will be reprinted in a new hard-cover collector’s edition complete with original illustrations by John Burningham. Now, while visions of Dick Van Dyke and the strains of the Disneyesque soundtrack fill your head, it’s worth noting that this tale of a flying car does indeed have connections to the James Bond universe. Before dismissing this new release as but a literary footnote to the legacy of Ian Lancaster Fleming, it’s important to remember the significance of super-cars in the super-spy realm of the 1960s and the contribution Chitty, Chitty, Bang-Bang made to children’s literature.<br /><br />Signature Cars <br /><br />Four-wheel transport has been part of the spy milieu from the beginning. Back in the 1930s, "Clubland" writer Dornford Yates, pen name for Major William Mercer, established many staples of future spy adventures. For example, his main characters included Jonah Manscell and William Chandos who set out on European adventures in a Rolls-Royce equipped with staff and customized caches and secret compartments hiding rifles, revolvers, maps, water-proof clothes, medicine chests, grave digging tools, handcuffs, and passports. In his Rolls, Jonah carried torches for flashing messages, ropes for hanging crooks, rubber tubes for gassing criminals, and spare clothes to lend girls whose own attire had been drenched. (note 1)<br /><br />Later, in 1961, four years before Goldfinger made the Aston-Martin DB5 the most famous car in the world, the producers of The Saint, wanting to give Their new TV series a modern touch, contacted several European sports car manufacturers seeking a Saint trademark. As reported in Spy Television (Praeger, 2004), Volvo was so interested in having its P-1800 line on British television, the company flew in a white model from Sweden for the show as no other white Volvos were yet available in England. The Volvo with its license plate reading “ST1,” alongside Leslie Charteris’ haloed stick figure, became a signature icon for The Saint. The Volvo turned out to be a precursor to the similar uses of signature cars in The Avengers with Major John Steed driving classic Bentleys and Rolls--representing England's past--and Emma Peel's powder-blue Lotus Elan--representing the pop culture of the then flashy present.<br /><br />In fact, cars had important roles in nearly every television show featuring secret agents. In the opening sequence of The Prisoner, Patrick Mcgoohan's unnamed agent was seen driving a Lotus Super Seven series III with the license plate, "KAR120C." This Lotus had special significance in one episode, "Many Happy Returns," in which viewers learned Number Six had built the car himself. (note 2)<br /><br /> When Gene Barry's Amos Burke moved from being a police detective in Burke's Law into Amos Burke, Secret Agent in 1965, viewers saw the millionaire's Rolls in each episode and as the backdrop for the closing titles. In the '60s, fans of old-time radio finally got to see "The Black Beauty," the armored conveyer of The Green Hornet, a TV spin-off of Batman, another series featuring its own special "Batmobile" designed by Chuck Barris. Some series, like The Man From U.N.C.L.E., had special cars created for the show, but ended up using them more for publicity than in the actual aired episodes. (note 3)<br /><br /> Even series set long before the advent of modern transportation--notably The Wild Wild West and the later Secret Adventures of Jules Verne--used fantastic machines to spice up the settings. James West and Artemus Gordon rode in their special train, "The Wanderer," equipped with trick pool tables, hidden telegraph machines, and guns in every nook and cranny. When Jules Verne took off for his 19th century travels in the astonishingly underappreciated 1999-2001 Sci-Fi Channel series, he flew in the dirigible, "The Aurora," a special airship equipped with a lavish laboratory and cozy living quarters. <br /><br />Classic Motors<br /><br />But back to Ian Fleming. To begin, like his twelve James Bond novels and short story collections, Chitty, Chitty, Bang-Bang: The Magic Car (1964) reflected Fleming's well-known interest in mechanical gadgets. In his introduction to his only children's book, Fleming said his story was based on the original Chitty, Chitty, Bang-Bang, a car built by Count Zborowski in 1920 on his estate near Canterbury, England. Fleming said the unusual car had a pre-1914 chain drive, 75 horsepower, and a Mercedes chassis installed with a six-cylinder military engine used in German zeppelins. It had a grey steel body with a large eight-foot hood and weighed four tons. According to Fleming, in1921 and 1922, this car won several racing awards until it was wrecked in an accident. Now that's the sort of information any Bond fan should recognize as trademark Ian Fleming. (note 4)<br /><br />While I don't want to overstate the case, CCBB does indeed offer insights into Fleming's creative process. For example, with the exception of The Spy Who Loved Me (1962), a unique first-person narrative from a female point of view, all the James Bond stories were told from the third person. While CCBB is framed in the voice of a narrator retelling a story he has overheard, Chitty is also primarily a third-person narrative. To give his story a lighter tone than the Bond books, Fleming used onomatopoeia with a chatty, rambling, informal style. As many have said, Fleming's rich descriptions and use of meticulous details in his imaginative Bond books lent an air of credibility to his adventures despite the obviously fantastical elements. In Chitty, he merged this trademark eye for detail with lighthearted humor far different from his other, darker works.<br /><br /> But there is a slice of this in CCBB--the magic car and its owners didn't fly around and stop at enchanted places. Instead, the Pott family finds a cave full of explosives, are chased by "Joe the Monster" and his criminal gang, and are forced to help in a robbery. Beneath the innocence, the underworld finds its way into Fleming's entertainment for the young. Still, Fleming found an appropriate balance between danger and warm family themes. In this book, the descriptive language is toned down to avoid any details of scientific solemnity adding weight to a fantasy. Instead, John Burmingham's drawings and paintings, both small and full-page, enliven the reading experience.<br /><br />From the beginning, Chitty, Chitty, Bang-Bang found favor with critics, parents, and children. Of course, the initial popularity of CCBB was supported by the then intense interest in the "Bond Bonanza" and the author who started it all. Still, the book earned praise on its own merits. In 1964, mystery writer Rex Stout claimed four out of five children would love the story, most preferring to trade in their parents for Commander Pott. Library journals universally praised the book along with John Birmingham's illustrations as a story for all ages. Some reviewers felt the story was more appropriate for boys.<br /><br />Flying On Screen<br /><br />But this critical interest in Fleming's book didn't carry over to the movie. In 1968, United Artists and Albert Broccoli, one of the producers of the James Bond films, decided to create a movie-musical version of Chitty, Chitty, Bang-Bang using the formula that had earlier made Disney's Mary Poppins a financial windfall and a critical success. Drawing from the Poppins cast, versatile entertainer Dick Van Dyke starred in CCBB along with singer Sally Ann Howes as Commander Pott and a non-Fleming character, Truly Scrumptious.<br /><br /> Merchandising included a popular theme song and soundtrack record album. Random House issued a print movie tie-in version of the story, The Adventures of Chitty, Chitty, Bang-Bang, illustrated with photographs from the film. Writer Albert G. Miller's book version of the screenplay kept the Fleming tone and flavor but added new characters and adventures, including Grandpa Pott and Truly Scrumptious, a romantic interest for the widower, Commander Pott. Also in 1968, Random House issued Meet Chitty, Chitty, Bang-Bang: The Wonderful Magic Car by Al Perkins targeted for readers under the age of ten.<br /><br /> But virtually every critic of the decade panned the film, saying the project didn't deliver much of the magic and humanity of the original book. Ironically, decades later, the film helped renew interest in Fleming's effort in 1993 with the video issue of the musical. In 1996, it was reported that one scene in the movie, in which Jemima Pott refuses candy from a dangerous criminal, helped teach children the dangers of accepting gifts from strangers.<br /><br />But the saga wasn’t over. On April 16, 2002, Chitty, Chitty, Bang-Bang debuted as a stage musical at the London Palladium theatre with six new songs by the<br />Sherman Brothers who’d written the original academy award<br /> nominated title and score for the film. The London run ended on September 2005 after a<br />Broadway production opened on April 28 of that year at the<br />Hilton Theatre in New York City. Nominated for six Tony Awards, winning none, this production closed on December 31, 2005. Touring companies continued to do shows throughout the UK.<br /><br />By this time, it seemed clear super-cars belonged to children’s entertainment and no longer spy adventures for adults. In 1977, we saw Roger Moore’s Lotus Esprit S1 turn into a submarine, and in 2001 Bond had a BMW Z8 he could control with his cell phone. But when Pierce Brosnan’s 007 raced around in the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish equipped with a cloaking device that made it invisible in Die Another Day (2002), reviewers and fans agreed—it was time for James Bond to find a new direction. It had become time to get back to the basics, the fundamentals created by Ian Fleming.<br /><br />The Book<br /><br />For those who haven't read Chitty, Chitty, Bang-Bang, here's a synopsis:<br /><br />In the first pages of Chitty, Chitty, Bang-Bang, we meet the eccentric Pott family. Jeremy and Jemima are eight-year-old twins living with their mother, Mimsie, and their father, Commander Pott. He's a dreamy and unsuccessful explorer and inventor known in the neighborhood as "Crackpot Pott." We learn they have a lineage going back to the Romans and that they live beside a lake near a turnpike near Canterbury, England. They are poor and can't afford a car.<br /><br />Then, the remarkable Commander invents "Crackpot's Whistling Sweets," a toy/candy he sells to a candy maker, Lord Scrumptious, who buys the invention for one thousand pounds. With the funds to buy a car, the Potts discover an old wreck on its way to the junkyard, a car that was clearly once so special the entire family falls in love with it on sight. Magical properties can't be missed when the car's license plate says "GENI." Commander Pott repairs the car, and hears the characteristic start-up noises of "chitty chitty bang bang" which becomes the car's name. The special car can go up to one hundred miles an hour, but the Commander worries when he finds the car can make improvements on its own at night. Chitty has sprouted rows of knobs Pott cannot explain. <br /><br /> On their way to a picnic, Chitty and the Potts get bogged down in slow traffic. The personified car gets irritated and gives the Commander instructions on the mysterious knobs. Commander Pott does as the car asks, and "Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang" suddenly grows wings and flies over the other cars.<br /><br /> In part two, the delighted Potts land on a sandbar in the English Channel. After picnicking, all five family members, now including Chitty, doze off and nearly drown until Chitty warns everyone. The Potts flee as the car becomes a hover-craft, skimming over the water to France where they find shelter in a handy cave.<br /><br />The Potts explore the long cave, full of traps designed to scare visitors away, which leads to a secret underground warehouse full of boxes containing guns, bombs, and weapons. They find a paper saying the vault belongs to a famous criminal named Joe the Monster. Frightened but determined, the Potts light a fuse, drive out of the cave, and leave the explosives to blow up. Outside, Joe the Monster and three gangsters wait for them, but the car sprouts its wings and flies away to a hotel in Calais, France.<br /><br />Part 3 begins in France where the gangsters find the Potts and kidnap the twins. The children are forced to participate in a robbery of a candy store. The full family shows resolve and cooperation, and the twins are alert and trick the gang while their parents and "Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang" capture Joe's gang. The family earns rewards and flies off for new adventures. <br /><br />Notes<br /><br />1. See Richard Osbourne's Clubland Heroes (London: Constable and Co., 1953) pages 68 and 80.<br /><br />Peter Wolfe briefly looks at cars in Eric Amblers fiction on pages 21-22 in Alarms and Epitaphs: The Art of Eric Ambler (Bowling Green: Bowling Green UP, 1993). In Wolfe's opinion, Ambler uses cars and car crashes as a symbol of worrisome science and technology in the modern world.<br /><br />2. According to Prisoner fan "Wolfe, "KAR120C" was originally registered to the Lotus Dealer and "rented" for the opening credits of the show filmed for "Arrival". The super seven seen in "Many Happy Returns" was actually another Super Seven that used the same plate number, as the plate was property of the dealership - not the car. Wolf" says that the car used in "Arrival" ended up somewhere in South Africa but its actual whereabouts are unknown. Lotus no longer makes the Seven as it sold the rights to an American company in Georgia and its now called the Caterham Seven with the same basic design with a few modern changes (engine and suspension).<br /><br />For information about a new Canadian version of the car, see:<br /><br /> http://www.super7cars.com/<br /><br />There are several models available - a build it yourself kit and a good sized 1:18 scale die-case Super seven from a company by Kyosho. More info is at:<br /><br />http://www.caterham.co.uk/<br /><br />and<br /><br />http://www.autoweek.com/search/search_display.mv<br />port_code=autoweek&cat_code=rev<br />iews&content_code=07083334&Search_Type=STD&Search_ID=1915086&record=1<br /><br />"KAR120C" was also important in the Prisoner novel, Number Two by David McDaniel. See discussion in "Novelizing TV Spies" file at this website.<br /><br />3. An article with great photographs about the little-used Man From U.N.C.L.E. car can be found at:<br /><br />http://chadwick-whitlowenterprises.com/piranha/index.htm<br /><br />It discusses how AMT designer Gene Winfield was asked to come up with a futuristic car with gull-wing doors and special accessories intended for the series. Like the "Saint" Volvo, manufactures hoped exposure on television would promote their "Piranha" line of specialty models and kits. (Thanks to Bob Short for this info.) <br /><br />4. Much of this information came from my article on Chitty, Chitty, Bang-Bang for Masterplots II: Juvenile and Young Adult Literature (Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 1996). For those interested, that article stresses the educational value of the book. <br /><br /><br />For related articles, see<br /><br />WWW.Spywise.netThe Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-76492336626200092272007-10-14T09:42:00.000-07:002007-10-14T09:43:15.727-07:00Free Spybooks online: An Annotated Bibliography of Ebook Espionage<br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br />In August 2007, Spywise.net joined the list of websites offering a free spy book for download. In our case, we have available James Bond under the Microscope, the never-before-published revision of O. F. Snelling’s 1964 best-seller then known as James Bond: A Report. It’s in PDF format under the “James Bond Files” at:<br /><br />http://spywise.net/wbf/microscope.pdf<br /><br />While James Bond Under the Microscope is one of the few non-fiction espionage titles any reader can legitimately download for free, a number of websites offer a variety of classic novels now in the public domain. There are important yarns by the likes of John Buchan, James Fenimore Cooper, Joseph Conrad, and Eric Ambler. There’s also escapism in SF flavored adventures by E. Philipps Oppenheim and William Le Queux, as well as juvenile entertainment from both the 19th and 20th centuries. More recent titles include modern Spy-Fi as in a 2005 short story by Elizabeth Bear. And for those seeking historical facts, there’s everything from analysis of spycraft in World War I to a 2003 exploration of what the CIA did or didn’t do in Chile in 1970.<br /><br /> Below are lists of sources for these books and what they offer. We also include annotations for specific authors and titles when information may help guide new readers to what might be of most interest to them. In addition, we’ve added some details about any film versions adapted from the text. Much of this material is drawn from Wes Britton’s Beyond Bond: Spies in Film and Fiction (Praeger Pub., 2005) and Onscreen and Undercover: The Ultimate Book of Movie Espionage (Praeger Pub., 2006) where more in-depth discussions can be found.<br /><br />Note: We’ve taken care to only include books either in the public domain or are new publications posted by authors and sites giving all readers access to their offerings. Please alert us to any potential problems so we can delete any titles in violation of any copyright law. We also welcome any additional information, including short review material for future annotations. <br /><br />E-Book Sources<br /><br />Project Gutenberg<br />www.gutenberg.org <br /><br />Project Gutenberg is an extremely valuable source of thousands of public domain titles, many long out-of-print, many hard to find elsewhere. A number of other online sources are essentially catalogues that link to Project Gutenberg’s holdings.<br /><br />ManyBooks.net<br /><br />ManyBooks has “Free eBooks for your PDA, iPod, or eBook Reader . . . Thousands of free e-books available in multiple formats for PDAs.”<br /><br />In particular, they had 39 titles under the subject category of “Espionage.” One, at least, The Pathfinder by James Fenimore Cooper, is questionable. Many are duplicates of what Project Gutenberg offers, but some are only available at ManyBooks. For example, they offer non-fiction publications from the CIA.<br /><br />Diesel eBooks<br /><br />Diesel has a number of free titles, but they also offer many “espionage and intrigue” ebooks at very reasonable prices. Spy oriented selections can be seen at:<br /><br />www.diesel-ebooks.com/cgi-bin/category/FIC006000/Espionage-Intrigue.html<br /><br />FullBooks.com<br /><br />While holding many titles, this source is difficult to search by topic. Readers must look by title or author—all can be found doing the same with a Google search.<br /><br />5. Free Books <br />2020ok.com<br /><br />A directory of free book sources—can search by topic including “Spy Stories and Intrigue.”<br /><br />6. Fictionwise.com<br />www.fictionwise.com<br /><br />While this site claims to offer free e-books, I was able to only find listings of titles for minimal costs, so perhaps worth your time to check out. Note: most seem to come from the Romance genre.<br /><br /><br />---<br />Annotated Bibliography<br /><br />---<br />Ambler, Eric<br />Epitath for a Spy<br />2020ok.com link to the Internet Archive<br />www.archive.org<br /><br />From Beyond Bond:<br /><br />Eric Ambler's early bestsellers included Epitaph for a Spy (1938) and Journey into Fear (1940). Both transformed the genre from heroic stories into more complex and ironic tales of corruption, betrayal, and conspiracy . . . Epitaph for a Spy, in particular, was a major turning point in spy fiction as the theme of the innocent being blackmailed into government service was introduced. In this case, a photographer was threatened with deportation back to the Communist bloc if he didn't perform what turned out to be bungling duties.<br /><br />---<br />Angellotti, Marion Polk, 1894-1979 <br />The Firefly of France<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/3676<br />www.fullbooks.com/The-Firefly-Of-France4.html<br />manybooks.net/titles/angellotetext03fiofr10.html<br /><br />This 1918 book was made into a silent film the same year. In it, an American joined the French Aviation Corps and falls for a girl whose brother is the mysterious “Firefly.” False papers are given to the Germans to save the damsel in distress.<br /><br />---<br />Baden-Powell of Gilwell, Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, Baron, 1857-1941.<br />My Adventures as a Spy<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/15715<br />pinetreeweb.com/bp-adventure01 <br /><br />Written by the founder of the Boy Scouts, this short memoir is useful for anyone interested in espionage of the First World War. Baden-Powll discusses types of agents and operations along with lively descriptions of spy adventures.<br /><br />---<br />Bear, Elizabeth.<br />“Botticelli”<br />http://trashotron.com/agony/fiction/bear-botticelli.htm<br /><br />An 11 page 2005 short story by the noted SF author.<br /><br />---<br />Benson, E. F. (Edward Frederic), 1867-1940 <br />Crescent and Iron Cross<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/10881<br />manybooks.net/titles/bensonef1088110881-8.html<br /><br />Published in 1918, historian Benson recounts events in Turkey and Armenia during the First World War.<br /><br />---<br />Blasco Ibáñez, Vicente, 1867-1928 <br />Mare Nostrum, Our Sea Novel <br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/11697<br />www.fullbooks.com/Mare-Nostrum-Our-Sea-.html<br /><br />Spanish novel translated by Charlotte Brewster Jordan. <br /><br />---<br />Brandt, Johanna, 1877-1964<br />The Petticoat Commando Boer Women in Secret Service<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/20194<br /><br />---<br />Buchan, John, 1875-1940<br />Green Mantle<br />Mr. Standfast<br />The 39 Steps<br />(All titles listed available both at Project Gutenberg and ManyBooks.net)<br /><br />One of the important “Clubland Writers,” no novelist ever had as wide an influence as John Buchan. Alfred Hitchcock drew from him, and not only from The 39 Steps, the first of the four Richard Hannay novels. Buchan was certainly childhood reading for Ian Fleming and his generation. While the stories may now seem quaint and outdated, they remain enjoyable diversions for any spy buff, and contain many of the templates used in spy films and books to the present day.<br /><br />---<br />The Central Intelligence Agency Homepage<br />http://www.cia.gov<br /><br />The CIA offers numerous studies of varying lengths including full books which include:<br /><br /> Cia And The Vietnam Policymakers: Three Episodes, 1962-1968<br /> by Harold P. Ford<br /> Cia Assessments Of The Soviet Union: The Record Versus The Charges<br /> by Douglas J. Maceachin<br /> Getting To Know The President: Cia Briefings Of Presidential Candidates, 1952-1992<br /> by John L. Helgerson<br /> Interrorgation: The Cia's Secret Manual On Coercive Questioning<br /> by John Elliston<br /> Report To The President By The Commission On Cia Activities Within The United States<br /> by United States Commission On Cia Activities Within The United States<br /><br />---<br />Chesterton, G. k. (Gilbert Keith)<br />The Man Who Was Thursday<br />www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~mward/gkc/index.html<br /><br />Published in 1908, from Beyond Bond:<br /><br />While not the first spy novel some have claimed it to be, the fanciful story had more<br />undercover agents than most books of the era. In this case, one agent thinks he's<br />investigating a group of anarchists disguising themselves as anarchists because their<br />leader says that if anyone trumpets their beliefs out loud, no one will take them seriously.<br />Chesterton's spy joined the inner circle of seven scheming bombers, six of whom all turn<br />out to be police informants spying on each other. The evil leader was the mysterious<br />Scotland Yard official who'd hired them in the first place.<br /><br />A surreal classic.<br /><br />---<br />Childers, Erskine, 1870-1922 <br />Riddle of the Sands<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/2360<br />www.eBooks-Online.com<br /><br />According to Michael JR Jose:<br /><br />"The shock of this book on its release a century ago, set in the years of European tension leading up to the First World War, caused a sensation in Britain<br />by successfully analysing what in military terms can only be called Germany's increasingly 'aggressive posture'. Childers did this in a story which broke<br />new ground, as it is generally agreed to be the first straight modern spy thriller, even more remarkable for it being a first novel.<br /><br />With exciting bluff and counterbluff, chases, and manoeuvres, always using credible military and navy knowledge and terms, his popularity endures to this<br />day. His two heroes are duck hunting and holiday sailing off the German/Dutch coast in the North Sea when they stumble on a plot to trial-run a massive<br />sea-borne infantry attack from Germany's Frisian coast (north of Holland and due east of north England). Being full of treacherous sand bars and storms,<br />and suspicious yachting characters and dubious wreck salvagers, this is dangerous work. With plenty of variation in pace and scenery, this storyteller<br />really knew his facts and captured the attitudes and conversation of his era with some style. Childers' descendents are Ian Fleming's Bond novels, and<br />the vast array of war novels published since."<br /><br />Source:<br />www.allreaders.com/Topics/info_20635.asp<br /><br />---<br />Collins, J. E. (Joseph Edmund), 1855-1892<br />Annette, The Metis Spy. A Heroine of the N.W. Rebellion<br />onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=6668<br /><br />Published in 1886, also available at ManyBooks.net.<br /><br />---<br />Conrad, Joseph, 1857-1924<br />The Secret Agent<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/974<br /><br />An important writer beyond any genre, Conrad’s character study of a terrorist contains themes relevant today. Twice made into a film, the most famous was Alfred Hitchcock’s updated Sabotage. Analysis of the book is at<br /><br />www.ductape.net/~steveh/secretagent/ <br /><br />Full text and analysis also posted at<br /><br />www.bibliomania.com/0/0/15/27/<br />www.online-literature.com/conrad/secret_agent/<br /><br />---<br />Cooper, James Fenimore, 1789-1851<br />The Spy, A Tale of the Neutral Ground<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/9845<br /><br />The first American spy novel, Cooper’s look into the costs of undercover patriotic service is a significant contribution to espionage literature. Also available at ManyBooks.net. Criticism is posted at<br /><br />www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/bin/litcrit.out.pl?ti=spy-835 <br /><br />---<br />Copplestone, Bennet, 1867-1932 <br />The Lost Naval Papers<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/10474<br />manybooks.net/categories/SPY<br /> <br />---<br />Crane, Laura Dent<br />The Automobile Girls at Washington Checkmating the Plots of Foreign Spies<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/12559 -<br />www.fullbooks.com/The-Automobile-Girls-At-Washington.html<br /><br />Published in 1913, apparently one of a series including The Automobile Girls in Newport, The Automobile Girls in the Berkshires, The Automobile Girls Along the Hudson, The Automobile Girls at Chicago, the Automobile Girls in Palm Beach and more.<br /><br />---<br /> Cruikshank, Robert, 1789-1856 [Illustrator]<br />The English Spy. An Original Work Characteristic, Satirical, and Humorous. Comprising Scenes and Sketches in Every Rank of Society, Being Portraits Drawn from the Life <br />www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/c <br /><br />---<br />Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916<br />The Spy<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/1818<br />www.online-literature.com/richard-davis/1609/<br />ebooks.ebookmall.com/ebook/64308-ebook.htm<br /><br />Davis was a best-selling American novelist, playwrite, and journalist who lived an interesting life, and was accused of being a spy himself during World War I. As a war correspondent, he befriended Theodore Roosevelt, helping publicize the “Rough Riders” in Cuba. The Spy is also posted at ManyBooks.net.<br /><br />---<br />Dell, Ethel M. (Ethel May), 1881-1939<br />Rosa Mundi and Other Stories. (includes “The Secret Service Man.”)<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/13774<br /><br />---<br />Durham, Victor G.<br />The Submarine Boys and the Spies Dodging the Sharks of the Deep<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/17057<br />www.diesel-ebooks.com/cgi-bin/item/1421832089/The-Submarine-Boys-and-the-Spies-<br /><br />Part of a series including The Submarine Boys Lightening Cruise, The Submarine Boys and the Middies, The Submarine Boys For the Flag, among others.<br /><br />---<br />Futrelle, Jacques, 1875-1912 <br />Elusive Isabel.<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/10943<br />www.fullbooks.com/Elusive-Isabel.html<br /><br />A summary of this 1909 novel is posted at:<br /><br />en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elusive_Isabel <br /><br />Made into a 1916 silent movie. From Wes Britton’s Onscreen and Undercover: The Ultimate Book of Movie Espionage:<br /><br />In Elusive Isabel (1916), Secret Service agent Hamilton Grimm went after a conspiracy planning to take over the world. He fell for one of the gang, Isabel (Florence Lawrence) who was deported after the gang was captured. Grimm followed her hoping to turn the bad girl good, but, well, she’s elusive. <br /><br />---<br />Garrett, Gordon Randall.<br />Brain Twister.<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/22332<br /><br />Listed in the “Espionage” category at<br /><br />manybooks.net/authors/garrettgr.html<br /><br />Written by Garrett in conjunction with author Laurence Janifer (using the joint<br />Pseudonym Mark Phillips), this SF book was nominated for the<br />Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960. More details are at:<br /><br />en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randall_Garrett<br /><br />---<br />Green, Anna Katharine. 1846-1935<br />The Mayor’s Wife<br />www.online-literature.com/anna-green/mayors-wife/<br /><br />Listed by ManyBooks.net in their “espionage” category—questionable listing.<br /><br />This 1907 novel was by one of the most prolific women writers of the 19th and early 20th centuries, a predecessor to future forensic detective writers. Her biography is at:<br /><br />tarlton.law.utexas.edu/lpop/green.html<br />www.online-literature.com/anna-green/<br />en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Katharine_Green<br /><br />---<br />Gustafson, Kristian C<br />CIA Machinations in Chile in 1970:Reexamining the Record<br />manybooks.net/titles/gustafsonkother06cia_machinations.html<br /><br />This 2003 history is by a frequent contributor to the CIA’s official periodical, Studies in Intelligence. This indicates this book has both the support of the agency and that the content is likely quite credible. <br /><br />---<br />Haliburton, Thomas Chandler, 1796-1865 <br />The Attache or, Sam Slick in England<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/7823<br />manybooks.net/titles/haliburtetext05ttch110.html -<br />www.diesel-ebooks.com/cgi-bin/item/1419253158/The-Attache-Or-Sam-Slick-In-England-eBook.html<br /><br />Best known for his comic 19th century “Sam Slick” novels, a biography of this Nova Scotia born satirist is at:<br /><br />www.blupete.com/Hist/BiosNS/1800-67/Haliburton.htm -<br /><br />---<br />Haggard, H. Rider (Henry Rider), 1856-1925 <br />Lysbeth, A Tale of the Dutch<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/5754<br />www.online-literature.com/h-rider-haggard/lysbeth-tale-of-dutch/ - 20k -<br /><br />Biographies of the author best known for King Solomon’s Mines are at:<br /><br />www.kirjasto.sci.fi/haggard.htm<br />en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Rider_Haggard -<br /><br />---<br />Kipling, Rudyard, 1865-1936<br />Kim.<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/2226<br /><br />For a detailed analysis of this classic, see “Rudyard Kipling's `Great Game’: Kim, Spy Stories, and `The Spies March’" posted at this website. This article also contains analysis of Kipling’s spy short stories and links to online texts of them. <br /><br />---<br />Lang, Andrew, 1844-1912<br />Pickle the Spy; or the Incognito of Prince Charles<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/6807<br /><br />The Prince Charles in question seems to be Charles Edward, Prince, grandson of James II, King of England, during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745-1746. More about the story is posted at<br /><br />query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E15FE3F5811738DDDAE0A94DA405B8785F0D3<br /><br />---<br />Le Queux, William, 1864-1927<br />The Czar’s Spy: The Mystery of a Silent Love<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/10102 - <br /><br />The Four Faces, A Mystery<br />infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/etext06/7four10.htm<br />www.web-books.com/Classics/AuthorsOS/Queux/Four/Contents.htm<br /><br /> From Beyond Bond:<br /><br />. . . Le Queux wrote fiction impressing the then Prime Minister, Arthur Balfour, although later critics believed Le Queux wasn't especially literary and questionable in his factual information. But, according to Kingsley Amis, realism wasn't yet the point. In his view, espionage based on imagination rather than actual life began at the beginning of the century "with the almost completely free-lance status of a Bulldog Drummond" and William Le Queux's Duckworth Drew. Drew's early adventures were precursors to later adventures focused on new technology as when he encountered an "electronic eye," an Italian device that detonated mines. In addition, Le Queux's novel, The Great War in England in 1897 (1894 was an early example of literary speculations about an invasion of England. The Secret Service (1896) dealt with Jews in Russia, and England's Pearl (1899) was an early novel shifting British fears from the French to Germany. This fear continued in The Invasion of 1910 (1905) in which Germans wormed secrets out of shipyards, arsenals, factories, and individuals. Le Queux's later books, No. 70, Berlin (1915) and The Mystery of the Green Ray (1915) had increasingly preposterous plots.<br /><br />---<br />Lincoln, Natalie Sumner, 1885-1935<br />I Spy<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/9812<br /><br />---<br />The Lock and Key Library. The Most Interesting Stories of All Nations: Real Life.<br />(Various authors, short stories)<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/2031<br />www.fullbooks.com/The-Lock-and-Key-Library.html<br /><br />Julian Hawthorne edited a series of Lock and Key anthologies, most stories being detective or mystery. A table of contents for these collections is at<br /><br />www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/lit/detective/LockandKeyLibrary/toc.html <br /><br />---<br />Munro, Neil<br />Doom Castle<br />manybooks.net/titles/munron2133321333-8.html<br /><br />A 1900 novel.<br /><br />---<br />Mundy, Talbot, 1879-1940 <br />King of the Khyber Rifles, A Romance of Adventure <br />infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/etext04/kkhyb10.htm<br />manybooks.net/titles/mundytaletext04kkhyb10.html<br /><br />Published in 1916, the book was Number 3 in the JimGrim<br /> Series. According to ManyBooks.net:<br /><br />Athelstan King is a secret agent for the British Raj at the beginning of World War I. Heavily influenced both by Mundy's own unsuccessful career in India<br />and by his interest in theosophy, it describes King's adventures among the Muslim tribes of northern India accompanied by the mystical woman adventurer<br />Yasmini and the Turkish mullah Muhammed Anim.<br /><br />A discussion of the 1953 film version is at:<br /><br />www.loc.gov/film/taves2.html<br /><br />---<br />Oppenheim, E. Phillips (Edward Phillips), 1866-1946<br />Project Gutenberg has 38 titles, below is a representative list. More are available at ManyBooks.net.<br /><br />The Black Box<br />The Double Life of Mr. Alfred Burton<br />The Double Traitor<br />The Great Secret<br />Kingdom of the Blind<br />Mr. Grex of Monte Carlo<br /><br />From Beyond Bond:<br /><br />Oppenheim produced 115 novels and 39 short story collections, many of which were Edwardian spy stories emphasizing gambling and secret diplomacy as in The Mysterious Mr. Sapine (1898). Praised by John Buchan as his "master in fiction," Oppenheim spiced up his tales with local color in major city settings as in Mr. Grex of Monte Carlo (1915). Oppenheim was also later lauded by Eric Ambler as one of the earliest outstanding writers of cloak and dagger stereotypes including "the black-velveted seductress, the British Secret Service numbskull hero, the omnipotent spymaster," and the appeal to the snobbery of readers of the era. Kingsley Amis saw Oppenheim as a logical forefather to Ian Fleming. Perhaps the best of Oppenheim's output was Kingdom of the Blind (1917) featuring raids by submarines and zeppelins.<br /><br />---<br />Orczy, Emmuska, Baroness, 1865-1947<br />(At Project Gutenberg)<br />El Dorado, An Adventure of The Scarlet Pimpernel<br />The League of The Scarlet Pimpernel<br />The Scarlet Pimpernel<br />I Will Repay<br /><br />From Beyond Bond:<br /><br />. . . Other fanciful adventures looked to the past, as in the "Scarlet Pimpernel" series penned by the Baroness Orczy (whose full name was Emma Magdalena Rosalina Marie Josepha Barbara Orzy). First appearing in a play in 1903 and then in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1905), Percy Blakeney was a brave and efficient English secret agent rescuing kindly, victimized French aristocrats from the guillotine under the noses of French revolutionaries. He was something of a Robin Hood figure in reverse, saving the lives of the rich unfairly tormented by a cold-blooded government ostensibly run on behalf of working peasants .<br /><br /> . . . Blakeney was a character masking his heroism behind seeming idleness and frivolity, a master of quick disguises in a series of books including I Will Repay (1906), El Dorado (1913), and Sir Percy Hits Back (1927).<br /><br />The first film adaptation of the character was The Scarlet Pimpernel (1935) starring Leslie Howard. In 1982, The Scarlet Pimpernel was a British TV movie starring Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour. In 1999, the story became a three-part miniseries (re-broadcast on American A&E) starring Richard E. Grant and Elizabeth McGovern.<br /><br />(At ManyBooks.net)<br /><br />Emperor’s Candlesticks<br />manybooks.net/titles/orczybarother07emperors_candlesticks.html<br /><br />From Onscreen and Undercover:<br /><br />Based on the Baroness Orczy novel, The Emperor's Candlesticks (1937) starred William Powell and Louise Rainier . . . In the story noted for unrealized potential, a Polish secret agent smuggled messages to St. Petersburg in candlesticks while Russian secret police investigate as a peace treaty is in the balance.<br /><br />---<br />Royden, Barry G, 1938-.<br />Tolkacheb, A Worthy Successor to Penkovsky. An Exceptional Espionage Operation<br />manybooks.net/titles/roydenbother05tolkachev.html<br /><br />This non-fiction account first appeared in the official CIA periodical, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 47, No. 3, 2003 - Unclassified Edition. Written by a former CIA operative.<br /><br />---<br />Snell, Roy J. (Roy Judson), 1878-<br />Triple Spies<br />www.archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3Agutenberg%20AND%20firstCreator<br /><br />---<br />Theiss, Lewis E.<br />The Secret Wireless or, the Spy Hunt of the Camp Brady Patrol<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/21955<br />manybooks.net/titles/theissl2195521955-8.html<br />www.memoware.com/?screen=doc_detail&doc_id=19693&p=category%5E!Adventure~<br /><br />Lewis E. Theiss wrote primarily illustrated aviation adventure stories for boys, many in the “Young Wireless Operator” series. Another title was The Hidden Aerial: The Spy Line on the Mountain (Boston: W.A. Wilde Co, 1919).<br /><br />---<br />Tomlinson, Paul Greene, 1888-<br />Bob Cook and the German Spy<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/9899 -<br />www.fullbooks.com/Bob-Cook-and-the-German-Spy.html<br />manybooks.net/titles/tomlinsonpetext06bcgsp10.html<br /><br />Published in 1888.<br /><br />---<br />Vance, Louis Joseph, 1879-1933 <br />The False Faces: Further Adventures from the History of The Lone Wolf<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/9908<br />www.fullbooks.com/The-False-Faces<br />www.online-literature.com/joseph-vance/false-faces/<br /><br />Part of a very popular literary and film series. Discussed in detail in Wes Britton’s Onscreen and Undercover, a portion of that discussion includes:<br /><br /> While many film series began during the silent era, most were detective and not spy oriented. However, Joseph Vance's creation, the former jewel thief, `The Lone Wolf,’ got involved in at least four spy adventures throughout his on-again, off-again career. Films in this series were noted for the formula of the audience never being certain if the Wolf<br />would end up good or bad--but always saved by a beautiful woman.<br /><br /> . . . Henry B. Walthall was the Wolf in The False Faces (1919) who is given important papers to take to America. On a ship, he discovered an old foe (Lon Chaney) had become a German agent. Our Hero pretended to also be a German when a U-boat sinks the steamer. When he arrived in the states, the Wolf and his girlfriend (Mary Anderson)<br />defeated a spy ring.<br /><br />---<br /> Williams, Valentine, 1883-1946<br />(At Project Gutenberg)<br />Okewood of the Secret Service<br />www.gutenberg.org/etext/2417<br />www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/lit/mystery/OkewoodoftheSecretService/Chap1.<br /><br />(At ManyBooks.net)<br />The Man With the Club Foot<br />The Yellow Streak<br /><br />---<br /> Zitt, Hersch L, 1925-2005<br />Troika<br />manybooks.net/titles/zitthother07troika.html<br /><br />A summary of this 2006 title at ManyBooks.net reads: “A coalition of intelligence officers from the US, Russia, and Israel work to reveal and defeat a complex web of deception spun by a group of nuclear terrorists-- all while protecting Operation TROIKA from rival agencies.”<br /><br /><br />Related articles also posted at<br /><br />WWW.Spywise.net<br /><br />Rudyard Kipling's "Great Game": Kim, Spy Stories, and "The Spies March"<br />Don DeLillo's Libra: America's Best Spy Novel?<br />Sisters of Mata Hari: Reviews of Books on Lady Spies<br />Espionage Around the Galaxy: The Spi-Fi of Harry HarrisonThe Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-61178105554447129402007-07-22T16:22:00.000-07:002007-07-22T16:23:47.225-07:00Review: Books on Civil War SpiesReviews: Books on Civil War Spies<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br />Reviews in this file:<br /><br />* Bakeless, John. Spies of the Confederacy. (Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1970)<br />* Varon, Elizabeth R. Southern Lady, Yankee Spy: The True Story of Elizabeth Van Lew, a Union Agent in the Heart of the Confederacy. (Oxford University Press, 2003)<br /><br />---<br />Bakeless, John. Spies of the Confederacy. (Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1970)<br /><br />Written by a former intelligence officer known for his books and research on both Revolutionary War and Civil War spies, this extensive overview has a mixed reputation.<br /><br />Beginning with the origins of Confederate espionage, Bakeless traces the well-known ease the South had in the early years of the war. In his first pages, he demonstrates how rebel sympathizers were largely already in place before the outbreak of hostilities while the North was still waiting to learn who the enemy was. Bakeless recounts how the Union didn’t help itself due to ineptitude, carelessness, and almost comic efforts at counter-espionage. Because of excellent intelligence, the South scored two quick victories in 1861 at Harpers Ferry and the first battle at Bull Run. And the good intelligence kept coming, especially for Generals Stuart and Jackson.<br /><br />After setting the stage, Bakeless mixes the documented record with colorful anecdotes about Confederate spies. For example, rebel generals faced one dilemma similar to the CIA’s worries about KGB defectors—were deserters crossing the lines plants or real? Surprisingly, Bakeless only provides quick sketches of the beautiful Washington hostesses able to use feminine charms to pry secrets from high-ups and low-level clerks alike while hiding secret correspondence in their hair and shoes. And hiding spies under their petticoats, as in the slightly built, 91 pound super-spy, Frank Stringfellow. He not only fit under hoop skirts, he was able to disguise himself as a woman as well.<br /><br />Bakeless is far more detailed recounting the exploits of Stringfellow and Captain Thomas Conrad, drawing mainly from their own accounts of their adventures. He gives considerable space to the spunky Belle Boyd and Tennessee and Arkansas spies Sam Davis and David O. Dodd, although he spends more time exploring the circumstances of their hangings than their spy work. Along the way, he points out secret messages were hidden in coat linings—writing on silk doesn’t crinkle when clothing was being searched. Even in the early days of photography, photographs of secret documents were shrunk and hidden in coat buttons. Just as modern, wiretapping was common, as in the exploits of George Ellsworth, a Southern telegraph operator proficient at giving the Yankees false information. Bakeless also briefly describes the Confederate “Secret Service” which had nothing to do with protecting officials or gathering intelligence but rather in procuring and developing new weapons. One of these, designed by John Maxwell, was the “Horalogical Torpedo,” a time bomb. <br /><br />Since its original publication, scholars have complained about some points in the book while others have used it as a frequently cited source. As Bakeless quotes passages from books written by ex-spies, it’s true he’s repeating claims clearly exaggerated. Others note his inclusion of certain operatives is suspect as combat intelligence personnel aren’t technically spies and he ignores Confederate agents abroad. According to the “SPIES, SCOUTS AND RAIDERS HOME PAGE, Bakeless was incorrect in one description. “James Harrison was not the spy who warned Longstreet and Lee of federal troop movements. It was actually Henry Thomas Harrison. He also was not an actor like James Harrison but a spy for the CSA Secretary of War.” (To be fair, the accompanying article had its own errors, such as repeating the claim that Union spy Elizabeth Van Lew was known as “Crazy Bet” during the war years. See Varon below.) (note 1)<br /> <br />While these criticisms have merit, Bakeless did point out there are distinctions between scouts and spies while discussing both. His wide canvas—already broad enough—would have been unwieldy including European agents where Bakeless had not done primary research. One puzzling definition of a spy is when Bakeless repeatedly claims they must be in disguise and not in uniform, but this doesn’t fit the numerous “Girl Spies” and rural citizens who provided information and acted as couriers but were not part of military units. In many discussions, Bakeless makes it clear he is making speculations and drawing from what resources he could find, piecing together events that were reported in contradictory accounts.<br /><br />Like many non-fiction books before and since, Bakeless both corrects previously erroneous errors and creates new ones of his own. Certainly, much scholarship since 1970 must be taken into account by any devotee of the period. General readers, however, still have a very readable overview of the subject and need realize no single volume ever contains the full story. It’s a book that remains useful as a starting point. <br /><br /><br />Notes<br /><br />See<br /><br />scard.buffnet.net/pages/spy/spy.html - 30k –<br /><br />---<br />Varon, Elizabeth R. Southern Lady, Yankee Spy: The True Story of Elizabeth Van Lew, a Union Agent in the Heart of the Confederacy. (Oxford University Press, 2003).<br /><br />The title of this highly regarded, well researched “biography” of Elizabeth Van Lew, a “Unionist” sympathizer and spymaster in Richmond, is a bit misleading. While the exploits of Van Lew gives this very readable book its focal point, Varon offers much more than the life of one extraordinary woman.<br /><br />Varon begins her narrative by painting a richly detailed portrait of Southern women before and during the war. The author explains why gender was both an aid and hindrance for those Virginian women seeing themselves as patriots in a culture expecting well-bred women to be naturally supportive of the rebel cause. Varon’s vista includes sketches of other agents, soldiers, and politicians for both sides with old family connections to establish how newspapers, the courts, and the government attempted to categorize women by their political correctness.<br /><br />Thus, Southern belles like Van Lew, Abby Green, and Lucy A. Wright could, on one hand, demonstrate the Christian duty expected of 19th century women by visiting Union prisoners in hospitals while smuggling instructions to them to help in escapes. For example, while not involved with the 1864 Dalmon Raid, when a small Union band tried to invade Richmond, Varon uses Van Lew’s comments on the incident to illustrate how Van Lew’s sensibilities were shaped by her certainty that “slave power” was the reason for the war. These sensibilities led to her taking action beginning with her most famous escapade. Van Lew provided financial support to those who sheltered the escapees in the breakout at the Libby Prison, when 109 men tunneled their way to freedom. From that point on, she played a very dangerous game indeed.<br /><br />While not really a spy per se in the early years of the war, Van Lew wore disguises as she assisted the new loyalist underground—the ironical situation of black slaves helping white soldiers go north to freedom. Then, in 1864, the emphasis of the underground, with Van Lew’s home its nerve center, shifted as Union troops came closer and closer to Richmond. Van Lew became spymaster for a wide network of Unionists, accepting orders from Generals Grant and Benjamin Butler and coordinated the activities of couriers and informants. This inter-racial network was able to provide Union forces an average of three useable intelligence reports a week, greatly aiding in the fall of Richmond. She was able to do all this, escaping arrest by the Confederates, by ironically creating the pose of a well-heeled woman who “talked too much,” and therefore an unlikely person to act on her beliefs. She avoided danger by over-estimating the skills of the watchers around her home while they under-estimated her. <br /><br />Grant was grateful to Van Lew, the general eager for both reports of enemy defenses and the state of morale of Richmond citizens as the war entered its final phases. In 1869, President Grant rewarded her by appointing Van Lew postmaster of Richmond, an act that angered Southerners opposed to women’s suffrage, her hiring of black postal carriers, and her well-known reputation as a Federal spy. At the same time, much of her network found work as Federal detectives. Varon chronicles Van Lew’s legacy as a pioneer in the politics of the period, ended when Democrats reclaimed the White House. After that, Van Lew became a recluse, shunned by her neighbors as her once palatial home became a scene of squalor and disrepair. She was supported in her last years by donations from influential Bostonians, not by the much vaunted Southern Christian culture of which she had been one of its truest exponents.<br /><br />With an even hand, Varon deals with the myths that have surrounded Van Lew’s legacy since her death in 1900. For example, Varon offers plausible explanations that a very special slave of Van Lew’s might have spied on Jefferson Davis in the Southern White House, but admits considerable doubt this occurred. She completely discredits the legend of "Crazy Bet," a spinster pictured as a mad old woman who wore odd clothes and had no friends. Quoting from Van Lew writings, she demonstrates the spymaster did not see herself as a spy at all—how could a patriot spy against their own government? In Van Lew’s view, she was a resister of “moral oppression,” racism pure and simple.<br /> <br />Varon clearly establishes the dual legacy of Van Lew—her own achievements as a spymaster and that she was not a lone activist but rather a member of a large number of Southerners who supported the Union. Then, Van Lew’s service in the male-dominated postal service shows how Van Lew opened doors for women in government service and the hiring of ex-slaves into respectable positions. She paid a heavy personal cost for all these accomplishments, both financially and suffering an unfair reputation that followed her until, well, the publication of this very important study.<br /><br />Note: The Van Lew story was dramatized in a 1987 CBS TV movie, A Special Friendship, purporting to tell the story of Van Lew (Tracy Pollan) and Mary Bowser, (Akosua Busia), a former slave who was a principal member of the spy ring. Much of the script was obvious nonsense, including an interrogation by a Confederate officer said to have once been Van Lew’s fiancée. Another example of romance triumphing any attempt to be at least quasi-accurate in Hollywood.<br /><br /><br />WEBSITES OF NOTE<br /><br />Civil War - Confederacy - Intelligence Specific<br />intellit.muskingum.edu/civwar_folder/civwarconfintel.html -<br /><br />Female Spies of the Confederacy - Confederate Women Spies<br />Belle Boyd, Antonia Forc, Rose O'Neal Greenhow, Nancy Hart, Laura Ratcliffe, Loreta Janeta Velazquez and more.<br />womenshistory.about.com/od/civilwar/a/women_spies_con.htm - 24k - Jul 13, 2007 –The Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-7666544855515324292007-07-17T14:04:00.000-07:002007-09-16T08:07:53.562-07:00The Mossad: A Directory of Online Sources and Print ArticlesTHE MOSSAD: AN ANNOTATED DIRECTORY OF ONLINE SOURCES AND PRINT ARTICLES<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br />Because the number of short news items, articles, booklets, and opinion pieces on the Mossad and Israeli intelligence are legion, the listings below are intended only as good starting points for researchers and general readers. Other links can be found in the companion directories at this website, including the annotated bibliography of non-fiction books and the filmography. All these resources are works in progress, and I welcome any additions you may wish to send. <br /><br />As of September 2007, this directory includes the following annotated lists:<br /><br />A. Online sources, general information<br />B. Online sources, operations and agents<br />C. Online sources, Eli Cohen<br />D. Print articles, Eli Cohen<br />E. Online Sources, Victor Ostrovsky<br />F. Selective Articles In Print Periodicals<br />G. Obits about Ashraf Marwan<br /><br />Addendum will include new information when it becomes available.<br /><br />---<br /><br />A. Online Sources, General information<br /><br />As the Mossad is a subject of numerous conspiracy theories and rumors, there are countless postings ascribing all sorts of activities to the Mossad. Below are sites purporting to be objective and/or at least informative. Any Google search will result in hits on many other sites. In addition, there are sites where you can order MOSSAD Israeli Secret Intelligence Logo T-Shirts for $7.99, if you're so inclined.<br /><br />Note: Other useful sites that include items on Israeli intelligence along with other areas of interest are listed in "SPY BLOGS AND ONLINE FILES: AN ANNOTATED DIRECTORY" also posted at this site.<br /><br />---<br /><br />The official site by the Israeli government:<br />www.mossad.gov.il<br /><br />"Israel - Overviews - A-Z" contains many brief reviews and summaries of books and articles on Israeli intelligence. Invaluable.<br />http://intellit.muskingum.edu/israel_folder/... - 14k -<br /><br />A short overview of the Mossad including links to recruitment ads:<br />http://www.fas.org/irp/world/israel/mossad/ - 8k -<br /><br />Note: One link is of special interest--"James Bond, No Big Deal": Technological Aspects of Mossad Operations by Dan Yakhin, Globes (Tel Aviv), April 19, 2001. This is an interview with ex-Mossad agent "Or and" Gil who describes recruitment changes over the past 20 years and adaptations in technology. Extremely informative.<br /><br />A sample chapter from the book, Historical Dictionary of Israeli Inteligence, is posted at<br /><br />http://chapters.scarecrowpress.com/08/108/081085581Xch1.pdf <br /><br />There are many news articles on the Mossad collected at "Real History and Mossad, the Israeli Secret Service."<br />http://www.fpp.co.uk/BoD/Mossad/index.html - 23k -<br /><br />A somewhat helpful Wikipedia summary of the history, structure, missions, and links to a number of articles:<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossad - 67k -<br /><br />Note: As usual with most Wikipedia articles, not completely credible. For example, date of the Mossad's creation is not correct and it wasn't the KGB who captured Eli Cohen but rather the Syrians using equipment provided by the Russian GRU. <br /><br />---<br /><br />B. Online sources, operations and agents<br /><br />"Arab-Israeli War, 1967 - July 2002" is an extensive bibliography on the topic.<br />http://www.jfsc.ndu.edu/library/publications/... - 63k -<br /><br />Baxter, Sarah. "Iranian nuclear scientist 'assassinated by Mossad.'" The Sunday TimesFebruary 04, 2007.<br />www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=32855 - 7k - Feb 4, 2007 -<br /><br />Britton, Wesley. "Before Munich: Black September on TV and Film." Summaries and analysis of TV documentaries, docu-dramas, and feature movies based on the 1972 massacre at the Munich Olympics and the aftermath."<br />Posted at this website.<br /><br />"Champagne Spy, The." TIME.com. Nov. 23, 1970 -- Page 1. Summary of the career of and interview with Wolfgang Lotz.<br />http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/... -<br /><br />"CIA and Mossad are Behind the Hrant Dink Murder." January 24, 2007.<br />www.whatreallyhappened.com/archives/cat_assassination.html - 356k -<br /><br />"Covert Option: Can sabotage and assassination stop Iran from going nuclear?"<br />www.theatlantic.com/doc/200512/nuclear-iran -<br /><br />“Early Operations of Israeli Intelligence.” Department for Jewish Zionist Education. 1992. Retrieved, Aug. 2, 2007. Overview of pre-Mossad history.<br />www.jewishagency.org/.../Jewish+History/Service/Early+Operations+of+Israeli+Intellig<br /><br />Geller, Doron. "Inside the Israeli Secret Service:A History of its Growth and Missions." Transcripts of lectures on: <br /><br />1. Early Operations of Israeli Intelligence<br />2. The Lavon Affair<br />3. Stealing a Soviet MiG<br />4. Wolfgang Lotz<br />5. Israel Beer<br />6. The Capture of Adolf Eichmann<br />7. Israeli Intelligence in the 1967 War<br />8. The Israeli Commando Assault on Green Island<br />9. The Cherbourg Boats<br />10. Operation Spring of Youth<br />11. Israeli Intelligence and the Yom Kippur War of 1973<br />12. Eli Cohen<br /><br />http://jafi.org/JewishAgency/English/Jewish+Education/Jewish+History/Service/Inside+the+Israeli+Secret+Service.htm<br /><br />“Haganah, The.”The Pedagogic Center, The Department for Jewish Zionist Education, The Jewish Agency for Israel. 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000. Retrieved, Aug. 11, 2007. History of intelligence operations before 1948.<br />www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/haganah.html -<br /><br />Hitron, Haggai. "The monster is in handcuffs. Adolf Eichmann's captors recount how they snatched Hitler's henchman." Last Update: 16/01/2007 01:42<br />http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArtVty.jhtml?sw=<br /><br />Hockstader, Lee. "In Word Only, Israeli Spy Resurfaces: Published Testimony Recalls Furor Over 1986 Nuclear Case." Washington Post, 25 Nov. 1999, A30.<br />http://www. washingtonpost.com<br /><br />"IRAN: NUCLEAR SCIENTIST DIES UNDER MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES." January 31, 2007. WhatReallyHappened.com: ASSASSINATIONArchives<br />www.whatreallyhappened.com/archives/cat_assassination.html - 356k -<br /><br />“Jewish Armed Forces in the British Mandate.” PALESTINE FACTS. Retrieved, Aug. 2, 2007. Includes discussion of pre-independence cover operations.<br />www.palestinefacts.org/pf_mandate_jewish_forces.php - 36k -<br /><br />Klein, Aaron. “Former Mossad chief: Assassinate Ahmadinejad." World Net Daily. February 14, 2007. Retrieved August 14, 2007. Meir Amit’s comments on taking out terrorist leader.<br />www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54244 - 38k –<br /><br />Lapidot, Yehuda. “THE 'HUNTING SEASON.’” ETZEL. Translated from Hebrew by Chaya Galai. Retrieved, July 27, 2007. Discussion of pre-independence covert operations in Egypt.<br />www.etzel.org.il/english/<br /><br />“Lavon Affair - Israel and Terror in Egypt, The.” Middle East: MidEastWeb. August 22, 1999. Retrieved, Aug. 3, 2007.<br />www.mideastweb.org/lavon.htm - -<br /><br />Leonhardt, Major Kent A., USMC. "Why Israel Was Surprised In October, 1973." (1990). An excellent overview and analysis of the intelligence failures.<br />http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/library/... - 42k -<br /><br />Lilienthal, Alfred M. "Zionist Connection II --Chapter 10 -- Terror: The Double Standard. Online Selections From: The Zionist Connection II: What Price Peace? (1983). Extremely well-researched if detailed and biased complaint that the Western media has a double-standard when treating news stories regarding Middle Eastern violence. Discusses coverage of spy stories from Eli Cohen's hanging to Black September and later. (Broken link as of 9/07)<br />http://www.alfredlilienthal.com/zionchap10.htm - 149k -<br /><br />"MASTER LIST OF DEAD SCIENTISTS." (1/27/07) Claims "more than 310 Iraqi scientists are thought to have perished at the hands of Israeli secret agents in Iraq since fall of Baghdad."<br /> http://dr-david-kelly.blogspot.com<br /><br />McLeod, Eric. " The Plumbat affair; The story of how Israel got its nukes." Shunpiking Online Vo.3 No.9. Good short review of the incident.<br />http://www.shunpiking.com/ol0309/<br /><br />"Mossad assassinating Iranian nucular scientists?" Feb 2, 07<br />http://www.julescrittenden.com/2007...two-way-street/<br /><br />Navon, Amit. "'Dipped His Head in Blood.'" Ma'ariv (Sofshayu'a Supplement) in Hebrew], 11 Apr. 2003.<br />http://www.fas.org/irp/world/israel/shin_bet/specops.html<br /><br />“Of Hate & Espionage.” Time. Friday, March 5, 1965. Retrieved online, July 23, 2007. News item regarding executed and captured Israeli spies in Syria including Eli Cohen.<br />www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839300,00.html - - <br /><br />"Preemptive Attack on Iran's Nuclear Facilities: Possible ..."<br />cns.miis.edu/pubs/week/040812.htm - 60k -<br /><br />RABINOVICH , ABRAHAM. “Revealing 'the Source.'” The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition, Jul. 5, 2007<br />http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1183459203408&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull<br /><br />Robarge, David S. "Getting It Right: CIA Analysis of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War " Studies in Intelligence 49, no. 1 (2005), 1-7. [<br />https://www.cia.gov/csi/studies/vol49no1/html_files/index.html]<br /><br />Shpiro, Shlomo. "Know Your Enemy: West German-Israeli Intelligence Evaluation of Soviet Weapon Systems." Journal of Intelligence History 4, no. 1 (Summer 2004).<br />http://www.intelligence-history.org/jih/journal.html<br /><br />Syed, Bashir A. "How Israel Killed For The Atom Bomb -With Timeline." 11-22-6<br />www.rense.com/general74/howiz.htm - 51k -<br /><br />Thomas, Gordon. “Mossad - The World's Most Efficient Killing Machine.” Rense.com. Dec. 9, 2002. Retrieved, Aug. 12, 2007. Includes comments by Meir Amit about Mossad.<br />www.rense.com/general32/ruth.htm - 38k -<br /><br />Tuck, Benjamin F. "The Whistleblower of Dimona: Israel, Vanunu, and the Bomb (review)". The Journal of Military History - Volume 69, Number 2, April 2005, pp. 607-608.<br /> http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/... -<br /><br />"World War III has already begun, says Israeli spy chief." Israel News and views. (1/27/07) Interview with former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy.<br />http://menorahblog.typepad.com<br /><br />---<br /><br />C. Online Sources, Eli Cohen<br /><br /><br />Discussions on Eli Cohen include his mission in the 1960s as well as ongoing attempts to get Syria to return his remains.<br /><br />Britton, Wesley. "The Story of Israel's Most Famous Secret Agent: Behind the Scenes of The Impossible Spy." Based on interviews with film producer Harvey Chertok, this is how the Eli Cohen story was turned into the 1987 HBO/BBC production. (Radio interviews with Chertok and Wesley Britton on the film are also linked here.) <br />Posted at this website.<br /><br />" Cohen, Eli (1924-1965)." Short and questionable biography. It claims Cohen was captured by accident.<br />www.jajz-ed.org.il/100/people/bios/ecohen.html<br /><br />Cohen, Maurice (as told to Carla Stockton). "Am I My Brother's Keeper?"<br />Poignant article in which former Mossad cryptographer Maurice Cohen describes how he discovered his brother, Eli Cohen, was Mossad's "Our Man in Damascus" and his feelings about being unable to stop Eli's eventual capture and execution. <br />Posted at this website.<br /><br />“Counterintelligence News for the week of: February 1-7, 2004.” The Centre for<br />Counterintelligence and Security Studies (CI Centre), Alexandria, VA. Retrieved Aug. 2, 2007. News stories about campaign to get Syria to return Cohen’s body.<br />WWW.intelligencespeakers.com/CI_NEWS/2004_CI_News_Archive/NEWS_2004_Feb_1_to_7<br /><br />"Eli Cohen: Israel's Most Famous Spy." Very brief bio from JewishGates.Com - The Definitive Source for Talmudic Learning.<br />www.jewishgates.com/file.asp?File_ID=292<br /><br />Fine, Arnold. " Eli Cohen: Israel’s Master Spy." Detailed two part biography published by The Jewish Press Magazine June 22, 2001.<br />www.ourjerusalem.com/history/story/history20010701.html<br /><br />Florsheinm, Ella and Avi Shilon. "The Handler." Based on an interview with Meir Amit, who had been head of the Mossad during the Eli Cohen affair. Provides insights not known previously about Cohen's capture and personality.<br />http://www.azure.org.il/magazine/magazine.asp?id=284<br /><br />"Friends of Eli Cohen" website, established by Maurice and Belle Cohen, contains basic facts, links, and a petition seeking the return of Eli's body.<br />http://www.elicohen.org<br /><br />Geller, Doran. " Lecture 12--Eli Cohen." Transcript of a lecture for Geller's "Inside the Israeli Secret Service" course. Posted at Israeli Intelligence Week 12. Excellent biography of Cohen including contexts of problems with Syria.<br />http://www.jajz-ed.org.il/juice/service/week12.html<br /><br />Hockstader, Lee. “Could a Dead Israeli Spy Influence the Talks?” Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, January 4, 2000; Page A11. Retrieved online, July 29, 2007.<br />http://washingtonpost.com./wp-srv/WPlate/2000-01/04/042l-010400-idx.html<br /><br />The Impossible Spy webside. Producer Harvey Chertok's site promoting the 1987 HBO/BBC film biography of Eli Cohen now available on a DVD "Special Edition."<br /> www.tvshowbiz.com/pages/spy.html<br /><br />Lieber, Joel. “In Arab Hands.” The Nation, Oct. 19, 1964. Retrieved online, July 29, 2007.<br />http://www.thenation.com/archive/detail/13231324<br /><br />Nahmias, Roee. “Spy: Eli Cohen died because of failure.” Ynetnews. May 11, 2006, 17:51. Retrieved, Aug. 29, 2007.<br />http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3249853,00.html<br /><br />Nahmias, Roee. “Syrian official: Israeli spy's grave located under neighborhood.” Ynetnews. May 14, 2007, 14:03. Retrieved, Aug. 29, 2007.<br />http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3399709,00.html<br /><br />"PM's Speech at the Ceremony Marking 40 Years Since the Death of Eli Cohen." 27/06/2005<br />Includes photo of PM Sharon and Eli Cohen's widow, Nadia.<br />http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Archive/Speeches/2005/... - 51k -<br /><br />Sanua, Victor. "THE HISTORY OF ELIE COHEN : AN EGYPTIAN BORN JEW WHO BECAME ISRAEL'S GREATEST SPY." Short (and poorly edited) biography. One interesting citation: "Maurice Mizrahi, the author of «l'Egypte et ses Juifs». «Le temps révolu (19-20e siècles)», reports on the fact that Elie<br />Cohen worked in his business. Mizrahi noticed that Elie took a long time to carry out his duties outside the business."<br />www.sefarad.org/publication/lm/043/10.html<br /><br />Simon, Roger L. “Is There a New Eli Cohen?” September 26, 2004. Retrieved, Aug. 4, 2007. Looking a new espionage in Syria, speculates a new Cohen-like agent is active in Syria.<br />www.rogerlsimon.com/mt-archives/2004/09/the_is_there_a.php - 28k -<br /><br />Sofer, Ronny. “MK gives Assad letter from spy's wife.” Ynetnews. Nov. 9, 2005, 16:53. Retrieved, Aug. 29, 2007. Article about Nadia Cohen’s attempt to communicate with Syrian president.<br />http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3166634,00.html<br /><br />Sofer, Ronny. “Olmert hopes for Turkey breakthrough on Eli Cohen.” Ynetnews. Feb. 14, 2007, 16:19. Retrieved, Aug. 29, 2007. Discussions on more attempts to communicate with Syrian leadership.<br />http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3365187,00.html<br /><br /> “Two Can Play: Issues in the News.” wrmea.com. Dec. 1988. Retrieved, Sept. 2, 2007.<br />http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/1288/8812039.htm<br /><br />Weinstein, Jamie. “Bomb the eucalyptus trees!” Cornell Daily Sun. January 26, 2005. Retrieved, Aug. 29, 2007.<br />www.renewamerica.us/columns/jweinstein/050126 - 39k -<br /><br />“WUJS to Assad: Repatriate Eli Cohen.” Ynetnews Dec. 22, 2006, 01:20. Retrieved, Aug. 29, 2007.<br />http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3343187,00.html<br /><br />Yarid, Hani. “Eli Cohen: Spy Within Parts I & II.” Culture of Arabia Online. Retrieved July 27, 2007.<br />www.qchillel.org/news/011999. -<br /><br />THE ZUNDELSITE. "Israeli Aggression, Militarism, and Terror." Compiling a list of published quotes demonstrating Israeli crimes, quotes a short passage from Eli Ben-Hanan's Our Man in Damascus which doesn't mention Cohen but rather underground operations in Egypt.<br />www.zundelsite.org/english/israeli_terror/<br /><br />---<br /><br />D. Print Articles, Eli Cohen<br /><br />Compiled by Belle Cohen.<br /><br />Antler, Ronit. "Allow me to visit My Brother’s Grave." Yediot Achronot, April 8,<br />1987.<br /><br />Aizban, Shmuel. "Eli Cohen Velcher Iz Geshtorben Oif der Tlieh in Damasek."<br />Der Tog Morgen Journal, June 14 , 1970.<br /><br />Barr - Zohar, Michael. Damasek Koret le Tel-Aviv. (Damascus Callingg Tel-Aviv),<br />Ha’aretz (Weekly supplement), Nos: 51, 52, and 53, September 8, 15, and 22,<br />1967 ( reprinted in Midstream, Vol. 14, 9 November 1968.<br /><br />"Eli Cohen 1924-1965- Eli You Will Never Be Forgotten."(Booklet). pub the Amuta, Chairman Efraim Chiram. (1996).<br /><br />"Eli Cohen- A Lonely Hero in Damascus." (booklet) The Israeli Ministry of Education,<br />Culture and Sport, The Department of Educational Programs. (1998).<br /><br />"Eli Cohen Hung in Damascus." Haolam Hazeh, May 19 1965<br /><br />"Eli Cohen Lives." The Jerusalem Post, November 12, 1971.<br /><br />"Eli Cohen Was Intimate of Syrian Leaders." The Jerusalem Post, May 19, 1965<br /><br />"Fear On An Extreme Outcome From The Arab Summit." Davar, May 22, 1995.<br /><br />"I Am No Better Than Anyone Else." Ma’ariv, May 19 1965<br /><br />"Israeli Martyrs On Stamps." The Jerusalem Post, December 23 ??<br /><br />"My Brother Eli Cohen." Bamachaneh, May 25, 1965<br /><br />ROULEAU, Eric. "The Double Life of Eli Cohen." Atlas, 10 (July 1965), pp. 10-12.<br />(reprint of Rouleau, Eric. "La Vie Double d’Eli Cohen." Le Monde, May 23, 1965 and The Jewish Digest, December, 1965.)<br /><br />Saab, Edward H. "Kamel Tabet’s s’appelait Elie Cohen." June Afrique, No 223,<br /> March 14, 1965.<br /><br />"She Mourns The Man She Barely Knew, interview with Nadia Cohen." The<br />Jerusalem Post, May 19, 1995.<br /><br />"Syria Hangs Eli Cohen In Public Square As A Spy." The Jerusalem Post, May 19, 1965.<br /><br />"The Israeli Spy, Eli Cohen Was Hung In The Morning In Damascus." Yediot<br />Achronot, May 18, 1965.<br /><br />"The Israeli Spy Eli Cohen Was Hung In The Morning In Damascus." Ma’ariv 18,<br />1965.<br /><br />PLAYS<br /><br />Eli Cohen, a play written and directed by Gad Tsadaka 1998 Untitled by<br />Paul Darman<br /><br />---<br /><br />E. Online Sources, Victor Ostrovsky<br /><br />While his role in espionage history should not be overstated, Ostrovsky is the subject of a number of articles on the web. Readers can weigh the credibility on their own.<br /><br />1. A promotional site for Ostrovsky's Fine Art work. From the site: "Today, Victor's insight and knowledge of the intelligence community facilitates his writing of fictional novels and screenplays, and serves as a basis for his enigmatic<br />and cryptic paintings. His canvases offer tantalizing images, evoking a mystical and otherworldly reaction from viewers. Hats, gloves, scarves and umbrellas<br />hide the identities of his inscrutable figures, provoking and teasing our imaginations with visual portrayals of adventure and intrigue. The activities<br />of his figures and the titles of the work reflect the enterprise and language of the international intelligence community, bringing several layers of meaning<br />to his paintings while creating stories for the viewer."<br />www.victorostrovsky.com<br /><br />2. Making the reputation of Ostrovsky murkier, the "Free Encyclopedia" provides the briefest of biographies followed by a series of claims with frequent (citation needed) notations after them. One cited source: "Some critics, such as historian<br />Benny Morris and author David Wise have charged that the book [By Way of Deception] is essentially a novel written by a professional novelist, and that a junior employee would never have learned so many operational secrets." The rest of this compilation of uncredited notes isn't especially useful.<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Ostrovsky - 26k -<br /><br />3. Peter Myers, October 18, 2001; update December 3, 2006, provides many direct quotes from Ostrovsky books with inserted comments.<br />http://users.cyberone.com.au/myers/ostrovsky.html - 77k -<br /><br />4. Alongside many Mossad related articles, this site post this piece including a transcript of a CTV interview on Oct. 21, 1995 where an Israeli journalist called for someone to kill Victor Ostrovsky. Ostrovsky responded with shock that the media didn't follow-up on this call and accused the media of a double-standard for not coming to his defense.<br />http://www.the7thfire.com/new_world_order/zionism/... - 77k -<br /><br />5. "Victor Ostrovsky: How Mossad got America to bomb Libya and fight Iraq" is a reprint of the section from The Other Side of Deception where Ostrovsky describes the "Trojan Dick Trick" summarized in the book review of this title in a separate file at this website.<br />http://freemasonrywatch.org/libya.html - 34k -<br /> <br />6. Both these sites contain the same extracts from an article in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (October/November 1997) in which Ostrovsky wrote: "I am the target of a broad collusion between elements of the Israeli government and their gofers, mostly in the American Jewish community."<br />http://www.radioislam.org/islam/english/terror/... - 27k -<br />http://www.fpp.co.uk/BoD/Mossad/Ostrovsky.html - 17k -<br /><br />---<br /><br />F. SELECTIVE ARTICLES IN PRINT PERIODICALS<br /><br />Note: Here, I make no attempt to list every item I've run across, but rather include those from the most useful of journals for serious researchers. Most abstracts and annotations have been omitted when they are readily available elsewhere. Many of the journals require subscriptions to access online versions.<br /><br />Even more listings can be found at "Mossad-Bibliography" at:<br />http://users.skynet.be/terrorism/html/... - 36k -<br /><br />Bar-Joseph, Uri. "State-Intelligence Relations in Israel: 1948-1996." Journal of Conflict Studies 17, no. 2 (Fall 1997): 133-156.<br /><br />Beres, Louis René. "The Iranian Threat to Israel: Capabilities and Intentions." International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 9, no. 1<br />(Spring 1996): 51-61.<br /><br />Doron, Gideon. "Israeli Intelligence: Tactics, Strategy, and Prediction." International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 2, no. 3 (Fall 1988): 305-319.<br /><br />Doron, Gideon. "The Vagaries of Intelligence Sharing: The Political Imbalance." International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 6, no. 2 (Summer 1993):<br />135-146.<br /><br />Doron, Gideon And Gad Barzilai. "The Middle East Power Balance: Israel's Attempts to Understand Changes in Soviet-Arab Relations." International Journal of Intelligence<br />and Counterintelligence 5, no. 1 (Spring 1991): 35-47.<br /><br />Doron, Gideon And Reuven Pedatzur. "Israeli Intelligence: Utility and Cost-Effectiveness in Policy Formation." International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 3, no. 3 (1989): 347-361.<br /><br />Doron, Gideon And Boaz Shapira. "Accountability for Secret Operations in Israel." International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 4, no. 3 (Fall 1990):<br />371-382.<br /><br />Gazit, Shlomo. "Estimates and Fortune-Telling in Intelligence Work." International Security 4, no. 4 (Spring 1980): 36-56.<br /><br />Gazit, Shlomo. "Intelligence Estimates and the Decision-Maker." Intelligence and National Security 3, no. 3 (Jul. 1988): 261-287.<br /><br />Gazit, Shlomo. "Intelligence and the Peace Process in Israel." Intelligence and National Security 12, no. 3 (Jul. 1997): 35-66.<br /><br />Indinopulos, Thomas. "Shin Bet's Blind Side." International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 10, no. 1 (Spring 1997): 91-96.<br /><br />Jones, Clive. "'A Reach Greater than the Grasp': Israeli Intelligence and the Conflict in South Lebanon, 1990-2000." Intelligence and National Security<br />16, no. 3 (Autumn 2001): 1-26.<br /><br />Kahana, Ephraim. "Reorganizing Israel's Intelligence Community." International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 15, no. 3 (Fall 2002): 415-428.<br /><br />Caplan, Neil. "Ben-Gurion's Spy: The Story of the Political Scandal that Shaped Modern Israel. by Shabtai Teveth." Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 26, No. 2 (Winter, 1997), pp. 106-107<br /><br />Katz, Yaron. "Global Media Influence on the Operational Codes of Israel's Intelligence Services." International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence<br />19, no. 2 (Summer 2006): 316-334.<br /><br />McAllister, David H. [LT/USN] "Assessing Israeli Intelligence in Action." Naval Intelligence Professionals Quarterly 13, no. 4 (Oct. 1997): 1-5.<br /><br />Melman, Yossi, and Dan Raviv. "The Journalist's Connections: How Israel Got Russia's Biggest Pre-Glasnost Secret." International Journal of Intelligence<br />and Counterintelligence 4, no. 2 (Summer 1990): 219-225.<br /><br />“Murder of Mehdi Ben Barka, The.” Time, Monday, Dec. 29, 1975. From the article: “Also involved in the case was Israel's CIA equivalent, known as Mossad. Although Morocco later supported Arab confrontation states in the Middle East wars,<br />it had excellent relations with Israel after it became independent in 1956. For example, Morocco arranged, through the French, to have Mossad train its<br />own fledgling secret service. Mossad's chief Moroccan contact was [Mohammed] Oufkir. At one point after the Moroccans had decided to get rid of Ben Barka, Oufkir<br />asked Mossad to obtain some poison for him. The agency declined, but later agreed to help tail Ben Barka, who was then living in Geneva.”<br /><br />Shpiro, Shlomo. "The Media Strategies of Intelligence Services." International<br /><br />--<br /><br />For related articles, see<br /><br />WWW.WesleyBritton.com<br />Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 14, no. 4 (Winter 2001-2002):<br />485-502.<br /><br /><br /><br />G. Obits about Ashraf Marwan<br /><br />Blum, Howard. “Who Killed Ashraf Marwan?” New York Times, July 13, 2007<br /><br />Egyptian billionaire ‘who spied for Mossad’ found dead - Times Online<br />www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article1996680.ece<br /><br />Egyptian chronicles: Ashraf Marwan ,the groom dies in London<br />egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2007/06/ashraf-marwan-groom-dies-in-london.html –<br /><br />Obituaries: Ashraf Marwan, 62, the controversial son-in-law of Egypt's late President ......<br />www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/ - 80k - Jul 11, 2007 -<br /><br />Who killed Egyptian billionaire Ashraf Marwan?- Topix<br />www.topix.net/news/blogs/2007/06/who-killed-egyptian-billionaire-ashraf-marwan - 45kThe Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-39541201087733720522007-07-17T12:11:00.000-07:002007-07-17T12:12:44.387-07:00The Mossad and Israeli Intelligence On Screen: A FilmographyTHE MOSSAD AND ISRAELI INTELLIGENCE ON SCREEN: A FILMOGRAPHY<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br />"It had been six months since he had been pulled from retirement and given a simple mission. Rebuild morale in an intelligence service badly damaged by a series of highly-publicized operational blunders and personnel scandals. Restore the esprit d'corps that had characterized the office in the old days. Shamron had managed to stem the bleeding. There had been no more humiliations . . . But there had been no stunning successes either. Shamron knew better than anyone that the office had not earned its fearsome reputation by playing it safe. In the old days, it had stolen MIGs, planted spies in the palaces of its friends and its enemies, rained terror on those who dared to terrorize the people of Israel . . . he wanted to leave behind an office that could reach out and strike at will, an office that could make the other services of the world shake their heads in wonder."<br />(Daniel Silva, Kill Artist, 2000)<br /><br />Unlike the more formal bibliographies of books and articles on Israeli intelligence posted at this website, this directory includes films and TV projects that touch on or incorporate Jewish characters in espionage plots whether directly connected to the Mossad or not. It is in three parts:<br /><br />Part I lists feature films employing Israeli or Jewish characters involved in espionage.<br /><br /> Part II lists documentaries.<br /><br />Part III discusses and analyzes television movies and episodes from series related to Israeli intelligence.<br /><br />For analysis of these films, especially the changing trends of Israeli agents from Nazi hunters to counter-terrorist operatives, see my Onscreen and Undercover: The Ultimate Book of Movie Espionage (Westport, CT: Praeger Pub., 2006).<br /><br />---<br /><br />Part I: Feature Films<br /><br />Ambassador, The. (1984). Robert Mitchum as an idealistic, if inattentive husband, working for peace between Israel and Arab interests. Rock Hudson was the security officer bailing Mitchum out of violence his plans result in. As his wife (Ellen Burstyn) is having an affair with a PLO leader, the Israelis have means to blackmail the ambassador and erode his credibility with various factions.<br /><br />Assignment, The. (1997). Donald Sutherland was Jack Shaw/Henry Fields, A CIA agent tracking Carlos "The Jackal" (Aidan Quinn). Originally titled The Carlos Project, the movie featured Ben Kingsley as an Israeli Mossad agent, connecting worries of the Middle East with Western concerns. For some critics, this was a mere retread; for others, the film was a success as its third act didn't disintegrate into a special-effects explosion fest . <br /><br />Black Sunday (1977). While no overt connections to Israel are in this violent film, clear references to the "Black September" group featured in films like Sword of Gideon and Munich are central to the script. Robert Shaw and Bruce Dern were graphic in this story about Palestinian terrorists plotting to blow up Americans at the Super Bowl. A radio promo for the film summed up the situation: "A `Black September' broadcast in Beirut. A secret intelligence meeting in Washington. A Coast Guard alert in California. An FBI stakeout in Miami. It all comes together on--Black Sunday . . . It could be tomorrow." While the box-office was disappointing, noted director John Frankenheimer was lauded for his atmospheric location shots.<br /><br />Boys From Brazil, The. (1987). Back in 1968, Borman was an odd Italian movie with CIA agent Bob Gordon (Robert Kent) going to South America to find out if ex-Nazi Martin Borman is being cloned. In 1978, The Boys From Brazil, based on the Ira Levin novel, took the concept more seriously with an all-star cast distinguishing this production including Gregory Peck, Lawrence Olivier, James Mason and Lili Palmer. Playing against his usual type, Peck was ex-Nazi Joseph Mengala plotting a comeback with 90 Hitler clones. Oliver tracks him down, but isn't an agent of any government but rather an independent Nazi hunter.<br /><br />Death Merchants, The. (1975). Based on Jack Stackburg’s novel, Double Agent, many issues explored in this movie were ahead of their time. An Arab terrorist organization seeks a non-existent agent code-named Herzog" in Germany. But they go after the wrong man (Jason Robards) who's a Jew who has a love affair with one of the terrorists. The film has its moments, as when Robards and his Palestinian girlfriend debate the horrors of German atrocities vs. the Israeli occupation of Palestine. But the inserted narrations that explain points that could have been incorporated into the dialogue broke the flow in a well-intentioned effort.<br /><br />Eye Witness (1981). A film with quasi-espionage motifs. Connecting news stories about Jewish dissidents in Russia with tried and true romance, William Hurt played a janitor in love with a reporter (Sigourney Weaver). To interest her, Hurt pretended to know more about a murder than he really does. They ran across a rich Jew who paid a former spy to get fellow Jews out of Russia but was murdered after being blackmailed by the evil Christopher Plummer.<br /><br />Firefox (1982). Director, producer, and actor Clint Eastwood<br />cast himself as a reluctant Vietnam War vet pulled out of retirement by a Jewish dissident spy group to save U.S. from the "Firefox," the new Soviet airplane with special radar technology. Considered as another bad example of the Red bashing Hollywood fare during the Reagan era.<br /><br />Funeral In Berlin (1966). Second Michael Caine vehicle as Len Deighton's Harry<br />Palmer. Includes a beautiful Israeli agent (Eva Renzi) seeking money from an<br />ex-Nazi who'd stolen it During World War II. (See “From Harry Palmer to Austin<br />Powers: A Spy-ography of Michael Caine” also posted at this website.)<br /><br />Half Moon Street (1986). Sigourney Weaver played Dr. Slaughter, an expert in Arab affairs doubling as a paid escort. She becomes involved with a lonely diplomat (Michael Caine) negotiating top priority matters between the Arabs and Israelis. Some felt the film deserved Oscar nominations but lackluster audience response trumped critical favor.<br /><br />House on Garibaldi Street, The. (1979). Well-done quasi-documentary starring Israeli actor Topol in the story of how the Israelis captured and kidnapped former Nazi Adolf Eichmann in 1959. (See Man Who Captured Eichmann, The below.)<br /><br />Jerusalem File, The (1972). set during the Arab-Israeli Six Day War, an archeologist (Bruce Davison) got caught in the cross-fire. Israeli guerillas wanted him to work for them but allowed him to work for his girlfriend (Nicole Williamson) and an Arab group hoping he'll lead them to an Arab leader.<br /><br />Judas (1965). Set before the formation of Israel, Sophia Loren played the wife of a Nazi who sent her to a concentration camp. There, she joins the Jewish underground and, after the war, seeks her husband out when he becomes an advisor for Arab states.<br /><br />Little Drummer Girl, The. (1982). One of the lowest regarded adaptations of a John Le Carre' book. Diane Keaton starred as a young, politically naive actress recruited by Israeli Intelligence and sent to infiltrate a Palestinian terrorist organization. Directed By George Roy Hill, the cast included Yorgo Voyagis and a cameo by novelist Le Carre'.<br /><br />Mossad. (1997). Director Jonathan Tammuz's arty love story between an Mossad agent and a poetic young girl. The conflict between his work and the destruction it brings to his lover is demonstrated in paintings and music. Starred Mili Avital, Dan Turgeman, and Christine Jones.<br /><br />Munich (2005). Described in detail in "Before Munich: Black September on TV and Film" article at this website.<br /><br />Operation Thunderbolt (1977). While this historical event doesn't directly relate to the Mossad, most overviews of Israeli intelligence pay homage to the July 1976 IDF rescue of hijacked hostages from an Air France flight forced to land in Entebbe, Uganda. 100 Jewish hostages were saved by a force of less than 500 Israeli commandos in one of the most successful military operations in history.<br /><br />Two 1977 films attempted to depict the daring mission with realism and accuracy: Operation Thunderbolt was an Israeli project starring Yehoram Gaon As Col. Yonatan Netanyahu, the only Israeli casualty of the raid. He was the older brother of Benjamin Netanyahu, the future Israeli prime minister. Reviews note the most famous of the actors, Klaus Kinski and Sybil Danning, didn't have much to do, but due to the cooperation of the Israeli military and governmental figures, details were indeed accurate if the political point-of-view was clear and blatant. It should be noted the movie was very much a product of its cinematic times, so modern viewers may see some of the camerawork as out-dated. (See Raid on Entebbebe below.)<br /><br />Point Men, The. (2001). Stars Christopher Lambert as Israeli agent Tony, a hit man who thinks his team killed the wrong man and then finds terrorists are killing them off in revenge. (A take on the actual Lilihamer debacle?) An action fest but a notable step down for Bond director John Glen. Plodding--not recommended.<br /><br />Prisoner in the Middle (1974, A.K.A. Warhead). Low budget fare with David Jansen and Bond girl Karin Dor looking for a stolen atomic bomb that threatens Arab/Israeli relations. Not released theatrically, the movie was possibly cobbled together from two films. The final version was released on home video in the 1980s.<br /><br />Requiem for a Secret Agent (1966). In this violent and sadistic tale, a British agent (Stewart Granger) worked for his government when not moonlighting as a double-agent or adventurer. Uncovering a neo-Nazi secret organization in Morocco, he worked with Israeli intelligence and killed off the duplicitous bad girl, played by former Bond girl, Daniela Bianchi.<br /><br />Walk On Water--A Film by Eytan Fox. (2004). Lior Ashkenazi stars as a Mossad hit man given the mission to track down the very old Alfred Himmelman, an ex Nazi officer. Family relationships complicate life and the mission in Israel and Germany.<br /><br />---<br />Part II: Documentaries<br /><br />Archives of the Mossad: Israel's Secret Hunt for Nazi War Criminals. (Direct Cinema Limited - Educational. Filmmaker: Chanoch Zeevi and Dan Setton. VHS 1998) Includes the following four titles:<br /><br />• Angels of Vengeance<br />• The Disappearance of Martin Bormann<br />• The Hunt for Adolf Eichmann<br />• Josef Mengele: The Final Account<br /><br />Archives of the Mossad: Israel's Secret Hunt for Terrorists. (For grades 7 and up.) In the same series, this 1998 two-hour boxed set includes:<br /><br />• Shaheed: The Making of a Suicide Bomber<br />• Mikdad: Into the Mind of a Terrorist<br /><br />For more information, see:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.directcinema.com/dcl/">http://www.directcinema.com/dcl/</a><br /><br />Champagne Spy, The. (2007) Documentary written and directed by Nadav Schirman in English, Hebrew, and German. For the full story including an interview with the director, see “The Bigamist Bond: The Behind-The-Scenes Story Of The Champagne Spy” also posted at this website.<br /><br />Spies: Undercover Spies. (1991). Spies is a video series dedicated to the secret wars that have raged through the past decades. Through archival footage, interviews, and excerpts from unpublished memoirs and recently declassified sources, this series attempts to put a human face on the missions of secret agents from various agencies. Material from the archives of the CIA, FBI, KGB, and Mossad are used extensively. “Undercover in Damascus” profiles Elie Cohen, an Israeli spy who infiltrated and compromised the Syrian high command with disastrous results for Syria during the 1967 Six Day War. See:<br /><br />WWW.Spies: Undercover Spies - Trailer - Showtimes - Cast - Movies - New York Times<br /><br />Spying Game--Mossad, The. (May 09, 2005). 45 minute documentary on the history of the Mossad. On DVD.<br /><br />---<br />Part III: Television Movies and Episodes<br /><br />Danger Man (U.S. title, Secret Agent). “Judgment Day.” First Aired: November 11, 1965. British agent John Drake (Patrick McGoohan) is sent to an Arab country to retrieve a “package.” This turns out to be an ex-Nazi scientist who’s been discovered by an outlawed band of Israeli vigilantes out to avenge the scientist’s atrocities during World War II. Stranded on an abandoned airfield, the rogue group holds a kangaroo court where Drake tries to claim the Nazi was insane and therefore not eligible for the death penalty. But when the group learns Drake has had a message sent out for a rescue, they murder the Nazi and flee across the border back into Israel.<br /><br />Typical of many Danger Man scripts, this episode explores the ethics and morality of violence in the name of a greater good. During the mock trial, Drake is caught with the dilemma of knowing his country wants the scientist for their own ends while recognizing the Nazi is a “moral imbecile,” unable to distinguish right from wrong. But he also accuses the Jews of being no better for not following legal procedures. In the end, Drake has to admit he has no answer to the problem.<br /> <br />Impossible Spy, The. (1987). HBO/BBC TV movie about life of Eli Cohen. Background to the film is detailed in "The Story of Israel's Most Famous Secret Agent: Behind the Scenes of The Impossible Spy" at this website.<br /><br />I Spy, "CHILD OUT OF TIME." First broadcast on Jan. 11, 1967, written by Morton Fine & David Friedkin. This well-regarded episode may be of special historical interest for its early, perhaps first, use of Israeli agents on American network television.<br /><br /> The story was set in Madrid, Spain, revolving around a ten-year-old daughter of a former Nazi collaborator who becomes a pawn in her mother's plot to sell the names of war criminals to the highest bidder. Because of the child’s phenomenal memory, she has all the names in her head and Kelly Robinson (Robert Culp) and Alexander Scott (Bill Cosby) have to protect her as agents from both sides are on the trail. According to an e-mail from I Spy expert Marc Cushman, “The two Israeli agents are seen throughout the episode, and broke into Kelly and Scott's room and stuck guns in their ribs in an effort to get to the Nazi first. It was a race between the Israelis and the Americans, who were not working together, but were sympathetic to one another's agendas.” In the closing moments, after the Israeli assassins kill the mother, Kelly places a gun to the back of the child’s head and threatens to blow her brains out if the Israeli agents don't lower their weapons.<br /><br />Several aspects of this drama are of special interest. First, in the years before Mossad agents became known for tracking down Arab terrorists, uses of such agents on film usually dealt with tracking down ex-Nazis, but network television normally had its stars uncovering the old Nazis either plotting comebacks or trying to resurrect the frozen body of Adolph Hitler (The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The New Avengers.) I Spy uniquely brought in Israeli agents and dealt with the theme of the cost of revenge, a concern not yet common in either film or small-screen broadcast. (For one exception, see Danger Man description above.)<br /><br />In addition, another plot point of the hour worried both the network and viewers. One memo from NBC Broadcast Standards and Practices read: "The Broadcast Standards objection to Scott and Kelly sharing information on the locations of surviving Nazi death-camp officials with Israeli agents was based on the belief that our government would not place itself into the position of assisting another government that has used extralegal methods of bringing war criminals to justice. As discussed, I agreed that if you provide us with verification that our government would indeed permit the sharing of information under like circumstances, our objection would be withdrawn." Don R. Bay, Broadcast Standards.<br /><br />A letter from one viewer read: "Dear Sirs: I am writing to protest the latest episode of your program, where two agents, presumably American, hand over information to agents of a foreign power. Such a program condones an action which is basically immoral; the agents are working to supply information to the agency that hires them, not to a foreign power. Even more basic, they are Americans, not Israeli agents. The more subtle issue of the propaganda value of the program, I will not question. Let me state, however, that this particular episode of I Spy, I found extremely offensive." Mrs. A.J.A., North Hollywood, California.<br /><br />Ironically, these notes were written six months before the Six Days War, and a number of books have since claimed the CIA indeed provided Israel with information assisting their June 1967 success. While this claim remains debatable, the idea that the U.S. would share Intell to an ally being questionable prefigures these discussions by decades.<br /><br />(Information for this item came from Marc Cushman and Linda J. LaRosa’s I Spy: A History and Episode Guide, 1965-1968. Jefferson, NC: Mcfareland and Co. 2007, pps. 230-231.)<br /><br />Man Who Captured Eichmann, The. (1996). TV movie starring Robert Duvall and Jeffrey Tambor following the same line as The House on Garabaldi St. (See above.)<br /><br />NCIS. (CBS). Beginning with the first episode of the 2005 season, Mossad Liaison Officer Ziva David joined the cast, played by Chilean born actress Cote de Pablo. In her first hour, David was assigned to the NCIS following the murder of Special Agent Caitlin Todd by a rogue Mossad operative. Soon after her assignment to NCIS, she killed a native Israeli named Ari Haswari in order to save Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and it is revealed afterwards that she is Ari's half-sister.<br /><br />In the show, David is an expert marksman and carries two Firearms and a knife with her at all times. She frequently brags of her abilities as a Mossad agent but is annoyed to learn in the 2006-2007 season the Israelis have her under surveillance.<br /><br />In a May 22, 2007 Chicago Tribune Watcher item, Pablo described her first visit to Israel, invited to come when their tourist center became aware of her role. She met “with a former Mossad agent -- one of the men who captured Nazi official Adolf Eichmann in Argentina and brought him to Israel for a trial. `How they did everything without technology -- I mean, how they smuggled Eichmann out of the country without any of that -- that's what intrigued me the most,’ she said.”<br /><br />Raid on Entebbebe. (1977) American TV movie directed by Irvin Kershner, the film earned a Golden Globe. The all-star cast included Peter Finch (his last movie) as Yitzhak Rabin and Charles Bronson as Brig. Gen. Dan Shomron, leader of the commandos. (See Operation Thunderbolt for details about the historical mission re-created in this film.)<br /><br />Return of the Saint, The. “Black September.” First aired on British ITV onSunday October 1, 1978. Simon Templar (Ian Ogilvy) joined forces with an Israeli agent, Captain Leila Sabin (Prunella Gee), to track down and capture an Arab terrorist on the loose in London. For more on the group that inspired this episode, see “Before Munich: Black September on TV and Film” also posted at this website.<br /><br />Sword of Gideon, The. (1986). HBO production based on the George Jonas<br />book, Vengeance. Described in detail in "Before Munich: Black September on TV<br />and Film" article at this website.<br /><br />---<br /><br />For related articles, see<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wesleybritton.com/">WWW.WesleyBritton.com</a>The Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-57393809884944414942007-07-15T17:53:00.001-07:002007-07-15T17:53:41.672-07:00The Movie Spy's Bookshelf: A Selective BibliographyTHE MOVIE SPY'S BOOKSHELF: A SELECTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br />This annotated directory is intended to help general readers and researchers find the best full-length books with material related to espionage-oriented films. There's one major difference between the "TV Spy's Bookshelf" also posted at this site and this list. Books geared towards TV spies are a rather small family. Film studies are a bottomless pit from biographies, autobiographies, genre studies, to collections of reviews by noted critics. books on James Bond alone make for lengthy reading. So this list is "selective" in several ways:<br /><br />1. Only books I've read or know enough about to intelligently comment on are included.<br />2. Few encyclopedias or reference works that talk about or list films in general are listed. If a work doesn't have considerable information about spy films, whether about one actor, director, character, etc., I didn't include it here.<br /><br />This list is organic. So expect updates and expansions as time goes on. Please let me know of books you think should be included here. Write me at:<br /><br /><a href="mailto:spywise@verizon.net">spywise@verizon.net</a><br /><br /><br />----<br /><br />Amis, Kingsley. The James Bond Dossier. New York: New American Library. 1965. A classic study of the Fleming books, Amis has little to say about the films as the series was only 3 entries strong at the time of publication. Still, contains invaluable insights into who Bond was in the early '60s and his place in social consciousness.<br /><br />Barson, Michael and Steven Heller. Red Scared: The Commie Menace In Propaganda and Popular Culture. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. 2001. This overview of anti-Communist propaganda during the '50s is a detailed, annotated survey of pamphlets, comic books, TV and radio shows, as well as movies of the period. Very useful resource about the era. <br /><br />Biederman, Danny. The Incredible World of Spy-Fi: Wild and Crazy Spy Gadgets, Props and Artifacts, From TV and the Movies. San Francisco: Chronicle Books,<br />2004. Enjoyable coffee-table picture show of Biederman's collection. Has more TV related material, but discusses Austin Powers and B-movies of the '60s.<br /><br />Black, Jeremy. The Politics of James Bond: From Fleming’s Novels to the Big Screen. Westport, CT: Praeger Pub. 2001. As the title implies, Black looks at both the books and films featuring 007 showing how they reflected political climates from 1953 to the publication date. For those interested in contexts and public responses to the films, not what went into their creation. <br /><br />Britton, Wesley. Beyond Bond: Spies in Fiction and Film. Westport, CT: Praeger Pub. 2005. Discusses spy films in the context of their release, comparing espionage movies with historical incidents and spy literature through succeeding decades.<br /><br />Britton, Wesley. Onscreen and Undercover: The Ultimate Book of Movie Espionage. Westport, CT.: Praeger Pub. 2006. History of the genre from silent releases through the publication date. Chapters are devoted to specific trends as in battling Nazis, the Cold War, exploitation films, and the roles of women.<br /><br />Caine, Michael. What's It All About? An Autobiography of Michael Caine. Stokes Films Ltd. 1992. Detailed memories of the creation of the original "Harry Palmer" films as well as Caine's insights into other spy films he worked on including The Black Windmill and The Holcroft Covenant. Readable and enlightening. (See the "Spy-ography" of Caine posted at this website.) <br /><br />D'Abo, Maryam and John Cork. Bond Girls Are Forever: The Women of James Bond. New York: Harry N. Abrams Pub. 2003. In 2002, D'Abo, who'd played Kara in The Living Daylights, hosted the notable television documentary with this title and co-wrote the companion volume for it. It was the first official Bond book to be authored by a James Bond actress. Includes short biographies of a number of Bond girls with their thoughts on how their 007 roles affected their careers.<br /><br />Donovan, Paul. Roger Moore: A Biography. London: W. H. Allen. 1983. Most in-depth biography of the third theatrical James Bond. At the time of publication, Moore was still the reigning 007 (Octopussy came out in '83, A View to A Kill had yet to be scripted), so the book could use an update. <br /><br />Giblin, Gary. James Bond's London: A Reference Guide to the Birthplace of 007 and His Creator. Dunllen, NJ: Daleon Enterprises. 2001. Photos and history of 007 in London pointing to locations used in both the books and films. A sequel, James Bond's England, is reportedly in the works.<br /><br />Higham, Charles and Joel Greenberg. Hollywood in the Forties. New York: Paperback Library. 1968. Contains one chapter on spy films from the decade which is useful but not comprehensive. (Higham also wrote Errol Flynn: The Untold Story. New York: Doubleday. 1980. It contains much interesting but completely unreliable material about the actor's real-life role as a Nazi spy.)<br /><br />Kiel, Richard. Making It Big in the Movies: The Autobiography of Richard "Jaws" Kiel. Kew Gardens: Reynolds and Hearn Ltd. 2002. Autobiography of "Jaws" from the Bond films. Besides discussing this role, Kiel talks about working in TV and movies in a very personable style. <br /><br />Langman, Larry and David Ebner. Encyclopedia of American Spy Films. New York: Garland Pub. 1990. Alongside Mavis and Britton, an indispensable reference book. Offers different insights from Mavis for many films.<br /><br />Leab, Daniel G. I was a Communist for the FBI: The Unhappy Life of Matt Cvedic. University Park: Pennsylvania Univ. Press. 2000. Detailed exploration about the life and uses by the media of the career of FBI informant, Matt Cvedic. Most thorough analysis and history of the film, I Was A Communist for the FBI, in print. Includes brief discussions of related Hollywood projects.<br /><br />Lindner, Christoph. The James Bond Phenomenon: A Critical Reader.<br />Manchester: Manchester UP. 2003. Perhaps the most useful book on James Bond beyond coffee-table looks into the movies. A collection of essays by a number of authors, this one is indispensable reading.<br /><br />Lisanti, Tom and Louis Paul. Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962-1973. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co. 2001. At first glance, one might think this is an elaborate pin-up book of beautiful actresses who starred in both major and obscure spy films. A careful reading reveals many details about television episodes and Euro-films not readily available in other sources. Indispensable. <br /><br />Lycett, Andrew. Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond. Atlanta: Turner Pub. Inc. 1995. Outstanding and lengthy biography of Fleming. Has much content on how 007 came to be filmed and the conflict between Fleming and apparent S.P.E.C.T.R.E. creator, Kevin McClory.<br /><br />McGilligan, Patrick. Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast. New York: St. Martins. 1997. Outstanding biography of the director with considerable background into Lang's spy films from Doktor Mabuse to Cloak and Dagger. (See "Spy-ography of Fritz Lang" posted at this website.)<br /><br />Mavis, Paul. Espionage Filmography: United States Releases, 1898-1999. Jefferson City: McFarland. 2001. This one is the Big Khona, in terms of American films and British-made movies released in the States. Contains complete cast lists and very good plot summaries. A hefty tome, it's indispensable and the center of any spy library. (Compare with Langman above.)<br /><br />Miller, Toby. Spy Screen: Espionage on Film and TV from the 1930s to the 1960s. Oxford, NY: Oxford UP. 2003. While largely a textual and cultural study for students of film, general readers should find passages of interest in between long sections designed for theorists and scholars. For example, the first chapter contains historical notes not<br />frequently discussed in other sources, including concepts about early spy<br />novels. Miller has fresh insights into the Bond films, especially Live and Let Die, although his history of imperialism seems to stretch the page count and not add to the obvious--Bond represented the British Empire. Miller adds some interesting notes on fandoms for The Avengers, the subject of an earlier Miller study. (See review at my "TV<br />Spies Bookshelf" file at this website.) This one is better for<br />those interested in important films like Gilda, The 39 Steps, The Third Man<br />and cultural benchmarks like Honey West and Modesty Blaise. For library<br />shelves.<br /><br />Mulay, James et al, editors. Spies and Sleuths: Mystery, Spy, and Suspense Films on Video Cassette. Evanston, ILL: Cinebooks. 1998. An invaluable guide on movies from detective dramas to spy films, this reference book has obvious limitations. Much has happened since 1998 and the editor's scope was limited to films then available on VHS. Perhaps 1/3 of the listed movies are spy-oriented, but for those included, there's a complete cast list and better synopses than in most reference books or the IMDB. If you can pick up a used copy, it's a keeper. <br /><br />Pearson, John. The Life of Ian Fleming. New York: Macgraw-Hill. 1966. While this biography has been superceded (see Lycet, Andrew above), It still contains insights into how Fleming's character came to television and film.<br /><br />Pfeiffer, Lee and Dave Worrall. The Essential Bond: An Authorized Guide to the World of 007. Boxtree Publishers, England; Harper Collins, USA. First printed<br />in 1998; Many different printings. 2002 edition titled The Essential James Bond: An Authorized Guide to the World of 007. Two words point to the strengths of this work-in-progress--"Essential" and "authorized." Straightforward writing with insights from the participants who've created the film series. Of course, newer editions are where to start--indispensable for any movie fan's bookshelf. <br /><br />Pfeiffer, Lee and Philip Lisa. Incredible World of 007, The. Boxtree Publishers, England: Citadel Press, U.S. First printed in 1991; updated<br />edition printed 1995. The Lee Pfeiffer books benefit from his extensive knowledge of the Bond universe, the collaborators he's worked with, and the support of EON Productions who've granted him access to photo stocks and personal interviews not available to other authors. As noted above, later printings include discussions of films not in earlier editions. This one has been superceded by his The Essential Bond, but it's still an attractive photo-fest with anecdotes and opinion. <br /><br />Rubenstein, Leonard. The Great Spy Films: A Pictorial History. Secaucus: The Citadel Press, 1979. One of the most readable and insightful studies of the genre. Rubenstein groups some 50 spy films into various categories and provides plot synopsis's and contexts to demonstrate themes and characteristics of sub-genres. Indispensable.<br /><br />Shaw, Tony. British Cinema and the Cold War: The State, propaganda, and Consensus. New York: St. Martins. 2001. Detailed exploration of British-made films (and the influence of Hollywood) throughout the Cold War. Focuses on censorship and the role of the British government in shaping the course of many productions.<br /><br />Solomon, ED et al. Men in Black: The Script and the Story Behind the Film. New York: New Market Press. 1997. For those who are interested in this delightful film. <br /><br />Spoto, Donald. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock. New York: Ballentine Books. 1983. Contains many insights into Hitchcock spy films, including some never made. Key resource for anyone interested in this director.<br /><br />Strada, Michael and Harold Troper. Friend or Foe: Russians in American Film and Foreign Policy (1933-1991). Lanhan, MD: Scarecrow Press. 1997. Extremely useful overview of films during the years indicated that dealt with Russian characters, themes, and duels with Western governments and spy agencies. <br /><br />Truffaut, Francois with the collaboration of Helen G. Scott. Hitchcock. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. A collection of interviews with the venerable director, there are many quotations from Hitchcock regarding his feelings about espionage and the creative process behind his spy-oriented films.<br /><br />Wark, Wesley, ed. Spy Fiction, Spy Films, and Real Intelligence. London:<br />Frank Cass and Co. Ltd. 1991. This Collection of essays by various authors<br />was first published in the Journal of Intelligence and National Security (1990). It's one of the most insightful books on espionage fiction from an academic standpoint I've ever encountered. There's considerable detail regarding literature and history, but movies are usually included only in short passing references. David R. Booth's article on the history of spy films serves as an adequate introduction to the topic, but is a mere survey<br />of selective titles and not on the same level as other offerings in the<br />collection.<br /><br />Wood, Robin. Hitchcock's Films Revisited. New York: Columbia UP. 1989. Feminist critique of the Hitchcock legacy including his spy films.<br /><br />Youngkin, Stephen, James Bigwood, and Raymond Cabana, Jr. The Films of Peter Lorre. Citadel Press, NJ, 1982. Contains important background on the spy films that featured Peter Lorre from the "Mr. Moto" films, Lorre's work with Hitchcock, and his final years.<br /><br /><br /><br />For related articles and resources, see<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wesleybritton.com/">WWW.WesleyBritton.com</a>The Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-12332723422325343742007-07-12T07:05:00.000-07:002007-07-12T07:06:00.119-07:00Touring with 007: A Travel Guide for Spy BuffsTraveling With 007: A Tour Guide for Spy Buffs<br /><br />International Flavors<br /><br />It all began with Ian Lancaster Fleming's richly descriptive James Bond novels. During the 1950s, when the first seven 007 books appeared, Bond was a globetrotting tourist with many travel scenes at a time when thrillers were Designed for an international market. Descriptions of gentlemen's clubs in London, the underwater scenery in reefs near Jamaica, and the habits of Sumo wrestlers appealed to readers themselves traveling after picking up their titles in airports and terminals. Fleming, who'd penned his own 1963 travelogue of favorite sites, Thrilling Cities, also looked to spy literature for inspiration. For example, he acknowledged fellow novelist Eric Ambler's contributions to the Istanbul sequences in his 1957 From Russia With Love by having Bond reading Ambler's The Mask of Dimitrous, the 1939 novel Fleming had used as atour guide during his first trip to the city.<br /><br />Then, during the 1960s, television and movie scripts used travel to give stories realism and credibility. The production teams behind TV shows like Danger Man and I Spy tried to give their adventures a visual travel documentary look by filming on location to give us new vistas in which the heroes and heroines operated.<br /><br /> Spy movies too have begun with writers first finding exotic locations before fleshing out characters or stories. One famous example was screenwriter Earnest Lehman researching locales for Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 North by Northwest. Hitchcock wanted scenes in a U.N. lounge and atop Mt. Rushmore. Lehman went to the U.N., Grand Central Station, Chicago, South Dakota and ultimately tried to climb Mt. Rushmore himself before scripting the ultimate Hitchcock adventure. This process continues in nearly every action-adventure film produced with an international flavor in mind. For example, in DVD commentary for the 1983 Bond epic, octopussy, producer Michael Wilson admitted the planning began with trips to India to find exotic places 007 hadn't visited before. Once they'd found interesting visuals, then a script was devised to put the world's most famous secret agent in these places.<br /><br />Tourism for Spy Buffs<br /><br />After decades of these adventures, the modern tourist can now go where famous spies have gone before. If you're planning a trip to Switzerland, you can go high in the Alps to Piz Gloria, a ski lodge named after a setting in Fleming's On Her Majesty's Secret Service and see where the 1969 movie version was filmed. Likewise, Phuket, in southern Thailand, promotes boat trips out to see limestone formations seen in 1973's The Man With The Golden Gun. Thailand also heavily courts tourists to see "James Bond Island" where Roger Moore and Christopher Lee dueled during the energy crisis. This island has long been a dangerous place to visit due to serious pirate traffic in those waters. Now, that's getting a taste of the exotic!<br /><br />On the literary side, Kent, England has developed tourism brochures highlighting their links to Ian Fleming's Bond novels. If you check out “SwindonWeb - Guide Connection - James Bond,” you’ll learn where you can visit Ian Fleming’s grave and two locations for Bond films. the Motorola factory at Groundwell was a double for a high tech oil pumping station in The World Is Not Enough, and the Renault building was used for filming a series of scenes featuring James Bond (Roger Moore) and Patrick MacNee (Sir Godfrey Tibbett). Capitalizing on these attractions, the town hosts occasional Bond events featuring stars from the 007 films, past and present.<br /><br />Cons<br /><br />But, for spy fans, there's nothing quite like the conventions that mix tourism, the opportunity to talk with celebrities, and the chance to play games and dress up like James Bond and take a crack at the roulette tables. According to Matt Sherman, who's been hosting "Bond Weekends for his Omnibilia and Gator Country Travel Agency since 1998, " Fans expect a fun if not glamorous location when chasing spy trails. I've<br />had much pleasure building brand new tourism itineraries for genre fans<br />Centered on exciting destinations." These include the 1999 weekend in Las Vegas, the setting for the 1971 Diamonds Are Forever. Visitors had the chance to see the sights and chat with Lana Wood who played Plenty O'Toole in the Sean Connery outing. In 2000, Sherman brought fans to New Orleans where scenes from Roger Moore's debut as 007, Live and Let Die, were set. Celebrities included Bond girl Gloria Hendry and guitarist Vic Flick, the man who played the signature 007 guitar hook.<br /><br />Over the years, Sherman says, certain places have proved the most popular for espionage buffs. "My guests enjoyed San Francisco as a James Bond and genre location, the setting for A View to a Kill, Bullitt, and The Rock. Its sheer beauty and fabulous<br />sightseeing and dining" enhanced the 2002 weekend along side appearances by Richard "Jaws" Kiel, Lois Chiles, and Barbara Bouchet." Surprisingly, he observes, America hasn't yet tapped into its possibilities for secret agent tourism. "In the United States, only with the advent of the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. has a municipality actively promoted spy tourism. I'm disappointed because marvelous U.S. locations include several hundred exteriors and interiors used for the 007 films." (note 1)<br /><br /> But things are changing. "Cities like Chicago and Miami have developed a good following for us as people enjoy local color and sightseeing along with spy history." And celebrity guests don't always have to be faces familiar from the screen. For the 2004 Miami weekend, the guests included Technical Advisor and Security Coordinator Paul Meyers and pilot Dan Haggerty for Tomorrow Never Dies and License to Kill. Perhaps the best mix of faces and places took place at the 2003 weekend in Los Angeles. Autograph seekers could meet David Carradine (Kill Bill), Robert Culp (I Spy), and actual KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin as the headliners who sat with dozens of authors, intelligence experts, and fans.<br /><br />One outgrowth of these weekends is Jim Arnold’s Licence to Kill Exotic Locations: Key West Book Companion. This book of Floridian James Bond locations includes a DVD with extras including video of Licence To Kill locations and interesting tidbits on non-Bond epics filmed in Miami and Key West. (note 2)<br /><br /><br />Year Round Spy Travels<br /><br />But spy aficionados don't have to wait for planned weekends to capture some flavor of secret agent work. In London, “The Spies" & Spycatchers" London Walk” takes place every Saturday afternoon at 2:30 pm. A bit of the flavor of this walk is shown in their online description:<br /><br />Meet Spymaster Alan just outside the subway 3 exit of Piccadilly CircusTube.<br />He'll be standing by the Clydesdale Bank.<br />He'll be topped off with a black hat...and a green carnation. (note 3)<br /><br />While you’re in England, you can also pick up Gary Giblin's 2001 James Bond's London: A Reference Guide to the Birthplace of 007 and His Creator and be your own tour guide. Using Giblin's photos and history of 007, you can find locations used in both the books and films.<br /><br />In the U.S., there's a spy theme restaurant in Milwaukee, the Safe House, which has been in existence since the 1960s. Diners can share a mysterious ambiance, join in games, and can enjoy an espionage-only bookstore. Since 2003, the Culture Club of the Chicago Cultural Center has produced an annual "Spy Ball," an espionage-theme party in February featuring music, circus performances, video clips from spy movies and interactive surveillance camera demonstrations.<br /><br />One popular attraction has been doing some travels of its own. In 2000 and 2001, author Danny Biederman's Spy-Fi Exhibit" was on display at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, the National Atomic Museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and then at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Biederman's artifacts were also displayed at the Strategic Air Command and the Pentagon before a collection of them were shown at the International Spy Museum from late 2005 to June 2006 before being an exhibit on the Queen Mary in 2007. "My Spy-Fi Archives," Biederman notes, "is the world's largest collection of props, wardrobe, and original art from half a century of spy movies and TV shows. It ranges from the Cold War '60s classics to more recent spy fare, such as Alias and Austin Powers." These include the prop shoe phone from Get Smart, the prop tarantula from Dr. No, secret documents from Mission: Impossible, and a pair of leather trousers worn by Diana Rigg in The Avengers.<br /><br />Clearly, the main draw for spy enthusiasts and the general public alike is the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C. Since 2002, this attraction has boasted two floors of exhibits including artifacts from a 1774 letter from George Washington establishing a New York spy network to a KGB lipstick gun to radio transmitters hidden in shoe heels and tree stumps. "This is the largest number of espionage artifacts on public display anywhere in the world -- a truly unique opportunity!" says Museum Executive<br />Director Peter Earnest, a 36-year veteran of CIA's Clandestine Service. Here's the place to learn about all things espionage in an interactive environment. All visitors are invited to choose a "legend," a false identity to play for the day. Throughout the museum, in between crawling through heating ducts and listening to videos describing various eras in espionage, crowds of young would-be agents hang around interactive devices to learn how well they can play at being their legend.<br /><br /> According to Amanda Ohlke, Manager of Adult Education for the museum, "Though predominantly focused on real spies, we don't skip famous fictional spies. Crowds gather every few minutes as an Aston Martin DB5 displays its amazing features including machine guns, tire slashers, bulletproof shield, oil<br />jets, dashboard radar screen, rotating license plate, and ejector seat,<br />just like the car in the 1964 James Bond thriller Goldfinger." And check out the museum's website and you can also catch evenings with lectures by spy authors, screenings of rare films, and memories of actual veterans of spycraft.<br /><br />But there’s more. The National Cryptologic Museum is the National Security Agency’s principal gateway to the public. Being the first and only public museum in the Intelligence Community, located adjacent to NSA Headquarters, Ft. George G. Meade, Maryland, the Museum collection contains thousands of artifacts about the history of American cryptology, the people who devoted their lives to cryptology and national defense, the machines and devices they developed, the techniques they used, and the places where they worked. the Museum hosts approximately 50,000 visitors annually for the perfect admission price—free!<br /><br />And, in 2005, the government of Kagawa Prefecture in Japan even established a museum dedicated to Bond novelist Raymond Benson's 2002 book, The Man With the Red Tattoo, which was partially set on Naoshima Island in Kagawa Prefecture. They'd like to see the Bond film people make a movie there. <br /><br />With all this to explore, there's no reason not to join in the adventure, history, fantasy, and camaraderie of fellow undercover spy tourists. As we learn about other attractions, we’ll add them here. Please send us notes on anything we missed!<br /><br />Notes<br /><br />1. In 2007, a new pamphlet from the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command<br />(INSCOM) History Office describes locations in and around Washington,<br />D.C. that have significant associations with the history of U.S.<br />military intelligence.<br /><br />"The sites selected span two centuries of military intelligence in<br />support of the Nation and its Army, starting with George Washington in<br />the Revolutionary War and ending with William F. Friedman in World War<br />II," according to the introduction.<br /><br />A dozen or so sites are described, and directions for finding them are<br />provided. The locations of grave sites of notable figures in military<br />intelligence at Arlington National Cemetery, including cryptologists<br />William Friedman and his Elizebeth (misspelled here as "Elizabeth"),<br />are provided.<br /><br />The new INSCOM pamphlet was published this year in hardcopy only, but a<br />scanned version is now available online. See "On the Trail of Military Intelligence History: A Guide to the Washington, DC, Area," U.S. Army INSCOM History Office, 2007 (36 pages, 2.6 MB PDF):<br /><br />http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/inscom/trail.pdf<br /><br />2. For information about Jim Arnold’s Licence To Kill Exotic Location: Key West book companion check out:<br /><br />www.kingego.com<br /><br />3. For more information about “The Spies" & Spycatchers" London Walk,” check out:<br /><br />http://www.walks.com/<br /><br />---<br />Related articles can be found at<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wesleybritton.com/">WWW.WesleyBritton.com</a>The Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-31696305170256896652007-07-11T19:13:00.000-07:002007-07-11T19:14:24.288-07:00Very Honorable Mentions: More Spy Film RecommendationsVERY HONORABLE MENTIONS: MORE SPY FILM RECOMMENDATIONS<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br />After revising "THE INDISPENSIBLES: THE BEST SPY FILMS OF ALL TIME" for this website, I realized many excellent movies hadn't been listed. Admitting many of my choices in that directory reflect my particular tastes in spy movies and acknowledging many other titles are arguably as good as some of the films discussed in that list, it seems appropriate I note other films meriting consideration.<br /><br />Movies discussed here are mainly productions from both major and independent studios now readily available on DVD. In a separate file, "NEGLECTED NUGGETS AND OBSCURE CLASSICS: COLLECTING RARE SPY MOVIES," look for rarities worthy of consideration that are only available from less common sources.<br /><br /> Without reservation, good spy films to spend your time with include: <br /><br />---<br /><br />The Amateur (1981). One exception to the trend of explosion-fests in the 1980s was director Charles Jarrott's The Amateur based on Robert Littell's novel of the same name. CIA cipher expert Charlie Hiller (John Savage) wanted to be a field agent after his girlfriend was killed by terrorists. To get the information and training he required, Hiller blackmailed the agency as no one seemed interested in avenging the death. While the agency seeks the file Hiller has hidden and puts a killer on his trail, the agent went behind enemy lines in Czechoslovakia where he met up with a CIA contact (Marthe Keller). She was also motivated by the same drive as many spies in the decade, revenge.<br /><br /> While critical and audience response was mixed, The Amateur enjoyed a distinctive European flavor with believable accents and motivations. While slow paced, the film carried over some of Littell's philosophical thinking. For example, Hiller and the captain of the secret police (Christopher Plummer) explored the themes of truth and ciphers. Each member of the cast must determine where the lines go between emotional, personal needs and those of governments whose concerns are questionable and brutal. In the spirit of films like The Marathon Man, the movie is intended for audiences interested in character development, new wrinkles in spy stories, and cinematography that provides realism and atmosphere.<br /><br />---<br />Casablanca (1942). While debates continue over whether or not this classic can be considered a spy film, many have noted that the characters of Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt) and Ilsa Lund Laszlo (Ingrid Bergman) come to Humphrey Bogart's "Rick's Café" seeking letters of transit signed by General Weygand. Rick had obtained these from Ugarte (Peter Lorre) before his arrest by the Vichy police. Along with Ilsa came Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreied), a Resistance fighter who's escaped from a concentration camp. No one is a spy per se, but the action of seeking secret papers and plotting an underground escape are typical elements in espionage-oriented scripts, so Casablanca, in this context, deserves a Very Honorable Mention.<br /><br />---<br />The Falcon and the Snowman (1985). This Cold War classic earned wide acclaim for its treatment of a true story about two young men, Dalton Lee (Sean Penn) and Christopher Boyce (Timothy Hutton), who'd sold secrets about U.S. satellites to the Russians in 1977. Boyce was the idealistic son of a former FBI agent disillusioned by the Vietnam war. After further disillusionment when he learns the CIA was meddling with the internal affairs of Australia, he contacted friend Dalton Lee, a drug dealer, who acted as courier for Boyce in Mexico. A very human drama, a study in contrasts between the young men's motivations and resulting corruption.<br /><br />---<br />Hopscotch (1980). A witty chase yarn with Walter Mattheau as a disheveled ex-agent gathering files to write his memoirs as he wants to embarrass the intelligence agencies of the world. Glenda Jackson was his old flame who gets caught up in the action helping him elude the CIA, British, West Germans, as well as the Russians. Based on the Brian Garfield novel, who was an associate producer of the film version, the movie was and is highly regarded.<br /><br />---<br />The Lady Vanishes (1938); Foreign Correspondent (1940); The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956). In my "Indispensables" file, I described 3 Hitchcock films likely his very best--The 39 Steps, Notorious, and North by Northwest. But no spy--or movie--buff should stop there. The 3 Hitchcock films noted here are well worth an evening, and each has earned wide critical and audience accolades. There are 6 other Hitchcock spy films and all are worthy of continued interest. The titles in these lists are just the best starting points. <br /><br />---<br />My Favorite Blonde (1942). Now, don't turn your nose up like that! While versatile comic Bob Hope and his "cowardly wolf" persona may be distant memories now, at one time Hope was something special in entertainment. And if you're into spy comedies--well, he did more than anyone else, then and now. <br /><br />In spy spoof Nothing But the Truth (1941), Hope co-starred with Paulette Goddard before the first of a quasi-trilogy, My Favorite Blonde (1942), My Favorite Brunette (1947), and My Favorite Spy (1951). Of these, Blonde was perhaps the best, co-starring Madeline Carroll as Karen Bently, an English agent who attaches herself to second-rate vaudevillian Larry Haines (Hope) and his partner, Percy the Penguin, at an airport to throw off enemy agents.<br /><br />Trademark Hope wisecracks are also in They Got Me Covered (1943), in which Hope played reporter Robert Kittredge who's been fired after missing the story of the Nazi invasion of Russia. Iron Petticoats (1946) was a disaster on all levels pairing Hope with Katherine Hepburn, a Russian lady pilot who landed a plane in the American zone in post-war Germany. In Call Me Bwanna (1963), the only non-Bond project made to date by EON Productions, Hope was a phony explorer hired by the government to find a lost space probe in African jungles. Finally, in 1968, Hope paired with his "Road" picture buddy Bing Crosby for one last time in The Road to Hong Kong. All these light efforts are uneven, but most have more laughs per minute than many comedies to follow.<br /><br />---<br />Pascali's Island. (1988). James Dearden wrote and directed this Australian film based on the Barry Unsworth novel. Set in 1908, the story centered on Basil Pascali (Ben Kingsley), an agent for the Turkish government left on an unimportant island about which he's been sending unanswered reports to the Sultan for 20 years. At film's opening, he's pondering the lack of meaning in his work. He meets an English archeologist, Anthony Bowles (Charles Dance), who salts a ancient site with fake artifacts to get access to a valuable Greek statue. At the same time, Pascali slowly learns his Ottoman Empire is crumbling and European influence is on the rise. In addition, an American ship is giving Greek rebels arms who will end up retaking the island which had been once theirs.<br /><br />In the poignant tale, Pascali learns he hasn't been much of a spy--he didn't see the coming problems, and discovers the Sultan was working on buying up property containing bauxite without his agent aware of the activity. To make one last gesture of solidarity<br />with his people, Pascali arranges for the authorities to capture Bowles to save the statue only to see friends killed for his betrayal. Too late, he realizes the Greeks will come for him and recover a statue that didn't belong to the Turkish culture to begin with.<br /><br />While this story took place before World War I, it's easy to see it as a metaphor for the final days of the Cold war which would become clearer in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Unintentionally prophetic, the film dealt with questions that circulated in the 1990s--why hadn't anyone seen the collapse of the Soviet Union coming? Pascali's Island was also an obvious extension of books and films from the 1960s and 1970s when writers like John Le Carre' mulled over the meaning of it all. What were we fighting for and were the good guys really good? And the tragedy of Pascali revisited the themes of so many spy dramas--what was the role of one agent who doesn't know the big picture, what his superiors were about, and what was the cost of acting without this knowledge in the lives of innocent people?<br /><br />I admit, when I first viewed this one, I was astonished I'd not heard of it before. It's a wonderful movie, spy elements or no. Highly recommended. <br /><br />---<br />The Quiet American. (2002). For a detailed discussion on this Michael Caine effort, see "From Harry Palmer to Austin Powers: A Spy-ography of Michael Caine" posted at this website.<br /><br />---<br />The Quiller Memorandum (1965). This exceptional contribution to the spy genre was distinguished by author Harold Pinter's script adapting Adam Hall's Berlin Memorandum starring George Segal as agent Quiller sent out to investigate a neo-Nazi group in Berlin. Other well-cast actors included Senta Berger, Alec Guiness, George Saunders, and Max Von Sydow. The film earned high critical praise for the script, acting, and director Michael Anderson's use of locations to make West Berlin seem at once substantial and fantastic.<br /><br />---<br />The Spy in Black (AKA U Boat 29 (1939). During World War II, movie makers also went to war and ground out endless films as much poorly scripted propaganda as entertainment. One exception was director Michael Powell's clever, intelligent, and very human story starring the reliable Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson in the film about a German submarine commander assigned to spy on the British in the Orkney Islands. Based on the J. Storer Clouston novel, an above-average musical score distinguished the movie which was a precursor to many films based on O.S.S. operations, only from the other side of the war.<br /><br />---<br />The Tamarind Seed (1973). Based on the 1971 novel by Evelyn Anthony, director Blake Edwards cast his wife Julie Andrews as a British civil servant swept off her feet by a dashing Russian (Omar Sharif). Under Caribbean skies, he fails to recruit her, decides to stay with her, but both have to battle an English double-agent. Novelist Anthony was known for books featuring unmarried women engaged in spycraft, and fans praise the film's keeping to the storyline and spirit of the book. Character driven with above-average dialogue, this one isn't A-list but worthy of continued viewing.<br /><br />---<br />Topkapi (1964). Based on an Eric Ambler novel, this comedy had jewel thieves hiring Arthur Simpson (Peter Ustinov) as a courier. But Turkish security apprehended him and forced him to spy on his employers. Turns out, it's not jewels being smuggled but rather arms to disrupt an official occasion. One complication is that Simpson believes one informant who mistakenly thinks the gang are Russian spies. He's not especially reliable--the informant thinks the word "official" has something to do with bad fish. The elaborate scheme to steal a special daggar was a clear model for Mission: Impossible and all future such projects. Entertaining on several levels.<br /><br />Other articles you might enjoy are posted at:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wesleybritton.com/">WWW.WesleyBritton.com</a>The Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-76845791324077171282007-07-11T19:07:00.000-07:002007-07-11T19:08:20.558-07:00The Indispensibles: The Best 30 Spy Films of All TimeTHE INDISPENSIBLES: THE BEST 30 SPY FILMS OF ALL TIME<br /><br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br />The directory below is not an annotated list of my favorite spy films nor a compilation of the movies that have earned the best reviews and revenues at the box office. Instead, I pulled together what I believe are the most significant spy films based on two things: were they important in some way to the history of the spy genre and are they still enjoyable in today's market?<br /><br /> The movies below are listed in chronological order to avoid any appearance of "ranking."<br /><br />If readers wish to point out sins of omission or emphasis, I'll gladly add other views as updates to this file. If one of your favorites isn't in this list, check out "VERY HONORABLE MENTIONS: MORE CLASSIC SPY MOVIES" and "NEGLECTED NUGGETS AND OBSCURE CLASICS: COLLECTING RARE SPY FILMS" files also posted at this website.<br /><br />---<br /><br />The 39 Steps (1935)<br />Notorious (1946)<br />North by Northwest (1959)<br /><br />Without question, much of Alfred Hitchcock's canon shaped the entire genre of spy films. He was keenly interested in espionage and drew from important writers like Eric Ambler, W. Somerset Maugham, and John Buchan.<br /><br /> Few would contest The 39 Steps as being the best of his British black-and-white films as it established many of the templates and formulas for spy movies ever afterward. Taking some of his cues from Buchan's 1915 novel, Hitchcock gave us the reluctant amateur drawn into undercover investigations. Robert Donet is Richard Hannay, a loner on the run unable to trust law enforcement and criminals alike. Hitchcock added the character of Pamela Stewart (Madeline Carroll) who is the equally reluctant love interest who strikes early blows for female equality. All these aspects were re-worked in films from Three Days of the Condor to The Bourne Identity. On top of this, the script, style, and dialogue make this film still enjoyable and watchable for any movie fan who doesn't need classics colorized.<br /><br />Later, Hitchcok's highly-regarded Notorious was considered the best film to come out of the Nazi Spy Cycle of films that ran from 1940 to 1950. The cycle included such films as The Whip Hand (1952) and Orson Welles's The Stranger (1946), a film worthy of an "Honorable Mention" in its own right. For Notorious, Ben Heck's screenplay was a character study of a love affair between a stoic American agent (Cary Grant) and a disreputable daughter of an American Nazi (Ingrid Bergman). The film played on the "patriotic spy" motif with Bergman's Alishia Sebastion claiming such spies wave the flag with one hand while picking pockets with the other. Still, Sebastion worked for her country despite mixed motives and nearly died for her efforts, forced to marry a German agent in Brazil seeking secrets to build an atomic bomb.<br /><br />Hitchcock worked for simplicity and "reasonable evil" in his story, and his "Macguffan" of uranium ore hidden in wine bottles was a precursor to so many films dealing with atomic menaces. In addition, the themes of changing gender roles and the darkness of the plot were early examples of what would become film noir. <br /><br />Hitchcock's North By Northwest remains classic cinema beyond any genre description. It's another film with a "Everyman" hero (Cary Grant again) pulled into strange business who becomes enlivened by his experiences. The film features some of the best set pieces in movie history, and some have said the Bond series is but a parody of what Hitchcock created in this contribution to his "Golden Period."<br /><br />For more Hitch titles, see “Very Honorable Mentions” posted at this website.<br /><br />---<br />The Mask of Dimitrious (1944)<br /><br /> For many, this film based on an Eric Ambler book remains a classic. In particular, Peter Lorre is praised for his role as an author of mystery novels who becomes obsessed with tracking down information on the career of arch-criminal, Dimitrios. Part of Dimitrios' long list of criminal activities includes political assassination for hire. Victor Francen plays master spy Grodek. Excellent script, acting, and direction. (For more on this film, see "From Madman to Icon: A Spy-ography of Peter Lorre" posted at this website.)<br /><br />---<br /><br />House on 92nd Street (1945)<br /><br />When producers got to work on the quasi-biographical I Was A Communist for the FBI in 1951, they had to admit their far fetched and heavily melodramatic project wouldn't be in the same league as House on 92nd Street. At the time, House was held up as the best documentary style spy movie ever filmed, including newsreel footage inserted to augment the movie's realism. Taking the title from the address of a German spy leader, the story centered on a Federal investigator named George Briggs (Lloyd Nolan) who aids a German student contacted by Nazis. A precursor to similar outings in the 1950s, an atomic bom scientist was a Nazi agent, merging concerns of a war winding down and one about to begin. The production was clearly intended to reassure the American public that J. Edgar Hoover's agents were ready to stop the nefarious hidden threats to America, both those recently past and now beginning to seep up from under the woodwork. Hoover himself made an appearance. Nothing fanciful here, but rather a transitional film that reveals much about a key period in undercover history.<br /><br />---<br /><br />pickup on South Street (1953)<br /><br />While most spy films of the 1950s were marked by Hollywood's mood of appeasement to the blacklisters in Washington D.C., occasional projects rose above the moralistic propaganda of the era. Director Samuel Fullers Pickup was well above the pack and retains much of its style and watchability for modern DVD viewers. <br /><br />Pickup is a Brutal New York drama starring Richard Widmark as Skip McCoy, a weazely, "shifty as smoke" petty crook who steals a wallet containing microfilm from Candy (Jean Peters), an inadvertent Communist courier. Thelma Ritter, the over-the-hill police informant MO, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the film. By design, Fuller wanted his "anti-social" types to be human even if they weren't the normal sort of heroes audiences "root for." Skip, Candy, and MO were, in his mind, apolitical, not caring about such matters and were not impressed by FBI agents waving the flag. Critically praised, then and now, this film noir nugget is for those who like gritty, hard-boiled characters from the backstreets who are not international jet setters.<br /><br />---<br /><br />The Manchurian Candidate (1962)<br /><br />As explored in my Beyond Bond, many films gained unexpected publicity boosts when headlines about contemporary events made Hollywood fare seem prophetic or at least in sync with what was going on in actual espionage. When film director John Frankenheimer finished work on his adaptation of the 1950 Richard Condon novel, the process almost worked in reverse.<br /><br />In a project that did indeed intentionally warn about ill uses of both science and politics, Lawrence Harvey starred as a Korean War POW who'd been brainwashed to assassinate a Presidential Canidate after his release. Frank Sinatra was the company commander who beat his own brainwashing to figure out the plot. But the landmark film was nearly killed by United Artists who feared the movie about such assassins might pollute the air when President Kennedy scheduled a summit with Soviet Secretary Nikita Kruschev in Geneva. According to Sinatra, the movie was saved when he told studio executives he had just met with Kennedy, then a personal friend, who was enthusiastic about the film. Ironically, the tale about an assassination plot against a U.S. president seemed prophetic when Kennedy later lost his life in Dallas.<br /><br />Now a staple on cable television and available with many extras on a 2004 DVD edition, The Manchurian Canidate remains popular among film critics.<br /><br />---<br /><br />From Russia With Love (1962)<br />Thunderball (1965)<br /><br />For any Bond fan, it's impossible not to think of the first four Connery epics as a whole as they define the entire phenomena. For my money, FRWL and Thunderball are the cream of the crop. Both show 007 as one man against a vast criminal conspiracy where we get inside the plans and designs of Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his SPECTRE. Dr. No and Goldfinger, of course, have much to recommend them. In both, Connery takes on a megalomaniac and his henchmen and, er, hench-women. All of these films are closest to what Ian Fleming wrote, and the closest of all was From Russia With Love, arguably Fleming's best novel. <br /><br />---<br /><br />Charade (1963)<br /><br />In one of the most influential films of the 1960s, Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn starred in director Stanley Donin's admitted homage to Alfred Hitchcock. Charade even managed to outdo Hitchcock in an era when the influential director wasn't faring as well as his imitators. In this case, wanting to make a new North by Northwest,Donin said he wanted a scripbased on aman who didn't exist. Writer Peter Stone provided it.<br /><br />In the Paris set comedy, Hepburn was Regina Lamford, the widow of a murdered thief who stole a fortune he was supposed to split with four Army buddies and they want it back. They included George Kennedy, wearing a metal hand, and James Coburn as "Tex" before his fame as Derek Flint. Walter Matthau was a character claiming to be Bartholomew, a CIA agent. Grant was a character who has many names before revealing he's a treasury agent in the last scene.<br /><br /> According to critic Barry Paris, "the structure and tone were full of smart dialogue, red herrings, single and double bluffs, and Parisian style." Charade was a surprise hit at the box-office, clearly Donin's biggest hit in his career, breaking all records at Radio City in New York. It was the year's fifth most profitable film, grossing $6.15 million dollars and inspiring a flock of comic thriller imitations with similar titles--Mirage, Caprice, Masquerade, Kaleidoscope, Blindfold. In a decade of considerable dross, Charade stood out and it still does.<br /><br />---<br /><br />The Ipcress File (1965)<br /><br />The first of the "Harry Palmer" films starring Michael Caine was intended to be very different from the Bond pictures even though its producer, Harry Saltzman, was co-producer of the most popular franchise in movie history. He looked to the Len Deighton novels about an unnamed agent and the results were three movies that all contributed to fictional espionage for various reasons. Funeral in Berlin (1965) emphasized script over special effects, with the final moments pulling together two plotlines leading to the unlikely scene of a thief trying to get into East Berlin instead of the other way around. Billion Dollar Brain (1967) showed how times had changed from the 1950s. Once, the idealistic American general who wanted to instigate World War III would have been praised as a patriot out to blast the Reds. In the more cynical '60s, he was defeated by both British Intelligence and the KGB together as both wanted a contained, limited Cold War.<br /><br />But Ipcress remains the best of the trilogy as it established Harry Palmer as the antithesis to Bond, an irreverent, ironic, working-class agent who is coerced into government service because of his criminal skills. He'd prefer cooking to spying, doesn't want to spy on weekends, and would prefer not to carry a gun. Director Sidney Furie used experimental techniques to illustrate the eavesdropping nature of espionage including camera angles from under cars and through lampshades. In addition, the scene in which Palmer thinks he's being brain-washed in Albania while actually still being in London set the stage for the formula for mission: Impossible. MI creator Bruce Geller admitted this influence and shaped the concept for sting operations based on what he liked in Ipcress. Beyond all this, the fact the film is character driven with a good script makes it classic viewing even after the end of the Cold War. (For more details, see “From Harry Palmer to Austin Powers: A Spy-ography of Michael Caine” posted at this website.)<br /><br />---<br /><br />Our Man Flint (1965)<br /><br />During the 1960s, the Americans tried their best to outdo 007. Would-be heroes included Frankie Avalon, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Sammy Davis, Jr. None of them came close to challenging Sean Connery with the possible exception of James Coburn as Derek Flint.<br /><br />OMF was a lucky blend of factors including the still-beloved music by Jerry Goldsmith, the perfect tone of straight-faced parody in the script, production, and supporting cast, as well as the male ruggedness of the lead. The combination didn't really jell in the sequel, In Like Flint, but the original still makes later efforts like Austin Powers and Spyhard seem like exercises in the redundant.<br /><br />---<br /><br />The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1966)<br /><br />For nearly forty years, the novels of John Le Carre' have been adapted for the screen, and the results have been uneven at best. When two of his George Smiley books were adapted into scripts, Le Carre' chose to have them turned into TV miniseries. He felt Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People were too complex for a two-hour retelling.<br /><br />Not so for Spy. When it debuted during the 007 heyday, the film was praised as a gritty anti-dote to the fantasies dominating drive-ins and Saturday afternoon matinees. Uniquely, Spy was a member of a rare breed, a movie that retained the flavor, tone, and spirit of the original novel. In this case, it's difficult to say which is better, the 1962 book or the Richard Burton, Claire Bloom drama about the costs paid by individuals caught up in the plans of bureaucracies that value secrets more than humanity. <br /><br />---<br /><br />On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)<br /><br />I don't know who coined the phrase, but Australian-born George Lazenby was dubbed "the human Bond" for his one contribution to the 007 saga. The unknown actor was helped by a script that was the last attempt to keep close to an Ian Fleming story. In a sense, OHMSS was sandwiched between the two most Moore-like of the Connery vehicles, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever. Lazenby also benefited from a story that was the only true attempt at giving 007 a human relationship with his female lead, and its hard to imagine a better casting choice than ex-Avenger Diana Rigg. In fact, this film would have been an excellent action-drama no matter what the name of the main character might have been.<br /><br />---<br /><br />The Day of the Jackal (1973)<br /><br />When it first appeared, director Fred Zinneman's adaptation of the 1971 Frederick Forsythe novel was praised for being a film that kept to the spirit, suspense, and intentions of a book many consider a landmark in espionage fiction. Kenneth Ross's screenplay starred Edward Fox as the "Jackal," a killer out to get French President Charles De Gualle. This cipher, a man of disguise and deception, was tracked by Michel Lonsdale as Detective Claude Lebel who had to work outside of legal constraints and a French cabinet secretly hoping for the "Jackal"s success. Supported by an international cast and location shoots throughout England, France, and Italy, this film brought the assassination thriller into the mainstream. It's remembered for the clever gun "The Jackal" smuggles into France and the duel between two equal opponents, a formula often repeated but rarely, as it were, equaled.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Three Days of the Condor (1975)<br /><br />director Sidney Pollack's adaptation of James Grady's novel, Six Days of the Condor (1974), can be seen as The 39 Steps of the 1970s. In this case, Robert Redford starred as an enthusiastic, if naïve, CIA researcher. His job was to read adventure literature and journals to find new ideas and uncover possible leaks. Inadvertently, he stumbled across a conspiracy and found himself on the run in an obvious homage to themes from Alfred Hitchcock. Another Hitchcock twist was Redford's pulling an even more reluctant innocent, Faye Dunaway, into his chase, the two becoming partners after Redford convinced the fearful Dunaway about the truth of his circumstances. the story is typical of the '70s in that the hero flees his own agency rather than any international or independent adversary. While the style of the film is clearly dated, Condor is one of the best examples of a shift in movie making, that of looking for the enemy within rather than threats from evil madmen or ruthless Reds.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Marathon Man (1976)<br /><br />MM was a case where a novel and screenplay were as close as a writer could make them, especially since novelist William Goldman wrote them both. Both projects were seen as setting a new trend in spy fiction, that of a secret agent-turned-vigilante where heroes must act on their own when their organizations refuse to provide justice and retribution in the name of secrecy or agendas they view as more important. The dark, tense film starred Dustin Hoffman as a graduate student preparing for an Olympic marathon. He's haunted by memories of his father who was unfairly hounded into drink and suicide by Congressional hearings during the McCarthy era. Roy Scheider played Hoffman's secret agent brother, "Doc," who worked for a unit called the "Division" which took on jobs "in the gap between what the FBI can't do and what the CIA won't." After Doc's murder, Hoffman was chased and tortured by a Nazi fugitive (Laurence Oliver) who, in the end, left behind a trail of destruction simply to ensure he could safely collect diamonds from a bank without being robbed.<br /><br />Co-starring Marthe Keller, directed by John Schlesinger, the film is remembered for its clever series of accidents and a notable torture scene in Olivier's dentist chair. The film won the year's Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor (Olivier) who was also nominated for an Academy Award.<br /><br />---<br />Eye of the Needle (1981)<br /><br /> Another Hitchcockian drama--in the sense of suspense and not dark humor. This major motion picture, based on a Ken Follett novel, involved Nazi spy Faber (Donald Sutherland) shipwrecked on a remote English island. Lonely and violent, Faber became involved with Kate Melligan who discovers she's alone with the murderer of her husband and must rely on herself to stop Faber's mission. For most reviewers, Sutherland was chilling in this underrated, Old-fashioned adventure. (For more details, see “Snarling and Skulking: A Spy-ography of Donald Sutherland” also posted at this website.)<br /><br />---<br /><br />Hunt for Red October (1990)<br />Patriot Games (1992)<br />Sum of All Fears (2002)<br /><br />It's well known that one spy-writer who doesn't like Tom Clancy films is Tom Clancy. Of course, his main beef is that Hollywood finds it difficult to streamline his complex novels into workable scripts. That is, if one expects literal adaptations.<br /><br />Still, three of the Clancy films to date are very decent cinema for different reasons. Director John McTiernan's Hunt for Red October didn't do much for the character of Jack Ryan as played by Alec Baldwin. By all accounts, he was outshined by Sean Connery as<br />Soviet skipper Marko Ramius. in the film, Connery's sub commander had chosen to defect to preserve the balance of power while Ryan, a CIA annalist, finds his job is to persuade his American bosses not to overreact to what they perceive. At the time, reviewers felt this was a nod to the peace overtures from Russian Premier Gorbochov. The film can be seen as suggesting a promise of healthy revolution in the Soviet Union, the peaceful co-existence between East and West, and a shift in Hollywood as a Russian is the dominant hero in the film. Hunt stands as a significant artifact of its times, and few films with Sean Connery in a strong role loose value as the years pass.<br /><br />Director Philip Noyce's version of Patriot Games was not on the same level, but was rather a condensed adaptation of the novel becoming essentially a duel between Ryan (Harrison Ford) and vengeful terrorist Sean Miller (Sean Bean). While Clancy thought Ford was too old for the part, audiences liked the Ford version of Ryan, a mature hero concerned with family matters as he protected his pregnant wife, his daughter, and their waterfront home from terrorists. Spies in the Ryan mold were no longer loners out for sexual conquest but were now "Everymen" with responsibilities grounding their purposes and adventures. Still, Ford’s 1994 return in Clear and Present Danger was uneven in audience response as Ryan battled Colombian drug cartels, outsmarted Oval Office conspirators, and told off the president of the United States. The original 1990 novel was one of Clancy’s more layered and complex outings, which made for great literature but not a two-hour drama.<br /><br />For my money, Sum of All Fears is one of the most under-rated films in the genre and is in some ways the best Clancy film to date. Purists complain that Ryan was deputy director of the CIA in the 1991 book, but in the movie Ben Affleck took Ryan back to being a neophyte CIA analyst. Maybe so, but no film tried as hard to retain the core of Clancy's themes and approaches. In addition, times had changed after 9/11. The plot of terrorists to explode a nuclear bomb at the Super Bowl now had cautionary overtones. While Clancy again grumbled the film was not the same as his book, he sat with director Phil Alden Robinson to share his commentary for the DVD version and grudgingly admitted the film was a good piece of work. It is.<br /><br />---<br /><br />True Lies (1994)<br /><br />One above average Bondian blend of action-adventure, comedy, and big-budget special effects was director James Cameron's 1994 True Lies. Special agent Harry Tasker (Arnold Swartzeneger)worked for the ultra-secret, heavily technological Omega Sector headed by eye-patch wearing Charlton Heston. Tasker's wife Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) thinks her husband is a boring computer salesman. While he's infiltrating the "Crimson Jihad," she's being pursued by a car salesman pretending to be a secret agent. Trying to teach her a lesson, Harry inadvertently pulls her into his dangerous world where she proves almost as adept as the 15 year veteran in deceit. By film's end, they've turned into Scarecrow and Mrs. King as both are now an undercover team. Good, clean fun.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Men in Black (1996)<br /><br />Throughout the history of espionage stories, the importance of science-fiction has been so prevalent that it's often hard to determine what genre to classify certain books, films, and TV shows. As discussed in other files at this website, script-writer Danny Beiderman coined the term, "Spy-Fi," to describe television shows from The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Avengers, to the Wild Wild West. Very arguably, the best Roger Moore Bond outing, Moonraker (1979), was an obvious reflection of then popular movies like<br />Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.<br /><br />MIB, in fact, has many connections to the espionage genre. The film's title came from an actual NSA team of commandos who dress in black paramilitary uniforms and wear special headgear equipped with potent weapons. Film director Barry Sonnenfeld cast Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as “MIB” agents of a shadow organization merging the NSA, CIA, and Immigration and Naturalization Services. In some reviews, the film was seen as using deadpan humor to parody Cold War melodramas like The Hunt for Red October and Crimson Tide where Secret Agents fought against apocalyptic nuclear war. The writers claimed they had their agents wearing suits and ties as a reference to the television series, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. There are plenty of other parodies to choose from and spy-comedy seems a bottomless pit of interest. Few films are as clever, innovative, and entertaining as Men in Black.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)<br /><br />Careful readers will already have noticed I didn't include either of the Timothy Dalton Bond entries, The Living Daylights (1987) or License to Kill (1989). For the record, I thought Dalton was a very worthy actor to pick up the mantle, and his desire to bring back Flemingesque aspects to the series was more than welcome. But the scripts seemed, to me, missed opportunities. Well, this is a discussion for another place.<br /><br />Pierce Brosnon's debut in Goldeneye (1995) justly brought with it renewed excitement for the franchise. For my tastes, this new energy was best manifested in TND largely because Jonathan Price's Elliott Carver was a bad guy in the best Bond tradition. But he was a modern villain, a man who sought world domination in the form of profit and media control. Because of this new twist, the film had a touch of prophecy. In April 2001, a Red Chinese jet hit an American Navy spy plane working for the NSA over the China Sea, an incident reminiscent of the opening scenes in Tomorrow Never Dies. Elliott Carver had wanted to start a war between China and the U.S. by staging just such a confrontation to boost the ratings of his new CNN-like network.<br /><br />In TND, we saw more of the new female "M" (Judy Dench), Bond operating in a terrorist weapons camp, and we saw poor Q witnessing first hand the destruction of one of his cherished special cars. In fact, the film was packed with everything any fan of Bond adventures love. Die Another Day (2002) tried to top it, and I imagine there are those who think it did. Very well, add DAD to your list. Bond girls, guns, and gadgets are forever. <br /><br />---<br /><br />Enemy of the State (1998)<br /><br />Director Tony Scott's prophetic 1998 film resonates with contemporary themes now even more than when it was originally released. Written by David Marconi and starring Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, and Lisa Bonet, the film opens with legislation being<br />Proposed to expand governmental surveillance powers. The NSA has a rogue element willing to kill those who seek to block these plans, and Smith becomes the film's "innocent" civilian drawn into the schemes with bugging devices planted in his house, phone, and clothes. Gene Hackman plays an independent electronics expert who helps Smith fight fire with fire.<br /><br />The intelligent script clearly reflected its agenda of warning in the dialogue, situations, and "Mission: Impossible"-like use of electronic gadgetry. Enemy works as an above-average cinematic thriller, but its depth makes it a film for the 21st Century when debates over civil liberties vs. intelligence gathering remain fresh in news headlines. This one should have a long shelf life.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Spy Game (2001)<br /><br />Tony Scott returned to the spy biz with Spy Game starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. By any standard, this is one of the best espionage films ever made and certainly the best at trying to capture the history of the CIA--far better than 2006's The Good Shepard. The film is grounded in realism, human relationships, and a scope far beyond what most other films even attempt. On top of all this, the art direction in Spy Game was innovative as Scott filmed flashbacks in the style of movies from different time periods. For example, the Vietnam sequences were edited to look black-and-white with a green tint. The Berlin of the 1980s was filmed with the enhanced colors characteristic of movies of the era.<br /><br /> In his DVD commentary, Scott pointed to the father-son relationship of the Redford-Pitt characters as the central theme of the movie, a very different spin on the learned mentor-wise-ass novice motif in other films. In this story, Redford sacrificed his life savings to go around the agency on his last day of work to get Pitt out of prison. On another level, Spy Game was one of the first espionage films to feel the impact of 9/11. Spy Game's climactic moment involved a suicide bomber bringing down a building in Beirut, so Scott found he needed to make the scene "less operatic" and mor linear. Screenings 10 days after 9/11 showed audience response even more favorable than before, although Scott speculated for a few seconds, audiences would be out of the movie, thinking on its parallels to recent events. For a brief time, Universal held off release of the film, but all Hollywood quickly saw audiences were quickly rebounding from the images of the Trade Towers collapse. But the thought that went into the production on all levels paid off in a film that is artistic, fast-paced, and very human.<br /><br />---<br /><br />The Bourne Identity (2002)<br />The Bourne Supremacy (2004)<br /><br />Like many movies based on popular novels, director Doug Liman's version of the Robert Ludlum classic suffered most criticism from purists who don't like Hollywood taking liberties with sacred texts. In many cases, keepers of literary flames have a point. In this situation, former independent producer Liman took on the project for his own love of the book and gained support from Ludlum, taking five years to make the Matt Damon vehicle a reality. He kept the premise of Ludlum's book, that of a secret agent with amnesia, but added many details based on his knowledge of the Iran-Contra affairs of the Reagan administration.<br /><br />Liman must be credited with a screenplay emphasizing character development and drama first, action second. While the director doesn't like the term "thinking man's spy," he stressed the fights in the film were character driven, as Damon's Jason Bourne had to discover his skills even though he didn't know where they came from. To demonstrate mind over fists, Damon tore a map off a wall and consulted it before a getaway. In promotions for the film, Damon pointed to this as an example of the quality of the script--most secret agents just jump in a car and race off as if they know where they're going. Filmed in seven countries, including Hungary, Italy, and France, the attention to detail gave the film's series of settings a level of realism unneeded in other blockbusters where explosions and allegedly witty dialogue are the point. But, of course, connections to past masters remain obvious. Bourne and Maria (Adewale Akinnuoye-Adbeje) are but the newest pair in the tradition of The 39 Steps, a reluctant couple pulled into matters far removed from ordinary life.<br /><br />In various interviews publicizing the 2004 The Bourne Supremacy, Damon claimed there had been no plans for a sequel after the release of the first Bourne film. However, he liked the script for the follow-up saying the first movie was a story of "Who am I" and the second, "How did all this begin?" Shot in Moscow, Berlin, and Italy, Supremacy had nothing to do with the Ludlum book beyond the title and lead character. But critics still praised it as one of the best action-adventure releases of the summer. In this version, Bourne seeks to find out why his wife, Maria, was killed while the CIA tracked him down, believing he'd killed two agents in Berlin. In the end, Bourne and the agency alike learned he'd been framed and Bourne discovered the origins of his clandestine identity. Earning $53 million its first weekend, the film was said to be the highest-grossing spy film ever in its first week.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Spartan (2003)<br /><br />The highly-praised, if under watched Spartan deserves special recognition for writer-director David Mammet's script and the thoughtful character portrayals by Val Kilmer and the rest of this well-chosen cast. In this story of a President's daughter kidnapped and sent into white slavery, "nameless agents in nameless organizations" are called on to do the nation's business and are often on their own knowing their missions are unsanctioned and their orders only inferred and not stated. This theme was underlined in the unspecified situations in the film. For example, it's never stated the missing girl is the President's daughter but only hinted at in the discussion over her missing Secret Service protection and the cover-up that results.<br /><br /> The values in the film, according to Val Kilmer, are carried by the "nameless agents" who are efficent, poised, mentally and physically tough, and who expect to die in service to their country. True, the story included obligatory scenes as when the younger disciple has information his experienced mentor doesn't. But, in Kilmer's view, the movie showed what spies must act like in today's world, often out in the cold whether they play by the book or act in ways both illegal and not officially sanctioned. <br /><br />---<br /><br />Casino Royale (2006)<br /><br />How long has it been since a Bond film has been lavished with so many accolades? Audience and critical favor clearly signaled EON hit on something hot--resulting in the historical number of 9 BAFTA nominations.<br /><br />Daniel Craig was the first Bond nominated for his role followed by:<br /><br />THE ALEXANDER KORDA AWARD for the Outstanding British Film of the Year<br />ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Neal Purvis/Robert Wade/Paul Haggis<br />THE ANTHONY ASQUITH AWARD for Achievement in Film Music: David Arnold<br />CINEMATOGRAPHY: Phil Meheux<br />EDITING: Stuart Baird<br />PRODUCTION DESIGN: Peter Lamont/Simon Wakefield<br />SOUND: Chris Munro/Eddy Joseph/Mike Prestwood Smith/Martin Cantwell/Mark Taylor<br />ACHIEVEMENT IN SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS: Steve Begg/Chris Corbould<br /><br />These honors are but part of the response to what many feel was the best Bond of all. Simple said—more, please!<br /><br />---<br />To read related articles, check out:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wesleybritton.com/">WWW.WesleyBritton.com</a>The Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-51266185661826169912007-07-11T18:28:00.000-07:002007-07-11T18:29:19.959-07:00Fact and Fiction in TV and Film SpiesFACT AND FICTION IN TV AND FILM SPIES: ARE THERE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN REALITY AND FANTASY?<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br />While writing my three spy books, the most frequently asked question I've heard is--"Was any of this based on actual things that happen in espionage? Are there any links between the real covert world and what we see on TV and in the movies?" <br /><br />The answer is: Yes. NO. And sort of.<br /><br /> Below is a somewhat informal overview of connections between Hollywood and the actual shadow world of intelligence gathering, a collection of stories showing no one should look to television or Hollywood for history lessons. This article is by no means comprehensive. For many more examples, parallels, influences, and even unintentional prophecies in movies and TV shows, well, check out my books.<br /><br />The 1950s<br /><br />The closest ties between television spy series and actual law enforcement agencies occurred during the 1950s due to two prime reasons. As chronicled in depth in Chapter Two of my Spy Television (Praeger, 2004), Hollywood producers were very nervous during the McCarthy era when Congress was looking at the entertainment industry with deep suspicion. To demonstrate their patriotism and support for democracy, various producers looked to books like I Led Three Lives (Syndicated on television, 1953-1956) and dramatized what were allegedly real FBI cases. During these years, Hollywood went to great lengths to associate such spy shows with federal agencies, and producers like Frederic W. Ziff paid government consultants to look over the scripts and help shape the tone of praise and tribute for their operatives even in more imaginative series like Crusader (CBS, 1955-1956) and A Man Called X (Syndicated, 1955-1956).<br /><br /> In addition, a vogue of the time, a carry-over from radio drama, was the popularity of "true life" stories like those shown in Dragnet, Tales of Texas Rangers, and a host of others. Radio's I Was A Communist for the FBI was one case in point. Between 1952 and 1954, popular actor Dana Andrews starred as Matt Cvetic, the name of a real undercover agent in a concept repeated in a number of television series and a film of the same name in 1951. An unabashed plug for the House Un-American Committee, the Cvetic scripts featured a heroic, glamorized Pittsburgh steel worker working undercover to identify blue-collar Reds for the FBI. Previously, Andrews had starred in Behind the Iron Curtain (1948), one of the first Hollywood films fusing actual espionage files with early Cold War propaganda. Loosely based on a Canadian incident, Andrews played a Russian defector who tripped up 10 Russian agents (Strada 85). Andrews' radio series too shoed a didactic purpose. In each episode, the story ended with Andrews observing: "I was a Communist for the FBI. I walk alone." (note 1)<br /><br />Even completely fictional shows had links to Cold War covert actions. One story I wasn't able to tell in full in my first book regarded one popular series, Biff Baker, USA (CBS, 1952-1953). In this Frederic W. Ziff production, Alan Hale Jr. (the future "Skipper" on Gilligan's Island) starred as Baker, the perfect mix of American patriotism and commercial interests, an import-export businessman drawn into exotic adventures each week. But the popularity of the show's concept led to controversy. The sponsor, the American Tobacco Company, received complaints from business groups protesting the implication that American businessmen were spying for the government. These letters were forwarded to the FBI, and the script consultants explained in a trade journal the FBI, State Department, and the Commerce Department all approved the scripts. The show’s producer’s stated the show was intended to be overt propaganda urging the world to move forward in accepting American democracy. Therefore, any attack on the show was an attack on democracy.<br /><br /> As it happened, the CIA was in fact recruiting anyone it could to assist in intelligence gathering in Russia. This program, code-named “Redskin,” asked clergymen, tourists, business executives, journalists, scientists, academics, athletes, and chess players to report on anything they might see behind the Iron Curtain. Unlike colorful Biff, these travelers were told to do nothing illegal, not to penetrate secret facilities, or recruit Soviet citizens (Macdonald 105; Richelson 257). At the same time, from the Truman administration onward, “Operation Shamrock” had American Telegraph companies co-operating with the NSA (Bamford 438). According to Todd Hoffman, at least 17 commercial airlines had ties with the CIA, cooperating with the government to both perform photo-surveillance and test enemy military response. Some report the 1978 flight 007 shoot-down by the Russians was a tragic consequence of such operations (Hoffman 81).<br /><br /> Of course, the device of pulling civilians into undercover work became a dominant theme in spy literature, films, and television up to the present day. One short-lived TV series, Masquerade, (ABC, 1983-1984) was built around the idea that patriotic travelers would be useful agents as no government had files on them. Actor Rod Taylor played the guy with this idea, and the young Kristie Alley and Greg Avegin were the field agents sent out to recruit folks like you and me to fight television baddies.<br /><br />Another issue during the 1950s was Washington's fears that Hollywood was filled with Reds. For the most part, Russian spymasters actually considered Hollywood far removed from their centers of operation on the East Coast. As a result, spying in California was more comedy than threat. For example, Paramount music director Boris Morris flim flammed the KGB into subsidizing a number of fruitless ventures, planted one Soviet spy in Paramount’s Berlin office, and helped transfer monies for the NKVD, the predecessor to the KGB, in between work for Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Laural and Hardy, and Bing Crosby (Hayes 200). He asked for funds to set up a company that would create music specials for film and television showcasing Russian composers. But the KGB correctly discovered the project would have been more to Morris personal advantage than any espionage efforts.<br /><br />Ultimately, Morris became a double agent for the FBI and helped indict a trio of Soviet contacts. He wrote a melodramatic memoir, My Ten Years as a Counterspy, and saw his self-aggrandized accounts turned into the film, Man on a String (1960) starring Earnest Borginne as Morris. “I hated everything the Communists stood for,” Morris told interviewers, “and had to play a role more difficult than<br />any of my actors played in the movies.” (Weinstein 113-9) In addition to Morris, KGB agent Steven Laird used his position as an RKO film producer as cover for his travels in the 1940s. These two agents, apparently, were the cream of the Soviet crop. Hardly worth the agony of what the House Un-American Committee put the country through. <br /><br />The Man From U.N.C.L.E.<br /><br />In the 1960s, however, the far-fetched adventures of James Bond were far more influential than the televised black-and-white counter-espionage agents of the previous decade. Still, unusual connections between fact and fiction aren’t hard to find. Some situations arose when viewers couldn't distinguish between romantic entertainment and the realities of espionage. To begin with, when The Man From U.N.C.L.E. debuted in 1964, many viewers thought the organization was not only real, but a likely place to find glamorous employment. According to a 2000 report by Kenneth Pringele, the UN was not the only official body to receive inquires about U.N.C.L.E. Apparently, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover was not amused. His reply to letter writers, young and old, was "For your information, the television series entitled The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is fictitious. There is no government agency which performs the functions portrayed in this program."<br /><br /> As described in my Beyond Bond: Spies in Fiction and Film, even government officials inquired about U.N.C.L.E. In 1966, someone from the office of California Rep. John V. Tunney, the son of boxing champ Gene Tunney and later a senator, called the FBI on behalf of an unnamed individual interested in U.N.C.L.E. At one point, the United Nations hired a secretary whose only task was to answer U.N.C.L.E. correspondence.<br /><br />Get Smart<br /><br />Just for fun, here's one passage from Spy Television regarding Get Smart and the CIA:<br /><br />".. later revelations about the show’s connections to the real espionage community were as humorous as the intentional comedy. In August 1966, the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps invited Get Smart cast members to entertain at its 19th Annual Convention Banquet. According to Donna McCrohan, network publicists asked that photos be cleared for public release, and real spies posed with Adams and Feldon for gag shots (89-91). But the earlier clearance was revoked, and the photos could never be used. Agents demanded the negatives of the film and a letter stating the negatives had been given over. The letter was written with a carbon, but the carbon had been reversed. One operative confiscated the carbon paper and burned it in an ashtray. Equally unusual was a revelation by a former CIA operative that his agency was concerned that Get Smart’s writers occasionally came too close to reality, especially the Cone of Silence which they in fact had created. The agency considered sending the producers a list of areas to avoid, but elected not to as they feared such a list would result in a parody of their effort."<br /><br />Very likely. After all, a prime directive of Buck Henry, Mel Brooks, and the other creators of Get Smart was to satirize a profession they felt was idiotic. Some true-life encounters could have indeed easily been inspirations for Get Smart scripts. For example, both governmental and industry representatives came to film sets when they were either hopeful that some gadgets might be useful in the field or when they feared, as with Get Smart, Hollywood might have stumbled onto gizmos actually in use. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. set was visited by officers from the U.S. Army who wondered if the five-piece U.N.C.L.E. gun might have practical applications. Hughes Aircraft sent investigators to the Mission: Impossible set to make sure one hydrofoil device was really a prop and not a working model of a machine they had patented.<br /><br />Strangely, Get Smart's comic gadgets found new interest in the 21st Century. On December 26, 2001, Get Smart was mentioned on the Jay Leno show in an almost inevitable joke. Four days earlier, Richard Reed had tried to blow up a plane with a bomb in his shoe; like other observers that week, Leno wondered if Reed had been watching too many Get Smarts.<br /><br />Mission: Impossible<br /><br />In a 2001 TV Guide interview, actress Barbara Bain disclaimed any connections between her series and real-life espionage. She claimed no one, at that time, believed the fantastic adventures of Mission: Impossible could actually happen (Johnson). In truth, MI had more to do with the CIA than perhaps any other series. As discussed in Spy Television, CIA supervisors felt obligated to watch the show. The next morning, they'd get phone calls asking "Can we do that?" Actor Peter Graves reported that CIA agents joked with him about what they wished they could do. "You should have our writers," Graves reportedly replied. <br /><br />Other connections between actual intelligence agents and Hollywood and MI include one NSA spy, Brent Morris, who was a magician who learned his first tricks from the Buffalo Bob and Howdy Doody children’s TV show. As an adult, like Roland Hand and Barney Collier in MI, he combined math and magic to break codes (Bamford 535). One unique connection between television and the CIA began in 1966 when Robert Culp saught out John Chambers, an expert on facial prosthetics, to help actor/script-writer Culp prepare a disguise for an episode of I Spy called “The Warlord.” For this story, Culp wanted to play both his Kelly Robinson and a character called Chuang-Tzu. According to Marck Cushman:<br /><br />“While working on "The War Lord," Chambers received a message that a producer named Arthur Jacobs was trying to reach him from London. Chambers had never heard of Jacobs and, having been burned so often by wannabe producers looking to make cheap monster movies, was unsure whether he should return the call. Culp, on the other hand, knew very well who Arthur Jacobs was, and advised Chambers to respond quickly and request airline tickets to London. When "War Lord" wrapped, Chambers flew to England to meet with Jacobs, and was hired to create simian faces for planet of the Apes.” (Cushman 243)<br /><br />As a result of this work, in 1971, CIA operative Tony Mendez approached Chambers to help create disguises for intelligence officers. Chambers' first contribution was to design two latex masks for spies in Laos. In 1979, Chambers was flown to Washington in an aborted plan to help create a false Shah of Iran to fake the ailing leader leaving the U.S. in order to help lessen tensions in the first days of the Iranian hostage crisis.<br /><br />President Carter opted not to be pressured by Iranian demonstrators into any such action. But, in 1980, Chambers did help set up a Mission: Impossible-like "Big Store" con to help extricate six U.S. diplomats hiding in the Canadian embassy in Terran. According to the 2001 AMC television special, "Into the Shadows: the CIA in Hollywood," Chambers contacted producer Bob Siddell who established fake identities for the Americans as a movie crew seeking locations in the desert. For fifteen years, Chambers worked for both movie studios and the CIA, and by the time his story was de-classified in 2001, his Oscar sat beside his other most prized possession, his Medal of Honor for special services. (note 2) <br /><br />TV Stories, Real Case Files, and Realistic Themes<br /><br />Gadgets and gizmos are one matter--what about the stories in which they were used? Of course, many connections between the intelligence community and TV plots were accidental. When writers for The Avengers crafted the episode, "You'll Catch Your Death" in 1968, no one could have imagined a story about a deadly virus sent through the mail would actually occur over thirty years later when a still unknown terrorist sent anthrax-laced powder to several media outlets. Likewise, the realism of I Spy stories often seemed prescient in later decades. For example, one episode, “Cup of Kindness,” included a dilemma for Kelly Robinson (Robert Culp) that was repeated in fact. In the TV episode, Robinson was heart-broken when he learned his mentor was a traitor, and Robert Culp's character was obligated to turn him in. Similarly, in the 1980s, a disbelieving intelligence officer, Daniel Wilson, was recruited to turn in his role model and mentor, Clyde Conrad, who turned out to be the most dangerous double agent in Europe. More bizarrely, perhaps, traitor Sgt. Dennis Bray faked his death in a bogus boat accident in the Cayman Islands near Jamaica. he then hid out in nearby islands until a pair of suspicious agents tracked him down. This 1980s incident echoed one I Spy story, "Spy Business," where Kelly Robinson and Alexander Scott (Bill Cosby) tracked down a defector hiding out on Janitzio Island in Mexico. (note 3) As it happened, the creator of I Spy had his own brush with Russian espionage. In 1967, Sheldon Leonard and his wife flew to Moscow to try to convince the Soviets that filming I Spy on location in the Soviet Union would be good PR for their government. The Russians were well aware of the show and didn’t like it. One night, Leonard and his wife discussed places they’d like to see while in Russia—the next morning, their guide referred to their desires. So the Leonards realized their hotel room had been bugged. No I Spy episodes were ever filmed there. (Cushman 313) <br /><br />For the most part, from the beginning of television broadcasts, those who looked for any semblance of "realism" in secret agent adventures looked to British productions. When I discuss Secret Agent and The Prisoner in Spy Television, I note the Brits often took the covert world more seriously as first World War II and then the Cold War were fought literally in their own back yards. Thus, many such series were more philosophical in their explorations into contemporary issues. The first questions about the viability of spying, the suspicious morality and ethics of spies, and the theme of betrayal were matters of constant interest in British headlines. So when Number Six wasn't certain which side had imprisoned him in The Prisoner, he reflected attitudes that would come to dominate much popular concern about what the CIA, MI5, and other agencies were up to.<br /><br /> For example, one story has it that the inspiration for The Prisoner was allegedly a book actor Patrick McGoohan and a co-writer, George Markstein, read about an actual "retirement" home for ex-spies. Another version told by Patrick McGoohan was that the basic premise came not from a book but from a personal acquaintance. In a TV Guide interview, McGoohan stated "What do you do with defectors, or with people who have top-secret knowledge of the highest order and who, for one reason or another, want out? Do you shoot them? I know there are places where these people are kept. Not voluntarily, and in absolute luxury. There are three in this country--let someone deny it! I know about them because I know someone who used to be associated with the service." (Barthel) (note 4) Thus,<br />some series dealt less with the "reality" of espionage, but more so with themes of what we feared it might be.<br /><br />The most realistic British spy program ever produced was The Sandbaggers. This short-lived series (1978-1979) revolved around agents who spent much more time in government offices debating with civil servants than gun slinging in the trenches. This series, fortunately now available on DVD, was written by a former British agent, Ian Mackintosh, who shared much in attitude and approach with fellow ex-spy, novelist John Le Carre. (note 5) Le Carre, too, contributed to the TV realm of espionage on the BBC in England and on PBS in America. Le Carre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979) and Smiley's People (1982) also relied more on dialogue than action-adventure. As documented in Le Carre's commentary for the DVD release of Tinker (and discussed in Spy Television), Alec Guiness's portrayal of George Smiley was partially based on conversations between the actor and a former intelligence chief. Whenever you ask an ex or current spy what writer best reflects what former CIA director James Angelton described as a "Wilderness of Mirrors," they invariably mention John Le Carre. One spy, Todd Hoffman, even devoted a book to the subject. (See "Works Cited" below.)<br /><br /> Again, programs based on such writings can't be considered docu-dramas of actual case files, but Mackintosh, Le Carre, and a number of other English play and TV script writers used "the furniture of espionage" (Le Carre's term) to explore the English class system, patriotism, and democratic values in a realm of what many considered shadow governments. <br /><br />Realism in the New Century<br /><br />In the 21st century, realism dominates TV shows with some surprising connections between the shadow world and popular conceptions. Again, in Spy Television, I discuss the creation of The Agency, a show that was both initially both praised and criticized for returning to the propagandistic themes of the 1950s. CIA agent and TV advisor Chase Brandon even helped promote the show, telling David Ensor on CNN that “In the acting job that we do as part of our workaday world, it’s very similar to the notion of role-playing and acting in Hollywood. The difference is that, here, when somebody says `cut,’ they’re talking about stopping the action. For us, it could be your throat.” (note 6) The CIA allowed the show to shoot some scenes in their headquarters as they understood the series would portray agents as honorable men and women trying to balance domestic and professional duties. (This cooperation mirrored an earlier situation between, of all series, The X-Files and the FBI. One FBI agent was a consultant for the X-Files movie, Fight the Future, helping give the offices and meeting rooms in the film a realistic setting. See discussion of Spy Game below.)<br /><br /> In the aftermath of the national tragedy of 9/11, during the months when Hollywood re-considered how our culture had changed, episodes of The Agency were held back as they included mentions of Islamic terrorists and an anthrax attack. By the time these episodes were aired, they were found tame and undramatic--reality, for once, had overwhelmed imagination. Of course, in the wake of popular series such as Law and Order, new shows tried to use plot lines "ripped from headlines." From an early draft of Spy Television:<br /><br />"Such blendings of fact and fancy had much to do with the past fifty years of television’s secret agents, and such mergings dominated TV screens in 2001 on both news and entertainment channels. For example, various news magazines reported one interesting discussion after the September 11 attack on America. October articles suggested government intelligence officers and Hollywood scriptwriters should collaborate on actual anti-terrorism plans because TV and movie creators had already thought through any number of possible scenarios. As fans of Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin observed in on-line discussions, the new international collaboration, or coalition, against terrorism sounded very much like a new World order needing an U.N.C.L.E.-like organization. The shows of the past now seemed prophetic. Television fiction had gone where reality was forced to follow. <br /><br />"Then again, headlines now seemed to shape new plot lines. in April 2001, a Red Chinese jet hit an American Navy spy plane working for the NSA over the China Sea, an incident reminiscent of the opening scenes in the Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies. In the pierce Brosnon adventure, an evil media kingpin had wanted to start a war between China and the U.S. by staging just such a confrontation to boost the ratings of his new CNN-like network. In the real world, CNN indeed devoted considerable coverage to the unfolding drama. We watched as the Chinese scoured the wreck for insights into U.S. intelligence and listened to reactions while the Chinese held the 24 crewmembers as political hostages for eleven days. In November, these events would be fictionalized in a multi-part story line in the CBS military law series, JAG. Similarly, on April 23rd, a Peruvian pilot working for the CIA shot down a suspected drug-smuggling plane only to learn it carried American missionaries. This incident was later dramatized in the second episode of the new TV series, The Agency. After September 11, few dramatic series could avoid references to the new war on terrorism, and such connections between the real world and broadcast fiction would be most evident in new TV spies."<br /><br />In 2003, such new series included the British MI5 and ABC's Threat Matrix in which the spoken-word narration over the theme music states "We are making progress." In short order, scripts for these shows preceded headlines. In one fall 2003 episode of MI5, tensions heated up between the British agency and America's Secret Service over protection for a presidential visiting Buckingham Palace. In November 2003, these tensions became fact when CNN reported just such a conflict, and that Queen Elizabeth vetoed an American request to have a helicopter hovering over the palace during President Bush's visit.<br /><br />Other Film Connections<br /><br /> After 9/11, some major picture scripts occasionally went to some efforts to focus on developed characters and realistic plot lines, notably director Tony Scott's 2001 Spy Game starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. According to Scott's commentary for the DVD release of the film, his research for the project included a visit to CIA headquarters to both establish a believable look for this recurring setting in Spy Game and see what the faces of real agents looked like. One producer, he noted, claimed the real CIA looked more like "a car convention in Texas" than a Hollywood spectacular, so Scott decided to cast many of his characters based on how closely they resembled the faces he'd seen in Langley.<br /><br />In his commentary, Scott pointed to the impact of 9/11 on the content and context of Spy Game's release. Early screenings before the attack on America were positive, but after 9/11, along with many other projects, Hollywood worried about images in action films. In particular, Spy Game's climactic moment involved a suicide bomber bringing down a building in Beirut. Universal Studios at first suggested cutting the scene, but Scott worked to make the scene "less operatic" and more linear. Screenings 10 days after 9/11 showed audience response even more favorable than before, although Scott speculated for a few seconds, audiences would be out of the movie, thinking on its parallels to recent events. For a brief time, Universal held off release of the film, but all Hollywood quickly saw audiences were rebounding from the images of the Trade Towers collapse. <br /><br />In other new films, realism was accidental. In 2002, Die Another Day had 007 battling North Korean bad guys intent on making their country a new super-power in the international community. At the same time the film earned its box office bonanza, North Korea in fact initiated an international crisis by reactivating its nuclear arms program and was dubbed part of George W. Bush's "Axis of Evil" in the new President's 2002 State of the Union address. Ironically, films purporting to be historic are perhaps more fictional than 007. After the release of The Good Shepard in 2006, several CIA historians decided to respond to the distortions and inaccuracies in the allegedly true story of the origins of the agency in a "round table" review scheduled for the de-classified March 2007 issue of Studies in Intelligence.<br /><br />Recently, two articles have discussed connections between TV stories and reality. Comparisons between 24 and actual torture in Iraq are discussed at:<br /><br />http://www.alternet.org/story/49813/<br /><br />And observations about the 2007 premiere for Burn Notice and uses of that term by former CIA head George Tenet are in a review of the new series:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/arts/television/28stan.html?oref=login">http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/arts/television/28stan.html?oref=login</a><br /><br /><br /><br />Notes<br /><br />1. For more on this story, see "They Were Communists for the FBI: The Stories of Matt Cvetic and Herbert Philbric" posted at this website. In another file here, "THE INDISPENSIBLES: THE BEST 30 SPY FILMS OF ALL TIME," I review House on 92nd Street, a docu-drama blending fact, fiction, and propaganda.<br /><br />2. Years after their work together on I Spy, Culp was asked to present a Lifetime Achievement Award to John Chambers. According to Mark Cushman, Culp hadn't seen the makeup artist in years, and was surprised to see Chambers arrive at the ceremony in a wheelchair.<br />The fumes Chambers inhaled for his entire professional career, the very same fumes Culp remembered smelling in Chambers' garage workshop back in 1965 and '66, had ruined the makeup artist's lungs, damaged his liver, and attacked his nervous system.<br /><br />Culp threw away the speech he had written, then stepped to the podium and talked without a script, from the heart, about the generosity, the talent, and the sacrifice of a true artist named John Chambers.<br /><br /><br />3. For details about the actual spies, see the lengthy descriptions of these events in Stuart Herrington's<br />Traitors Among Us: Inside the Spy-Catcher's World (See "Works Cited" below).<br /><br /> In actual spycraft, enemies who saw themselves as more enterprising and clever than others earned a term for their attitudes, suffering from the “playing to an empty house syndrome.” Such spies and traitors pity the ordinary masses who don’t have the under-appreciated merits of those who make their own rules (Herrington 130). While such justifications lacked credibility in the courts, they served scriptwriters well in providing character motivation for adversaries in spy fiction on the page, large screen, and television. <br /><br />4. Thanks to J. K. Wilson who provided me with this information via the Channel D list serve.<br /><br />5. Chapter 12 of Spy Television discusses TV plays and movies based on other English authors including Dennis Potter and Alan Bennett. Both wrote works based on the famous British traitors who were members of the "Cambridge Spy Ring." The chapter also mentions TV movies based loosely on the life of James Bond creator, Ian Fleming. And, while I'm at it, Edward Woodward, star of The Equalizer, reported being a fan of Le Carre and based his portrayal of his character on his own studies of the drudgery of actual intelligence work. See Spy Television for further details.<br /><br />6. Broadcast Sept. 1, 2001, on “CNN Saturday Morning.”<br /><br />Works Cited<br /><br />Bamford, James. Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-secret National Security Agency from the Cold War to the Dawn of a New Century. New York: Doubleday. 2001.<br />Barthel, Joan. "An Enigma Comes to American TV." TV Guide. May 25, 1968<br />Britton, Wesley. Beyond Bond: Spies in Fiction and Film. Westport, CT: Praeger. 2005.<br />Britton, Wesley. Spy Television. Westport, CT: Praeger. 2004.<br />Cushman, Marc and Linda J. LaRosa. I Spy: A History and Episode Guide, 1965-1968. Jefferson, NC: Mcfareland and Co. 2007.<br />Hayes, John Earl and Harvey Klehr. Vevona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America. Yale Univ. P. 1999.<br />Herrington, Stuart. Traitors Among Us: Inside the Spy-Catcher's World. Novato, CA: Presidio. 1999. <br />Hoffman, Todd. John Le Carre's Landscape. Montreal: Mcgill's Queens University Press. 2001. <br />Johnson, Ted. “Wry Spies.” TV Guide. November 8-14. 1997.<br />Macdonald, J. Fred. Television and the Red Menace: The Video Road to Viet Nam. New York: Praiger. 1985.<br />McCrohan, Donna. The Life and Times of Maxwell Smart. New York: St. Martins. 1988.<br />Richelson, Jeffrey T. A Century of Spies: Intelligence in the 20th Century. New York: Oxford. 1995.<br />Strada, Michael and Harold Troper. Friend or Foe: Russians in American Film and Foreign Policy (1933-1991). Lanhan, MD: Scarecrow Press. 1997.<br />Weinstein, Allen and Alexander Vassiliev. The Haunted Wood. Soviet Espionage in America: The Stalin Years. New York: Random House. 1999.<br /><br />For related articles, see<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wesleybritton.com/">WWW.WesleyBritton.com</a>The Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-44623467632172111062007-07-11T17:24:00.000-07:002007-07-11T17:25:32.550-07:00The Mossad and Israeli Intelligence: An Annotated Bibliography (Books)The Mossad and Israeli Intelligence: An Annotated Bibliography (Books)<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br />Tessa Quayle: "I thought you spies knew everything, Tim?"<br />Tim Donohue: "Only God knows everything, and he works for Mossad."<br />(John Le Carre, The Constant Gardener, 2000)<br /><br />By no means should the lists of books below be considered comprehensive; rather it is a detailed overview of many of the most accessible sources on the Mossad and related Israeli intelligence agencies in English . Most analysis and observations on each item are my own and thus limited to an outsider's perspective. However, I rely on other reviews to supplement and fill in aspects from perhaps more reliable sources. This bibliography should be considered a work in progress with new items added as new titles appear and my reading and research expands.<br /><br />Separate files at this website include films as well as online and print articles. <br /><br />Legendary and often overly romanticized, the Mossad remains an organization cloaked in myth. In the words of Samuel Katz, "Born out of the controversial remnants of the mysterious Foreign Ministry's political department, the Mossad, as it is most commonly known, was formed on April 1, 1951." More specifically, formerly known as the Central Institute for Coordination and the Central Institute for Intelligence and Security, As defined by 10 year agent Ytzack Shamir, the Mossad translated exactly, its official and full name-- Ha-Mossad le-Modiin ule-Tafkidim Meyuhadim--"means `The Institution for Intelligence and Special Tasks.'" In America, the CIA is also known as "The Agency" or "The Company"; in Israel, the Mossad was dubbed "The Office." One prevalent myth repeated in many sources came from Victor Ostrovsky, that the Mossad's motto is "By Way of Deception, Thou Shalt Do War." In fact, the motto is: "For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure." (Proverbs XI, 14).<br /><br />The Mossad's responsibilities include intelligence collection, counter-terrorism, and covert operations such as paramilitary activities. While focused on Arab nations and organizations throughout the world, the Mossad has participated in and been accused of a myriad of other activities. For example, the Mossad has been responsible for the clandestine movement of Jewish refugees out of Russia, the former Eastern block, Syria, Iran, and Ethiopia. It is one of the main services for Israeli intelligence alongside Aman (military intelligence) and the Shin Bet (internal security).<br /><br /> In the view of former Prime Minister Shamir, its work remains crucial as Israel's survival is constantly at stake. Shamir believes "the charge laid on the individual men and women who work in and for the Mossad is indeed heavier than that governing the work of their counterparts elsewhere." The Mossad's record, as demonstrated in the overview below, is both heavy and dark filled with both important successes alongside the misdeeds that seem part and parcel of any secret organization. In the case of Israel's secret warriors, their battles are often unique in the history of espionage. <br /><br />---<br /><br />Note: A (NR) indicates a title this reviewer has not read, so any annotation is drawn from a variety of sources. If no reviews or other information was found, only author and title will be listed.<br /><br />As many books on the Mossad appeared first in other languages, only English titles and some variants are noted. For the same reason, I do not include publishers as they vary from country to country, hardcover to paperback. For a number of these books that appeared before 2002, see "Mossad, Bibliography" which includes publication information without annotations:<br /><br /><a href="http://users.skynet.be/terrorism/html/">http://users.skynet.be/terrorism/html/</a><br /><br />---<br /><br />Aharoni, Zvi. Operation Eichmann: The Truth About the Pursuit, Capture, and Trial. (1996). Alongside Harel and Malkin, this is the third history written by one of the actual participants in the 1960 Mossad mission to apprehend ex-Nazi Adolf Eichmann in Argentina. Each of these authors jockey for the lion's share of the credit. For example, Aharoni claimed Peter Malkin could not have had the discussions he purported to have had with Eichmann in his book as such were against orders and neither had a common language. Reviews are mixed on Operation Eichmann's credibility and readability--most claiming all three books--the others by Harel and Malkin--should be taken together. See also Bar-Zohar (Spies in the Promised Land), Bascomb, Shpiro. (NR)<br /><br />ALDOUBY, Zwy And Jerrold BALLINGER. The Shattered Silence: The Eli Cohen Affair. (1971). See Ben-Hanan, Dan, Segev. Also see note 3 below. (NR)<br /><br />Alexander, Yonah, Yuval Ne'Eman, and Ely Tavin, eds. Future Terrorism Trends. (1991). While not specifically a source on the Mossad, one chapter, "The Role of Intelligence in Combating Terrorism: The Israeli Experience," by General Yehoshua Saguy, former chief of intelligence, Israeli Defense Forces, a member of the Knesset, stands out for those interested in the thinking of policy makers at the publication date. (NR)<br /><br />Avni, Zeev. False Flag: The Soviet Spy Who Penetrated The Israeli Secret Intelligence Service. (1999). Reviews are mixed regarding the literary qualities of this account about Zeev Avni, said to be the only known Soviet spy to have penetrated Mossad. Motivated, he claimed, to serve Russia as it was the best force against Hitler, Avni became disillusioned, was arrested, and rehabilitated himself in prison as a psychotherapist.<br /><br /> The book description reads in part: "Though Mossad was impressed with Avni's professionalism, deploying him in Brussels and Belgrade against German technicians rebuilding Egypt's military strength, and later assigning him to Israel's Foreign Ministry, his true masters were the Soviet GRU. When Avni was unmasked as a Soviet mole, his arrest was considered so damaging that no public statement was made about his trial or imprisonment." (NR)<br /><br />Bar-Zohar, Michael and Eiten Haber. The Quest for the Red Prince: The Manhunt for the Killers Behind the 1972 Munich Massacre. (1983. Reissued in 2005 as Massacre in Munich: The Manhunt for the Killers Behind the 1972 Olympics Massacre.) When this book reappeared in 2005 with a new title, reviewers complained the obvious nod to the Spielberg movie was misleading as the contents had little to do with the Munich events. Instead, much of the book is a multi-generational history of the Salameh family and the Black September group, exploring the cycle of violence begun by the Palestinians. Includes a prologue by Abner, the Mossad team leader, who claims, in the light of the fanatical Islamo-fascist terrorism today, he would do it all again despite the abuse given his team by the Mossad.<br /><br />Interestingly, in Jan. 2006,Bar-Zohar drew from this book in a review of Spielberg's Munich posted at his Amazon blog. He noted three major flaws: the entire operation was presented as an act of vengeance. "This is absolutely false. The quest for the terrorists . . . was not for revenge - but in order to destroy "Black September" and prevent future abominable terrorist acts." Second, the film "suggests a kind of balance between the terrorists who kill Israelis - and the Israelis who kill the terrorists. It means that both sides are to blame. I cannot accept that . . . The terrorists are the bad guys, the agents who kill them are the good guys." Last, the movie "shows us the Israeli agents haunted by moral dilemmas for having to kill the terrorists. That's absolutely untrue. The Mossad agents sent after `Black September' were deeply convinced that they were doing the right thing by eliminating the murderers. They had no moral dilemmas." For more details, see Calahan , Jonas, and Tinin below. (NR)<br /><br />Bar-Zohar, Michael. Spies in the Promised Land: Iser Harel and the Israeli Secret Service. (1972). (Translated from the French by Monroe Stearns). A book by a noted scholar on one of the most important figures in Israeli intelligence. From 1944 to 1947, Isser Harel held one of the top posts in the Hagana’s information service, Shai, the forerunner for all future agencies. from 1952 to 1963, he was head of Mossad and supreme head (given the title of Memuneh) of Shin Bet, which he had led from 1948. A hands-on director, he lead important operations in person, the best known of which was Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann’s abduction in Argentina to stand trial in Israel. During his period in office, Harel forged the Mossad, adapting it to current realities and new objectives. Held in high esteem by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, Harel is remembered for changing the Mossad from an organization serving a state in the making to a state institution. (He died in 2003 after book's publication.) See also Aharoni, Bascomb, Malkin, Harel, Shpiro. (NR)<br /><br />Bascomb, Neal. Angels of Justice: The Hunt for Adolph Eichmann, Death's Architect. (Scheduled for Dec. 2007). According to Publisher's Lunch, "describes the fifteen year manhunt for the engineer of The Final Solution, who lived alone in the forests of Germany for five years before finding safe passage to Argentina via the Nazi `rat lines' in 1950, and was eventually seized by Mossad agents in one of their very first missions in 1960, featuring newly declassified documents and first-person accounts." See also Aharoni, Bar-Zohar (Spies in the Promised Land), Harel, Malkin, Shpiro. (NR)<br /><br />Ben-Hanan, Eli. Our Man in Damascus. (1972). To date, the only full-length English account of how Israeli spy, Elie Cohen, under the alias of Kamal Amin Tabas, infiltrated the Syrian government and became a legend in Israeli intelligence. After possible training in Unit 131 of Aman, Cohen went to Argentina to establish his cover, became acquainted with General Amin el-Hafez, who came into power in March 1963. Coming close to becoming third in line in the Syrian government, it has been claimed Cohen was able to ascertain the number, type, and placement of MIG-21 planes, T-54 tanks, and other Soviet armament, as well as Damascus plans to divert the Daniyas, one of the principal sources of the Jordan River. Cohen is better known for the photographic memory that allowed him to tour the Golan Heights military fortifications which he sent to Tel Aviv, which helped set up the Israeli success in the Six Day War. Hanged publicly in 1965 after being caught red-handed, efforts continue to get his remains returned to Israel.<br /><br /> This version of the story, written as a dramatic interpretation of events, was the inspiration for the 1987 HBO/BBC film, The Impossible Spy. While separating fact from fiction is often problematic, it’s clear the author interviewed Cohen’s widow, his brother Maurice, and had access to trial transcripts. (For more on Eli and his brother Maurice, see note 3 below and Cohen lists in the other Mossad resources at this website.) See also ALDOUBY, Dan (Spy).<br /> <br />Betser, Muki, with Robert Rosenberg. Secret Soldier: The True Life Story of Israel's Greatest Commando. (1996). While not directly related to the Mossad, this account of Betser, a former senior officer in Sayeret Matkal, the Israeli equivalent of the U.S. Delta Force, has much to say regarding Israeli covert actions including criticism of the military while pointing to what makes the IDF successful. See also Katz, Soldier Spies. (NR)<br /><br />Black, Ian and Lenny Morris. Israel's Secret Wars: A History of Israel's Intelligence Services (1991). Clearly a classic of the non-fiction espionage genre, this history should interest anyone exploring intelligence gathering in general, not just those focused on Israeli matters. The depth of detail and the pace of the narrative are well above average as the authors trace the growth of Israel's spy agencies from the "amateurish, improvised" operations of Zionists in the late 1930s through the decades of both the finest and darkest hours in intelligence history, period. We learn about the Mossad's early involvement with encouraging more immigration to the new country, the friendship between Iran and Israel, the "War of the Spooks." I didn't know anyone rated John Le Carre's novel, The Little Drummer Girl so highly, but the introduction to this history indicates the story was very much in the spirit and letter of the truth. Dense and fast-paced, not easy reading but invaluable as a research tool. It belongs on every library shelf alongside Raviv and Melman and Samuel Katz's Soldier Spies (see below.)<br /><br />Blumberg, Stanley A., and Gwinn Owens. The Survival Factor: Israeli Intelligence from WORLD War I to the Present. (1981). Somewhat superceded by later books covering the same turf, covers the uneven and shaky beginnings of Israeli intelligence until Colonel Yehoshafat Harkabi took over military intelligence in May 1955, just as relations between Israel and Egypt began the decline that inevitably lead to war. See also Hacking. (NR)<br /><br />Calahan , Alexander B. "COUNTERING TERRORISM: THE ISRAELI RESPONSE TO THE 1972 MUNICH OLYMPIC MASSACRE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDEPENDENT COVERT ACTION TEAMS." (Masters Thesis, Marine Corps Command and Staff College, April 1995) In terms of information, this thesis is essentially a thin summary of George Jonas's Vengeance which dealt with the response teams sent out by Israel after the 1972 Munich massacre. Calahan spliced in his own conclusions in the final chapter that claimed: "Although there are inherent differences between Israeli and U.S. policies, specifically those addressing the use of assassination as a political tool, important lessons may be gleaned from this study for policy makers . . . bureaucracies inherently limit the degree of operational success by the nature of their systems. Bureaucracies cannot move effectively beyond a predetermined operational tempo, and impose fatal restraints regarding operational tradecraft and tactics. Successful covert operations demand a flexible capability with full decentralized authority enabling officers to initiate actions as circumstances dictate, enhancing the operational success-failure ratio." In short, when politics force operations to work within unreasonable time or tactical constraints, success of ad hoc units are prone to fail. See also Bar-Zohar (Quest), Jonas, Klein, Tinin. Available online.<br /><br />Claire, Rodger W. Raid on the Sun: Inside Israel's Secret Campaign that Denied Saddam the Bomb. (2004). Widely praised for the research and storytelling, Claire describes Israel's controversial" Operation Babylon" air attack on Saddam Hussein’s Osirak nuclear facility in 1981. Combining the policy decision process and operational details, Claire was granted access to de-classified documents and contact with eight pilots, the mission coordinator, and cockpit film of the attack. Considered a valuable contribution to studies of this subject. (NR)<br /><br />Clements, Frank. Israeli Secret Services (International Organization Series). (1996). (NR)<br /><br />Cockburn, Andrew and Leslie. Dangerous Liaison: The Inside Story of the U.S.-Israel Covert Relationship. (1991). One of many titles exploring the topic, among other unconfirmed claims, states the CIA helped instigate the Six Day War by encouraging Israel that Nassar was unprepared for war and that the U.S. would support Israel after the outbreak of hostilities. See also Green, Hacking. (NR)<br /><br />COHEN, Yoel. The Whistleblower of Dimona: Israel, Vanunu, and the Bomb.<br /> (1992). Benjamin Tuck's review for the Journal of Military History says Cohen's work "is a fascinating and worthy work on the intriguing story of the unacknowledged Israeli nuclear program, and the Israeli nuclear technician, Mordechai Vanunu, who exposed it in 1986. Cohen effectively and comprehensively integrates numerous threads about the Israeli nuclear program, Israeli intelligence operations, and the disclosure by the Sunday Times of London on 5 October 1986, which provided an unprecedented glimpse<br />inside Israel's highly secretive nuclear program." However, for the New York Times Book Review, Victor Gilinsky pointed out major omissions including "the 1968 smuggling past Euratom inspectors of two hundred tons of uranium ore to Israel, the CIA's conclusion at about the same time that Israel previously stole bomb-grade uranium from a US naval fuel plant, and the 1979 Vela satellite signal that was widely interpreted as an indication of an Israeli nuclear test. The book's complete silence on these important events is especially odd as they have been discussed extensively elsewhere." See also Gilling, Hounam, Toscano. (NR) Other helpful reviews are collected at:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.holmesandmeier.com/titles/cohen.html">http://www.holmesandmeier.com/titles/cohen.html</a><br /><br />DAN, Ben. The Spy From Israel. (1969). Translation of: L'Espion qui venait d'Israel: l'affaire Elie Cohen. (French). For details, see ALDOUBY, Ben-Hanan, Segev. NR<br /><br />Dan, Uri, and Ben-Porat, Y. The Secret War: The Spy Game in the Middle East. (1970). Said to be an account of a number of Israeli, Egyptian, and Soviet espionage cases with most attention given to the Beer and Wolfgang Lotz cases . Reviewers have noted errors in treatment of other intelligence agencies and citations are few. See also Lotz, The Champagne Spy. (NR)<br /><br />Davenport, Elaine with Paul Eddy, Peter Gillman. The Plumbat Affair. (1978). Recounts the story of how, after France ceased to supply Israel with uranium, through complex covert operations involving European front companies and mid-sea transfers from one ship to another, Israel obtained two hundred tons of uranium ore that had been stockpiled in Antwerp in 1968. Dubbed the "Plumbat Affair" as the sealed drums were labeled "Plumbat" (lead), the action was a violation of European Atomic Energy Commission (Euratom) controls. After discovering the clandestine operation, They informed the US Atomic Energy Commission but the story was not revealed for years.<br /><br />Then in 1973, Norwegian police captured Mossad assassin Dan Aerbel after his team's botched mission to hunt down and kill the leader of the Black September members who'd murdered 11 athletes in Munich. Under interrogation, Aerbel revealed a number of Mossad missions including "Plumbat." So this book ties together two stories involving Israeli intelligence: the "Plumbat Operation" and the botched assassination in Norway. To date, considered best book on the Plumbat affair in print. See also Eisenberg on ""Plumbet:; for Black September, see also Bar-Zohar (Quest), Calahan, Jonas, Klein, Tinin. (NR)<br /><br />Deacon, Richard [Donald McCormick]. The Israeli Secret Service.(1977). Widely panned as thinly researched, drawing on apparently newspaper accounts of the time. Under his real name, McCormick is far more useful in his books on spy novels. (NR)<br /><br />Derogy, Jacques, and Hesi Carmel. The Untold History of Israel. (1972). (NR)<br /><br />Eisenberg, Dennis, Uri Dan, and Eli Landau. The Mossad: Israel's Secret Intelligence Service--Inside Stories. (1978). Beyond being rather outdated, known for numerous errors that make it useless for serious researchers or historians. (NR)<br /><br />Eisenberg, Dennis, Eli Landau, and Menahem Portugali. Operation Uranium Ship. (1978). Considered a slightly useful account of the disappearance in 1968 of a cargo of uranium orchestrated by the Mossad known as "The Plumbat Affair." The story is covered more adequately in Davenport--se above. (NR)<br /><br />El-Ad, Avri, and James Creech III. Decline of Honor: A First Person Account by the Israeli Spy Whose Sabotage in Egypt Brought Down the Ben-Gurion Government. (1976). Noting this book is now difficult to find, Helene Fragman-Abramson says, "This autobiographical account of the Lavon Affair has the feel of a diary. He also names names and, of course, his motives remain suspicious . El-Ad (AKA Paul Frank in Egypt or, Avriel Seidenwerg as he was born)documents his leading role as the Aman officer operating covertly in Egypt in the mid-1950s. There is much detail on creating his cover as a former SS Officer in order to procure arms for Israel and/or uncover<br />dealers to Egypt. While Lavon was ultimately cleared of his role in this 'fail-safe' operation supposedly designed to undermine British pullout plans for Suez, El-Ad<br />was tried in secret and spent a decade in prison; it should be noted that his jail sentence was preferable to the death sentence issued in absentia for Frank in Egypt. The failed operation and subsequent arrest of those involved--including Eli Cohen who was later released--proved an international embarrassment for the nascent Jewish State, particularly as it was attempting to woo the U.S. for security. Ultimately, El-Ad contends that he was misled into action for political gain by Moshe Dayen and that forcing Lavon out was part of the plan." See also Golan, Teveth.<br />(NR)<br /><br />Eshed, Haggai. Reuven Shiloah--The Man Behind The Mossad: Secret Diplomacy in the Creation of Israel. (1997). (Translators, David Zinder and Leah Zinder.) Considered an important biography of Shiloah, the founder and first head of Mossad (1951-1953). Based on documents from private archives and interviews with people who worked closely with him, readers learn much about the early days of Mossad and the Israeli intelligence apparatus. As with many such studies, this book is said to have a vested interest in rehabilitating the reputation of a man with both defenders and detractors. (NR)<br /><br />Gilling, Tom, and John McKnight. Trial and Error: Mordechai Vanunu and Israel's Nuclear Bomb. (1991). The spin on this version of the story of nuclear "whistleblower" Vanunu, arrested by the Mossad for giving the British press photos of a secret Israeli plant, is that while visiting Australia on holiday, Vanunu claimed to have revealed his pro-Arab sentiments to clergyman McKnight. McKnight then converted him to Christianity and encouraged him to prove his new faith and interest in world peace by exposing Israel's clandestine nuclear activities. See also Cohen (the most reliable book to date), Hounam, Toscano. (NR)<br /><br />Golan, Aviezer. Operation Susanna. (As told by Marcelle Ninio, Victor Levy, Robert Dassa and Philip Nathanson; translated from Hebrew by Peretz Kidron). (1978). First person account of the failed Aman spy ring set up in Egypt during the 1950s to destabilize the Nassar government, resulting in considerable embarrassment for Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. See also El-Ad, Teveth.(NR)<br /> <br />Green, Stephen. Taking Sides: America's Secret Relations with a Militant Israel. (1984). As the title implies, this is a polemic unhappy with U.S. policy regarding Israel. Is among those believing one of the US's ongoing secrets is that America was directly helpful to the Israelis during the Six Day War. See also Cockburn, Hacking.<br /><br />Hacking, Nick. Bound by Deception: The Secret History of Spying between the United States and Israel. (2007). Another in the current vogue of looks at espionage by these two countries. According to the writer's agent, the book reveals how the U.S. and Israel "use their close proximity to one another to further their own military, diplomatic, and economic agendas . . . The covert relationship between the U.S. and Israel emerged out of the continual second-guessing, distrust, and paranoia engendered by the Cold War. There have been many hidden conflicts between these allies over their foreign policies in the Middle East, Israel’s nuclear arsenal, and the transfer of US military technology to Israel. When things boil over, as they did over Iraq in the late 1980s between George H. W. Bush and Yitzhak Shamir, the breakdown of overt and covert relations became a matter of life and death to US assets in the field." See also Cockburn, Green. (NR)<br /><br />HaLevy, Efraim. Man in the Shadows: Inside the Middle East Crisis with a Man Who Led the Mossad. (2006). Efraim HaLevy was Deputy Director and then Director of the Mossad during the period between Operation Desert Storm to the beginning of US incursions into Iraq. According to Helene Fragman Abramson, “Without revealing secrets about the inner-workings of one of the world’s most respected intelligence organizations, HaLevy documents his international activities and offers much insight on Israel’s back-channel endeavors to obtain peace with her Arab neighbors. More significantly, the book is a stunning indictment of the ineptitude and reluctance of the West to take a pre-emptive stance on terror. While his view is surely colored by the clarity of hindsight—he is writing Post-911—HaLevy’s ability to itemize the indicators leading up to today’s global terror situation is unobstructed by what he identifies as the West’s greatest stumbling block: political correctness.<br /><br />“This highly readable volume, written in HaLevy’s native English—he originally hails from London and immigrated to Israel shortly before independence—stresses the importance of and the difficulties in obtaining a collaborative effort between the political, military and the intelligence-gathering efforts of a democratic nation. He points out that this account `is not an autobiography,’ but does little to camouflage his disappointment with Israel’s politicians and how their public activities frequently undermined the potentially significant gains made during his secret meetings with important leaders—Arab and otherwise—around the globe. While he claims personal responsibility for Mossad and those who join him in the shadows, Mossad’s operational failures as well as his thwarted attempts to successfully secure preliminary agreements that would lead to peace for the world’s most contested strip of land, according to HaLevy, rest primarily with the politicians who placed their personal success in the public forum above that of the nation. To this end, HaLevy joins the ranks that include among them two-time president and former Aman chief, Chaim Herzog, whose distain for (current Israeli Prime Minister) Shimon Perez and his characteristically self-serving activities, is far from veiled.<br /><br />“The book serves well as a primer on the precipitating factors leading to Israel’s current standing within the Arab world and on the difficulties Israel faces in ameliorating what is now globally referred to as `the Palestinian issue.’ He successfully draws on his 30-plus years running with Israel’s elite and operating in international diplomatic circles to provide both color and context for activities undertaken by both Mossad and Israel at large. All told, however, HaLevy concludes with a particularly harsh and grim view for the West should the international community not heed HaLevy’s call to arms and respond in unison with gusto to the ever growing world threat Muslim terror poses.”<br /><br />Harel, Isser. The House on Garibaldi Street: The First Full Account of the Capture of Adolf Eichmann. (1975). Written by the architect of the operation, this is a classic account of how the Mossad tracked down and kidnapped the ex-Nazi hiding in Argentina. Made into an acclaimed film of the same title in 1979; remade as The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996) in a TV movie. (Two other books on the subject also by participants are by Aharoni and Malkin, listed here). For more on subject, see Bar-Zohar, Spies in the Promised Land, Bascomb, Shpiro.<br /><br />Herzog, Chaim. Living History: A Memoir (1996). Contains much interesting background beginning in 1943 when the future President of Israel worked with British Intelligence in the days when motorcycles were standard equipment and mastery of them was an essential skill. Herzog describes intelligence personnel going through a course in acrobatics at a Yorkshire slag heap outside a coal mine. He was trained in how to interrogate and how to be interrogated. Later, Herzog served on a committee with Brig. Gen. Bill Williams, the intelligence chief for Gen. Montgomery, to set up a British intelligence unit during the occupation after the war. This was, Herzog claims, valuable experience when he later helped craft similar plans in Israel. Chapter 8, in particular, discusses the creation of the first Israeli military intelligence agency, how its framework overcame political squabbles, and Israel's first Soviet mole--Israel Beer who wasn't uncovered until the late '60s after a close association with David Ben-Gurion. Herzog made one strong assertion--that the best intelligence comes from published sources and radio intercepts. Chapter 12 also deals with the realm of intelligence, noting Israel's close association with Ethiopia which allowed them to help prevent the assassination of Haille Salassie. (Chapter 3 of Katz's Soldier Spies gives praise for Herzog's work and gives details about his intelligence blueprints in 1948. See below.) <br /> <br />Herzog, Chaim. The War of Atonement: October 1973 (1975). An almost minute-by-minute analysis of the 1973 Yom Kippor war. Regarding intelligence, which is only briefly hit on in the book, he says intelligence failures were based partly on Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's success at misleading Israeli and all Western agencies--keeping his intentions secret from most of his own commanders, Israel's Failure to appreciate the brinkmanship of Sadat and not knowing that both Saudi Arabia and Egypt would now be using oil as a weapon of power. Chapter 4 discusses the failures and disagreements within Israel's intelligence community before the war.<br /><br /> All this is explored in more depth by Black and Morris (see above) which came out later. Also noting failures in the Israeli intelligence community, the heart of the matter, in the view of Black and Morris, was not a lack of knowledge but belief in it. As a result of these blunders, the evaluation process of intelligence was revamped in 1974. For a credible but shorter history of this war, see Katz, Soldier Spies.<br /><br />Horesh, Joshua. An Iraqi Jew in the Mossad: Memoir of an Israeli Intelligence Officer. (1997). After working with British intelligence in World War II, Horesh served with the Jewish underground prior to independence. He joined Mossad after the establishment of Israel. (NR)<br /><br />Hounam, Peter. The Woman From Mossad: The story of Mordechai Vanunu and the Israeli Nuclear Program. (1999). Controversial book on a controversial subject. The woman in question isn't the subject--Mossad agent Cheryl Bentov, masquerading as "Cindy," an American tourist, persuaded Vanunu to fly with her to Rome on a holiday where other Mossad agents drugged him and smuggled him to Israel. Her short mission resulted from Vanunu, a former nuclear technician, revealing details of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the British press in 1986. Tried in secret and convicted of<br />Treason, he spent 18 years in jail before getting a highly conditional release in 2004.<br /><br />Over the years, the Vanunu case became a cause celebe for Human Rights activists and those wishing to debate when conscience should outweigh concerns over treason. Then again, the conscience of Vanunu is also a subject of considerable debate. Author Hounam clearly believes Vanunu is both heroic and a victim, and this perspective earned wide critical panning of the book for its obvious lack of objectivity (and some claims of poor editing). In addition, Hounam tried to produce a film based on Vanunu and found himself also in trouble with Israeli authorities. No doubt, all this should result in a new edition of the book if not a sequel. See also Cohen, Gilling, Toscano. (NR)<br /><br />Jonas, George. Vengeance. (1984). This book was first the inspiration for the 1986 HBO production, The Sword of Gideon which, in turn, inspired Spielberg's 2005 Munich. It was also the major source for Alexander B. Calahan's 1995 Masters Thesis on the subject (see above.) In particular, Jonas is convinced that "Avner's" account of his mission as the team leader of the Mossad's European independent covert action team is authentic.<br /><br />As is typical of most reviews of books converted to films, readers state Jonas is able to provide more depth than either of the film adaptations, noting "Avner" was only twenty-six when he was summoned out of relative obscurity to head a specialist Israeli team, moving from the ruthless efficiency of the operations before the human costs sinks in. In the words of one Amazon reviewer, "the terrible paradox that results when those in power, in a desperate bid against terrorism, resort to the very tactics of their enemies." Both Jonas and Calahan disagree with the claims of Stewart Steven, noted below. Also see Bar-Zohar (Quest), Klein and Tinin.<br /><br />Kahana, Ephraim. Historical Dictionary of Israeli Intelligence. (2006) Reviews point to a mixed usefulness for this non-indexed and incomplete study. For example, the Jonathan Pollard article omitted a number of key facts. However, new information is included as in the Mordechai Louk spy-in-the-diplomatic-trunk<br />incident. According to a CIA review of the book, “Similarly, the domestic security service, often called Shin Bet, is discussed under its formal name, the Israeli Security Agency (SHABAK). There is a very useful chronology describing the evolution of the various Israeli intelligence services and the officers that headed them. The introduction is<br />a valuable summary of how Israeli intelligence operates, citing missions, failures, oversight, the importance of HUMINT, and a look to the future. Overall<br />this is a valuable reference book.” NR<br /><br />Katz, Samuel M. Guards Without Frontiers: Israel's War Against Terrorism. (1990). From a frequently published writer on Israeli intelligence, this volume traces the origins of the Mossad and follows its agents on various assassination assignments. However, while other Katz titles earn considerable praise, intelligence experts brand this one worrisome for its lack of documentation and tone of near propaganda. (NR)<br /><br />Katz, Samuel M. Hunt for the Engineer: How Israeli Agents Tracked the Hamas Master Bomber. (1999). The story of the hunt by Israeli security forces for Yehiya Ayyash ("the Engineer") and his elimination by an exploding cell phone. (NR)<br /><br />Katz, Samuel M. Soldier Spies: Israeli Military Intelligence. (1992). While this book is an outstanding, even extraordinary, history of Aman, the intelligence branch of the Israel Defense Force (IDF), there is much material related to the Mossad. Connections between the two agencies include the much larger size of Aman and that sometimes operations overlap. For example, the Mossad's support of the Christian government in Lebanon, Katz maintains, set the stage for the IDF failures there. Recruits into Aman, like Eli Cohen and Wolfgang Lotz, were later moved to the Mossad to great success. Comparing Aman with America's NSA, Katz says Aman sets the stage for intelligence successes by other members of the Israeli espionage community.<br /><br />Well-researched, drawing from sources in English and Hebrew, Katz supports Victor Ostrovsky's revelations that the Mossad was heavily involved in the Iran-Contra affair, although Katz agrees with most reviewers that Ostrovsky's books weave fiction with fact (see below). Like Black and Morris, this history includes much about Jewish operations in Palestine before the formation of Israel, including how Aman benefited from the training of British advisors and S.O.E. officers who instructed WWII guerillas to "Turn the night into your own," to use being outnumbered to your advantage. Early chapters draw heavily from Raviv and Melman--see below. Later chapters also draw from Black and Morris, Steven, and numerous Hebrew publications. Concludes with in-depth discussion of Israel's role in the first Iraqi War. Also see Betser. <br /><br />Klein, Aaron J. Striking Back: The 1972 Munich Massacre and Israel's Deadly Response. (2005). For discussions on books on this topic, also see Bar-Zohar (Quest), Calahan , Jonas, and Tinin. (NR)<br /><br />Loftus, John, and Mark Aarons. The Secret War Against the Jews: How Western Espionage Betrayed the Jewish People. (1994). In the view of Helene Fragman-Abramson, "I wouldn't exclude this book, written by the conspiracy-maven team of Loftus and Aarons, as a counter balance to Black and Morris. Loftus and Aarons do a fine job of detailing the behind the scenes negotiations that were often the result of selectively placed intel. Great primer on how covert operations can shape political relationships." (NR)<br /><br />Lotz, Wolfgang. The Champagne Spy: Israel's Master Spy Tells His Story. (1972). Working for Aman and then the Mossad at the same time as Eli Cohen, Lotz was based in Cairo where his work centered on destroying the efforts of former Nazi scientists helping Egypt. Playing the role of an ex-Nazi himself, he earned the moniker "The Champagne Spy" due to his high-living as part of his cover. His account tells of transmitters in his boots and bathroom scale. Like Eli Cohen, he was captured but was traded in a prisoner exchange along with veterans of the botched Unit 131 "Operation Susanna" agents in 1973. One reviewer believes this book is "a rare work -- the story of a post-World War II non-Soviet illegal operation written by the illegal himself." See also Dan and Lotz, A Handbook for Spies. (NR) <br /><br />Lotz, Wolfgang. A Handbook for Spies. (1980). Described as a do-it-yourself manual for testing your suitability to be a spy. For some critics, the book not only reflects Lotz's experiences and his outlook stemming from his work in Egypt but reveals much about Lotz himself. Some of his observations on espionage are universally pertinent; others seem to fit his particular experiences and circumstances." See also Lotz, The Champagne Spy. (NR)<br /><br />Malkin, Peter Z. The Argentina Journal: Paintings and Memories: The Israeli Secret Agent Who Captured the Nazi War Criminal Adolf Eichmann Through His Art. (2002). As described in his memoir (see below), Mossad agent Malkin used his cover as a painter on his mission to capture Adolf Eichmann. This book includes those paintings of Eichmann, his memories of World War II, Mussolini, Hitler and the scenes around him where Eichmann was guarded for ten days. Considered a valuable contribution to both history and art. See also Aharoni, Bar-Zohar (Spies in the Promised Land), Bascomb, Harel, Malkin, Shpiro.(NR)<br /><br />Malkin, Peter Z. with Harry Stein. Eichmann in My Hands. (1990). Memoir of a highly regarded Mossad veteran. At the age of 12, Malkin was recruited into the Haganah, the Palestine Jewish underground. Later, he was invited to join the new Jewish state's fledgling security service as an explosives expert. Because of his skills as a master of martial arts and disguises, in 1960, Isser Harel assigned him to capture Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann and bring him to Israel. Malkin used his painter's identity as his cover while he successfully completed his mission. In 1991, after the facts of the operation including his role were publicly revealed, Malkin was interviewed by numerous publications and he exhibited the paintings that became known as "The Argentina Journal" (see above). One of three books written by actual participants--see also Aharoni, Harel. See also Bar-Zohar (Spies in the Promised Land), Bascomb, Shpiro. (NR) Excerpts and chapters from the book are posted at:<br />http://www.petermalkin.com<br /><br />McRaven, William H. Special Operations--Case Studies in Special Operations Warfare: Theory and Practice. (1995). Intended for professionals in the field, case studies include the Israeli rescue at Entebbe (1976). Described as good history with thought-provoking analysis. See also Stevenson. (NR)<br /><br />Neff, Donald. Warriors for Jerusalem: The Six Days That Changed the Middle East.(1984). According to Helene Fragman-Abramson, alongside Michael Oren's Six Days of War, this book provides "incredible insight to the political jockeying and information trades occurring in Israel behind the scenes prior to and during<br />the June 1967 war." See also Oren. (NR) The "Arab-Israeli War, 1967 - July 2002" is an extensive bibliography on the topic:<br /><a href="http://www.jfsc.ndu.edu/library/publications/">http://www.jfsc.ndu.edu/library/publications/</a><br /><br />O'Ballance, Edgar. Electronic War in the Middle East (1968-1970). (1974). As title implies, a focused study of electronic wars between Israel and its Arab neighbors during the "War of Attrition." For specialists" general readers may find what they need in Katz, Soldier Spies, in which overviews of eavesdropping improvements after 1967 are discussed along with the birth of remote-control surveillance devices based on toy planes. (NR)<br /><br />Oren, Michael B. Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East. (2002). According to Helene Fragman-Abramson, alongside Donald Neff's Warriors of Jerusalem, this book provides "incredible insight to the political jockeying and information trades occurring in Israel behind the scenes prior to and during the June 1967 war.” See also Neff. (NR) The "Arab-Israeli War, 1967 - July 2002" is an extensive bibliography on the topic:<br />http://www.jfsc.ndu.edu/library/publications/<br /><br />Ostrovsky ,Victor and Claire Hoy. By Way of Deception: The Making and Unmaking of A Mossad Officer. (1990). controversial and clearly self-serving memoir, many reviews believe it should be taken with a pillar of salt. Later sources contend this expose didn't likely tell foreign agencies what they didn't already know but could have had an impact on U.S./Israel relations. Likely other governments as well, most notably Denmark as Ostrovsky published a credible organizational chart of their own services. Most of Ostrovsky's claims are impossible to prove or disprove, but the tone is clearly disingenuous when the former Mossad agent says he's interested in preserving agents safety while blowing their covers. If true, he revealed corruption of former officers who used their connections in private enterprises, especially in the Far East, and describing the sexual interactions in headquarters saying all the secretaries are essentially "hand-me-downs" from one agent to another. But doubts about his claims include his repeatedly defining himself as a Colonel in the Mossad when it's well-known there are no military ranks in this service, all participants civilian.<br /><br /> Nonetheless, there is much interesting information and this book is not to be disregarded outright. For example, his claim there are but 30 to40 katsas, or case officers, working at any time is supported by other sources. If he is correct about the Mossad misusing him as a scapegoat in a botched operation, he has much to be resentful about. Ostrovsky, a Mossad officer from approximately January 1983 to 1986, provides one of the most detailed descriptions of agent training in print. Claiming the Mossad, despite its relative small size, is an institution unto itself, he believes Prime Ministers have no control over it and instead foreign policy is manipulated by the desires of the very right-wing Mossad. He provides credible details about the Metsada as a highly secret organization within the Mossad which operates combatants. The book also describes the "Kidon," a specially trained, elite assassination unit. According to Ostrovsky, Kidon is a translation of the word 'bayonet,' and is the operational arm of the Mossad responsible for kidnappings and executions.<br /><br />The most questionable sections of the book are his descriptions of operations he claimed to be privy to during his short tenure, and those he was told about in training. Stories include how the Mossad created a table filled with listening devices sent to Syria which didn't work, Black September's attempt to assassinate Golda Meir, and how the Mossad was so determined to take out this group it was distracted from battling Syria and Egypt, hence the failures before the 1973 Yom Kippor War. The most successful rescue operation in history, the air-lifting of Ethiopian Jews from Sudan, is described in more detail than other sources. While he doesn't have as much to say about the Lillehamer debacle as Calahan, Jonas, or Tinin, this book reveals much about the later missions of participants after the botched mission which are now well-documented. (See list of Ostrovsky websites in a separate file of this bibliography.)<br /> <br />Ostrovsky, Victor. The Other Side of Deception. (1994). A very different book from his 1990 expose', this dramatic memoir focuses on Ostrovsky himself and is thus more a personal narrative with lengthy descriptions of his life after the Mossad. Often reading more like a novel, we get explicit descriptions of sex with 22 year old girls and his emotional reactions to being forced out of the Mossad and his crusade of revenge.<br /><br />The heart of the book is Ostrovsky's tale of recruitment by a rogue group within the Mossad who believed "The Office" had become uncontrollable and therefore in need of destruction. In 1986, Ostrovsky claimed he first helped expose a Soviet mole by offering the KGB and Palestinians Intel, then gave the British considerable information on Mossad operations in England, and went to Jordon and Egypt to reveal Mossad intentions and inoculate them against Israel. Always claiming to be a patriotic Israeli, Ostrovsky repeatedly stated his purpose was to work against an agency he felt certain was independent of the democratic government of Israel--and besides he had personal issues with his treatment as a Colonel in the Mossad. One mission, which he code-named "Operation: Joshua," allegedly helped Jordon set up a spy ring against Israel--such revelations, if true, should indeed brand Ostrovsky a traitor despite his denials. In the end, he states the group's attempts to blacken Mossad leadership led to little fruit beyond setting back Mossad operations in England, which led to his grandest stroke--the publication of the 1990 By Way of Deception.<br /><br />Along the way, readers get more insights into intelligence work, especially terminology. But his descriptions of Mossad operations are again highly suspect. For example, he claims the Reagan administration was duped into bombing Libya in April 1986 after the Mossad planted a "Trojan Dick Trick" in Libya which broadcast disinformation confirming bogus Mossad reports about Libya's terrorist connections. Most studies of the bombing clearly indicate Reagan would have needed no prodding from Israel to retaliate against unquestionable Libyan involvement in terrorism. On the other hand, his notes about Mossad supporting publisher Robert Maxwell, making his empire possible, are now considered quite credible. He provides more details on the Jonathan Pollard affair, noting information he sent was passed on to the Eastern bloc in exchange for freeing Russian Jews, one reason Pollard was given life in prison. (See list of Ostrovsky websites in Part II of this bibliography.)<br /><br />Payne, Ronald. Mossad: Israel's Most Secret Service. (1991). Appearing at the same time as both Black and Morris as well as Raviv and Melmen, this historical compendium perhaps suffers by comparison as it draws from well-known sources with no obvious insider interviews or contacts. Still, noted as well-written and considered useable. (NR)<br /><br />Posner, Steve. Israel Undercover: Secret Warfare and Hidden Diplomacy in the Middle East. (1987). Has been described as a flawed but readable overview for the general reader. (NR) <br /> <br />Raviv, Dan and Yossi Melman. Every Spy a Prince: The Complete History of Israel's Intelligence Community. (1990). Appearing one year before Black and Morris, this history was quickly and obviously not "complete"--a title choice the authors admitted was impossible for any study of any intelligence agency. (The authors preferred the British title, The Imperfect Spies, which better suited the content.) Another strain on the American title was the claim that spies are mainly princes who work largely from patriotic motivations, even in the early years in Israel when turf wars and policies of the Ben-Gurion government weren't universally applauded. Black and Morris are far more comprehensive, but this book of equivalent length should not be simply dismissed as being superceded. It has material not duplicated in the other book, includes more direct quotes from sources and has more on perceptions of Israel's intelligence agencies by both observers and participants. Has different insights on principal characters and events, such as crediting Chaim Herzog as spearheading technological advances in the formative years. They discuss more connections with other countries and the CIA than Black and Morris. Includes a chronological list of important figures and the structural hierarchy of various agencies. As indispensable as Black and Morris and Katz's Soldier Spies. <br /><br />Richelson, Jeffrey T. Foreign Intelligence Organizations. (1988). In this volume, Richelson, a fine authority on modern espionage, provided organization-chart overviews including, among others, the Mossad, Aman, Shin Bet, and the Lakam. Not for general readers, but invaluable on library shelves.<br /><br />Schack, Howard H., with H. Paul Jeffers. A Spy in Canaan: My Life as a Jewish-American Businessman Spying for Israel in Arab Lands. (1993). Schack worked for Mossad from mid-1970s to late 1980s. (NR)<br /><br />Scharf, Jonathan. South of Jericho: A Novel. (2006). While this list summarizes non-fiction books, this novel is allegedly based on a true story written by an ex-Mossad officer. Realism, the publisher claims, is seen in passages "from the attempted capture of 23 ex-Nazi scientists, planning for the terrorists a germ-<br />biological attack on Israel that could spread throughout the world, to a car chase in the backstreets of Baghdad behind KGB agents involving a Swiss banker and an Arab nuclear plant, to a threatened-to-be-stolen Russian super MiG fighter plane." The hero is terrorist hunter Ziki Barak who finds himself involved in a plot involving nuclear bombs. For more discussion on fictional accounts of the Mossad, see note 2 below and other files at this website. (NR)<br /><br />Seale, Patrick. Abu Nibal: A Gun for Hire. (1992). Exploration of the late Arab terrorist mastermind. Discusses the atmosphere of paranoia in Palestinian guerilla groups fearing what they believe is certain penetration and manipulation by the Mossad. Chapters 8-10 discuss the enigmatic reputation of Nibal, in particular whether he was actually a Mossad agent or at least collaborator. After all, his organization was known more for dueling with the PLO, Jordon, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia more so than Israel, although Nibal's ostensible mission was the utter destruction of Israel. However, after 1977, Seale maintains, Nibal hit no Israeli targets and Israel didn't target him. Instead, his operations tended to blacken the reputations of more moderate Arab organizations--a ploy by Israel and Nibal? After looking at a variety of possibilities, Seale concludes it is quite conceivable that Nibal or members of his leadership were indeed Mossad agents and we may learn someday this was one of Israel's greatest coups.<br /><br />Segev, Shmuel. Alone in Damascus: The Life and Death of Eli Cohen. (1986). Published by Keter Publishing,Jerusalem. Not translated into English from the original Hebrew; transliterated as 'Boded b'Damesek: Chaya v'mota shel Eli Cohen.' Apparently, Segev was a journalist with Israeli Hebrew daily Ma'ariv and, in a number of articles, identified as a former intelligence officer. (Source: Helene Fragman-Abramson). For details, see ALDOUBY, Ben-Hanan, Dan. NR<br /><br />Shamir, Yitzhak. Summing Up. (1994). As the former Prime Minister's primary purpose here is to review and defend his policies and labors while in high office, he is sadly skimpy in sharing insights into his ten years as one of Israel's "anonymous soldiers" in the Mossad. He, like Herzog, offers more describing his days in the clandestine cells of Zionist agents working to help create the state of Israel, especially his training as a guerilla fighter. He was schooled in the rudimentary arts like camouflage, "walking in the shade." "Conspiratorial life," he wrote, "is tidier than most other styles of living. Everything, rules, regulations, prescriptions, discipline, is totally directed toward serving the cause." Leaving no trails, no inadvertent clues scattered behind, a way of living that helped shape his future life. For example, his entire family had to live with cover identities during one of his tours in France. He is likely unique in determining the various intelligence agencies in Israel work together in complete harmony. <br /><br />Shpiro, Shlomo(Ed). Intelligence and Democracy in Israel: Isser Harel.(2005) See Aharoni, Bar-Zohar (Spies in the Promised Land), Bascomb, Harel, Malkin. (NR)<br /><br />Silman-Cheong, Helen. Wellesley Aron: A Rebel With A Cause--A Memoir. (1991). While pre-dating the Mossad, this is the biography of a Jewish Palestinian who worked clandestinely for the Hagannah in the US during Israel's War of Independence. (NR)<br /><br />Steven, Stewart. The Spymasters of Israel: The Definitive Inside Look at the World's Best Intelligence Service. (1980). For some reviewers, this history is readable but without the detail of volumes intended for researchers; others note some sections are good "recaps" of well-known stories with some errors. For example, in Soldier Spies, Katz notes there is no record of a Cairo-based secret group called "Together." As both Black and Morris as well as Raviv and Melman came out a decade later, perhaps Steven should be third on the list when looking for comprehensive overviews. (NR) <br /><br />Stevenson, William. Ninety Minutes at Entebbe. (1976). Describes the Israeli rescue of hijacked airplane passengers at Entebbe, Uganda, in 1976. See also McRaven. (NR)<br /><br />Sumaida, Hussein Ali, with Carole Jerome. Circle of Fear: From the Mossad to Iraq's Secret Service. (1991--re-published as Circle of Fear: My Life as an Israeli and Iraqi Spy in 1994.) Sumaida, whose father was a high-ranking official and an intimate of Saddam Hussein, claims to have worked with Mossad in Europe and later with the Iraqis. Considered plausible but sensational and unsupported, some reviewers find this more an effort at self-justification rather than revealing much about espionage operations and methods. Others note there is no way to verify Sumaida's stories regarding his encounters with the Mukhabarat, the CIA, or Canadian intelligence officials. Also questionable is the actual authorship, and when and why the book was written. (NR)<br /><br />Szulc, Tad. The Secret Alliance: The Extraordinary Story of the Rescue of the Jews Since World War II. (1991). Praised for the research and detail, Szulc recounts the story of the Mossad-backed "Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society," a complex and covert intelligence network organized to aid then illegal immigration to Palestine and then the new country of Israel. (NR)<br /><br />Tadmor, Joshua. Silent Warriors: The Dramatic Story of the Men and Women,<br />Israeli and Arab Secret Agents in the Middle East from World War II to the<br />Present. (1969). Written by U. S. Marine Corps Museum General and Theoretical historian. See note 3 below. (NR)<br /><br />Teveth, Shabtai. Ben--Gurion's Spy: The Story of the Political Scandal That Shaped Modern Israel. (1996). According to Book List, "A magnificently documented account of the Lavon affair, the 1960 political scandal that led to the demise of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion's government three years later, and, says Teveth, the original progressive ideals of Zionism." See also El-Ad, Gollan.<br />(NR)<br /><br />Thomas, Gordon. Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad. (1999). Charges that Israel blackmailed President Clinton with phone-tapped tapes of his sex talks with Monica Lewinsky which induced the president to call off an FBI hunt for a top-level Israeli mole. In addition, speculates the Mossad was involved with the death of Princess Diana of Wales. All sources are unnamed and Thomas's own credentials have not been verified by any source. (NR)<br /><br />Thomas, Gordon, and Martin Dillon. Robert Maxwell, Israel's Master Spy: The Life and Murder of a Media Mogul. (2002). Develops the claims of Victor Ostrovsky's The Other Side of Deception (1994) that Maxwell was indeed a longtime "agent" of the Mossad. However, reviewers remain unconvinced Maxwell was murdered while considering the other claims credible. (NR)<br /><br />Tinin, David B. and Dag Christiansen. The Hit Team. (1976). At first glance, this journalist's report might now seem outdated as its ostensible subject is the assassination operations of the Mossad after the 1972 Munich attack by Black September. As it appeared in 1976, clearly much material has come to light in the following decades leading up to the 2005 film, Munich. Indeed, coverage of the "first string" teams is thin, but the lengthiest section is an almost minute-by-minute account of the unraveling of the July 21, 1973 Mossad operation in Lillehammer, Norway, where the "second string" murdered Ahmed Boushiki, a Moroccan waiter after mistaking him for the "Red Prince," a Palestinian leader of the Black September terrorist group.<br /><br /> What gives this book some continuing interest is its detailed discussions of Mossad operations, weaponry, and especially training. Offers insights into the psychological costs for secret agents. For example, notes that false identities allow agents to commit acts in that name which distances the actions from the individual. However, guilt can grow later. Further, descriptions of team members explore why failures occur when agents are in the field too long, which is why 5 years is considered the maximum time an agent can be undercover and why their compensation should be high, their lives after secret work usually difficult in the civilian sector. Despite factual errors, this book served as a reference for later explorations of the same matters. See also Bar-Zohar (Quest), Calahan, Jonas, Klein.<br /><br />Tirmazi, Brigadier Syed A. T. Profiles of Intelligence. (1995). The author held positions in Pakistan's Intelligence Bureau, eventually serving as its directorate general, and the Inter Services Intelligence (analogous to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in the United States). Thus, his focus is mainly on Pakistani intelligence but then discusses intelligence in five geographic areas: the United States, India, Libya, Israel, and Iran. According to a CIA review of the book, “He is candid about the high quality of the Israeli services but leaves no doubt as to his political views: "Most ills that have enveloped the world today can be traced back to Tel Aviv…." (225)” NR<br /><br />Toscano, Louis. Triple Cross: Israel, the Atomic Bomb, and the Man Who Spilled the Secrets. (1990). Yet another look into the Vanunu affair. One reviewer found it a slight book about Mordechai Vanunu's sad life in which the only notable thing "is that he managed to photograph Israel's Dimona nuclear bomb plant." Another noted the author told two stories: One story is that of Vanunu's life and beliefs, in which Vanunu "emerges as a sympathetic but confused individual." The other story concerns the Israeli government's reactions to Vanunu's disclosures. For other takes, see Cohen, Gilling, Hounam. (NR)<br /><br />West, Nigel. [Rupert Allason, M.P.] Games of Intelligence: The Classified Conflict of International Intelligence Revealed. (1990). A broad comparison of U.S., UK, Soviet, French, and Israeli intelligence. Said to be both a good read and good reference as the author had access to highly sensitive information told with both analysis and anecdotes. A supplement to studies more focused on Israel. (NR)<br /><br />WESTERBY, Gerald. In Hostile Country: Business Secrets of a Mossad Combatant. (1998). Using a pseudonym, this author offers an unusual approach--a how-to manual on succeeding in business by using principles he learned on espionage missions. Divided into three sections--patience, preparation, and persistence--advice is illustrated by such operations as getting a Sudanese target to come to Europe. (NR)<br /><br />---<br /><br />Notes<br /><br />1. As of this writing, one book in the pipeline includes former Mossad undercover combatant Michael Burrows's The Volunteer, the memoir of a Christian born westerner who falls in love with Israel, converts to Judaism and serves as a senior officer in Israeli secret intelligence from 1988 - 2001, including two and a half years as Mossad's Counterterrorism Liaison Officer to the CIA and FBI.<br /><br />2. While this bibliography didn't include many novels with Mossad characters, one author deserves an "Honorable Mention." In one noteworthy series, Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon was a reluctant killer for Israeli intelligence, an art restorer who'd seen his wife and child blown up by PLO terrorists. Before beginning the Allon series with The Kill Artist (2000), bestsellers included The Unlikely Spy (1995), The Mark of the Assassin (1998), and The Marching Season (1999). The second Allon book, The English Assassin (2002) was followed by The Confessor (2003) where Allon battled a secret conspiracy within the Vatican trying to keep hidden revelations about the Church's silence during the Holocaust. Based on extensive research, the book explored the Church's support of Nazis when both groups opposed Communism and the idea Jews might get their own homeland.<br /><br />This series is important as the Silva books signaled a new direction in espionage literature, a shift from Cold War duels to the growing interest in Israel/Arab relations. Praised by many critics as a new force in espionage fiction, Silva benefits from contacts with a number of news correspondents, most notably his wife, NBC Today Show reporter, Jamie Jangel. For more information, see my Beyond Bond: Spies in Fiction and Film (2005).<br /><br /> 3. According to Belle Cohen, these are titles about Eli Cohen published in various languages other than English:<br /><br />Eli Cohen by Jacques Rabin and Jacques Overdo Paris, Flammarion, 1967<br /><br />Eli Cohen, ha-Gibor ha Israeli be Damascus (The Israeli Hero in Damascus), By A Hagai, Tel Aviv, Gevura, included in Eli Cohen, Spy in Damascus, by Joshua Tadmoor, in The Silent Warriors, New York, McMillan, 1969.<br /><br />Eli Cohen ve Eile she-Kadmu lo, by Arieh Hashavia, in Rigul (Espionage),<br />Tel- Aviv, Ledori.<br /><br />Kamal Amin Taabet- Eli Cohen, by Gabriel Strassman, Baalot Lochamim, ( Best<br />Fighters) Moshe Ben Shaul,ed<br /><br />Eli Cohen- Le Combattant de Damas by Jacques Mercier (Eli’s lawyer), Robert Laffont, Paris, 1998.The Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-25522240847478399622007-07-01T18:10:00.000-07:002007-07-01T18:11:37.451-07:00Rudyard Kipling's "Great Game": Kim, Spy Stories, and "The Spies March"Rudyard Kipling's "Great Game": Kim, Spy Stories, and "The Spies March"<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><br />In his 2004 review of Frederick P. Hitz' The Great Game: The Myth and Reality of Espionage, Alexander Hemon noted that Hitz was clearly aware of the seminal importance of Rudyard Kipling's Kim (1901). After all, Hitz drew his title from the famous phrase usually associated with Kipling--"The Great Game." Then, Hemon's review included the very arguable claim that Kim was "the first modern spy novel" as it "uses espionage to go after something immeasurably bigger then the technicalities of collecting intelligence." Kipling's Kimball O’Hara, Hemon noted, "was part of the struggle for Central Asia between the Russian and British empires known as the Great Game." Merging a spiritual quest with espionage, the story of Kim is about a boy who "becomes a challa (pupil) to a Buddhist lama, which, after he is recruited [by the British Secret Service], becomes a perfect cover" for a spy mission.<br /><br /> Still, Hemon believed "Kim is really not primarily about spying. Kipling's book is about a whole set of issues crucial to the British colonial discourse, and the spying in it allows them to come into focus. The book is about becoming a perfect British subject, about the ways in which the (moral) project of "civilization" affects an individual psyche . . . Kim's quest is about accepting his responsibility toward the Empire and its subjects—Kim is about a white boy's burden." (Hemon)<br /><br />Of course, this is but one interpretation of the novel seen through many critical lenses, sometimes praised as the first post-Colonial novel, sometimes blasted as Jingoist propaganda. But, being a book dealing with a variety of themes and motifs, and, in Hemon's view, "not really about spying," can Kim really be considered the first modern spy novel? While the claim for this honor has been given to many books--most frequently to John Buchan's 1915 The 39 Steps--occasional mentions of the Kipling story do occur in discussions of espionage literature. (note 1) For example, Bruce Schneier quoted an uncited review of Kim which allegedly claimed, "Kipling packed a great deal of information and concept into his stories, and in `Kim' we find The Great Game: espionage and spying. Within the first twenty pages we have authentication by something you have, denial of service, impersonation, stealth, masquerade, role- based authorization (with ad hoc authentication by something you know), eavesdropping, and trust based on data integrity. Later on we get contingency planning against theft and cryptography with key changes." Thus, Kipling can be viewed as a "security author." (Schneier)<br /><br /> So it seems worthwhile to explore Kim and determine its place--if any--in the genre of spy literature. At the same time, an overview of Kipling's short stories employing espionage show more early uses of "The Great Game." And a look at a 1911 Kipling poem, "The Spies March," may reveal, uniquely, that Kipling might have been the first to scribe spy verse.<br /><br />A Spy Kid in India<br /><br />The first question to answer is clearly--was Kim a spy novel at all, especially as the story has lengthy sections with no overt connections to spycraft? Despite critical views downplaying the undercover elements of the book, Ian Mackean's analysis points to the espionage plot as one of the two main threads running through the book. One is Kim's mentoring by a Buddhist monk on his own spiritual quest; this parallels another education for Kim who is singled out by Colonel Creighton for recruitment into the Secret Service.<br /><br />This begins in Lahore where Mahbub Ali, a horse trader with the secret code name C25 1b, gave the 13-year-old Kim a cryptic message to deliver to a British officer in Umballa. As Mackean notes, "Kim takes to the 'Great Game' of spying like a duck to water." It suits his independent, inquisitive, adventurous personality perfectly, being a natural<br />development for the child who loved the 'game' of running secret missions across the rooftops of Lahore. As Kipling stated in Chapter One, "what he loved was the game for its own sake - the stealthy prowl through the dark gullies and lanes, the crawl up a water-pipe . . . the headlong flight from housetop to housetop under cover of the hot dark." (Mackean) Not knowing that Mahbub was a member of the British Secret Service, Kim delivered the message as directed and then lay in the grass and watched and listened until he learned that his message meant that eight thousand men would go to war. Later, he learns of the mission's success when Mahbub tells him, "The game is well played. That war is done now and the evil we hope nipped before the flower, thanks to me and thee." (Mackean)<br /><br /> Kim is not involved with the Secret Service again until the final sentences of Chapter Eight when Mahbub instructs Kim on where to go for training, saying "Here begins the Great Game." Until that point, Kim traveled with the lama before finding a Irish regiment that removed the orphan from the holy man's care and sends him to a school for white children. There, he specialised in surveying and map-making, "essential skills for his future role as a spy." Thereafter, he is answerable to Colonel Creighton--rarely on stage--and agents Mahbub Ali, Babu, and Lurgan who trains him in the art and science of spying.<br /><br />During his education, as Kim had grown up essentially a dark-skinned orphan in India, his identity was a fusion of East and West. So, in Mackean's view, the twin influences of the lama and the spymasters are equal forces in forging the boy's identity. "When his schooling is complete Kim's training as a spy under Creighton's associates continues, one of his teachers being the 'shaib' Lurgan . . . During his stay with Lurgan in Chapter 9, as well as practising the observation test now known as 'Kim's game', Kim is subjected to a psychological test in which Lurgan tries, through hypnotism, to make him believe that a broken jug has reconstituted itself." Kim resists Lurgan's attempts to manipulate his mind by silently reciting the mathematical tables he learned at school. "Kipling seems to be showing that much as Kim found the ordered regimented thinking of white men repellent at first, the mental discipline he has absorbed from his European schooling has given him an ability to keep control of his mind in a way that would not have been possible for a native. This ability, no doubt, would be vital if he were ever captured and interrogated by enemy spies." (Mackean)<br /><br />So, on one hand, the lama instructs Kim in the Buddhist philosophy of renouncing attachments to earthly bonds. Likewise, "As a spy, Kim will also have to renounce ordinary life. He will lead a life of disguise and deception, never able to reveal his true motives to anyone . . . And just as the lama's mission will only be understood by a select few among Buddhist holy men, Kim's mission will only be understood by a select few among the British Secret<br />Service." (Mackean)<br /><br />One episode not summarized by Mackean occurred in Chapter 11 after Kim leaves with the llama and encounters another agent, known only as E 23, on a train. The two spies recognize each other after seeing each other's identification amulets and, surprisingly, E 23 isn't surprised to discover a contact but 17 years old. Once Kim realizes E 23 has a message for him, he leans forward to hear the whispered report, "his heart nearly choking him. This was the Great Game with a vengeance." Carrying a secret letter, E 23 is in disguise, on the run as he's accused of murder. Strangely, it's the younger agent who aids the more experienced spy by helping him quickly prepare a new disguise that fools the local police. <br /><br />Later, again on the road with the llama, Kim encounters Babu who assigns him to join his mission to intercept two foreign spies, one Russian, one French, who are operating in the Himalayas. Babu meets up with the spies and travels with them while Kim and the llama travel on the same route. After the two parties meet up, one of the spies tears the lama's diagram of the Buddhist universe, then strikes him in the face. Kim is provoked into fighting him. This leads to a mutiny of the foreign spies' coolies, which sends everyone off into different directions. As a result, Kim is able to find and hide the spies' secret documents. "Kim is instrumental, along with the Babu, in thwarting the foreign spies, their mission being particularly successful because the foreign spies never realize that Kim and the Babu are secret agents - as far as they know their expedition has been wrecked by a chance encounter with a holy man and his young disciple . . . This fight and Kim's triumph will be a coup for Kim which will surely secure his career as a spy." (Mackean)<br /><br />"The Great Game" and "Mcguffins"<br /><br />Clearly, much of Kim was very much a spy adventure. However, Mackean's observations indicating Kim had a future in espionage are questionable. In the final chapter, the llama and Mahbub Ali discuss Kim's future, and Mahbud leaves the boy with the llama who sees Kim as a likely teacher. The final paragraphs are of the llama talking to Kim about purifying him in the River of Life, not of "The Great Game." <br /><br /> But the question remains--does the use of espionage in a story with a wider palate drawing from historic, realistic settings mean it's a "modern spy novel"? And if so, can Kim be considered "first" due to its copyright date of 1901? <br /><br />Of course, spy literature--at its best--is rarely a simple yarn about heroic figures who beat the odds behind enemy lines, in embassies during the Cold War, or infiltrating terrorist cells. To use John Le Carre's term, "The furniture of espionage" allowed writers like Le Carre' and Graham Greene to use spies to illustrate and dramatize wider themes. In the case of Kim, critics point to ideological concerns, notably in the novel's conclusion. "The novel’s end provides no clear answer for Kim or for the reader. Although in the last chapter Kim tells the lama, `I am not a Sahib, I am thy chela,' it seems obvious the great game has not released Kim." (Mahony) Citing Sara Suleri, J. Birjepatil wrote, "Kim's collaboration in the Great Game is emblematic of not so much an absence of conflict as the terrifying absence of choice in the operations of colonialism. Thus Kim's hybridity instead of serving as locus of conflict pragmatically becomes an instrument of the Great Game." (Birjepatil) And the Game, at least in the words of Babu, has no end. "When everyone is dead, The Great Game is finished, not before." <br /><br />From another angle, "The learning curve in Kim also applies to the lama. He has been made to see that the spiritual life is indebted for its protection to the real world. His question: `What profit to kill men?' had received a sensible, down to earth answer: `Very little — as I know; but if evil men were not now and then slain it would not be a good world for weaponless dreamers.'" Further, Sharad Kestar claims, "The thirteen year old street Arab is at seventeen wise beyond his years, and though he will join the `Great Game', the lama has not lost him. So too, the cares of the Raj will take their `turn' on the “Wheel of Things”. The impact of their machinations are only as the click of beads in a Buddhist rosary, and the prayers which see all, forgive all." (Kestar) In Kestar's view, "On India’s chequered board, Kim’s protagonists are pawns, and in the end their lives are games to be played out." Without the mystical dimensions, such views point to character elements in later spy stories from Somerset Maugham onward, that undercover operatives are less independent adventurers than pawns in wider vistas, the strings pulled by faraway bureaucrats and policy makers.<br /><br />However, to view Kim O'Hara as anyone's pawn may be placing the character in a context of critical agendas more so than anything within the text. For one example, when Kim helps agent E 23 on the train, the llama warns him he has tossed a pebble that will ripple into many directions. This prophecy is fulfilled when the agent safely escapes to Delhi, an innocent man is pulled in for questioning by the authorities, and, when the train reaches Kim's last destination, "the last ripple of the stone Kim had helped to heave was lapping against the steps of a mosque in faraway Rome." Throughout the novel, once Kim has completed his formal education he acts instinctively, correctly, and is as likely to give advice to his supervisors as hear it. When Babu, for example, worries about ways to get the documents from the French and Russian spies, it's Kim who retorts, "There are more ways of getting to a sweetheart than butting down a wall." <br /><br />One reason it's difficult to portray Kim as a pawn is that he is not caught up in affairs of the state nor is operating from any driven motives. In the view of Feroza Jussawalla, "Kim has no allegiance to the British, to Colonel Creighton or the war effort. He is simply in it for the adventure and fun. Kim was singled out as his mentors noted his "lust to go abroad," his willingness to risk his life to "discover news," and, as Largan tells him, "seek out "men who have done a foolishness against the state." Few, Largan believes, are good at this sort of work--Kim is a rare breed.<br /><br />In literary terms, The orphan is akin to the "Clubland" heroes who enjoyed the sporting life of upper-class British gentlemen in the stories of Buchan, Dornford Yates, and Sapper. In stories where protagonists are "pawns," typically they are either innocent civilians pulled into nasty business against their will or are professional operatives who learn they've been duped by higher powers. This isn't the case for Kim and the adventurers of his era. He shares the same spirit as men like the colorful founder of the modern British Secret Service, Mansfield George Smith Cumming, who made the famous 1909 cheerful boast that espionage was “a capital sport!” This attitude was reflected in the words of the even more colorful secret agent, The Scarlet Pimpernel: "I've got a smack in the eye, and I've become engaged in sport. And what a sport! What a game." (Britton 8-9) This idea of spying and gamesmanship would be a recurring motif in, notably, the Bond novels where games of chance, golf, and working through mazes made sportsmanship a staple of British fiction and later television and films. In this light, Kim indeed reflected contemporary attitudes regarding "The Great Game."<br /><br />Still, other works preceded Kim and vie for the claim of first modern spy novel. It's true, as Kingsley Amis put it, that realism wasn't yet the point for most spy stories at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. For him, the pre-007 spy genre began "with the almost completely free-lance status of a Bulldog Drummond" and William Le Queux's Duckworth Drew (Amis 2). Drew's early adventures were precursors to later adventures focused on new technology as when he encountered an "electronic eye," an Italian device that detonated mines (Amis 2). In addition, Le Queux's novel, The Great War in England in 1897 (1894 was an early example of literary speculations about an invasion of England. The Secret Service (1896) dealt with Jews in Russia, and England's Pearl (1899) was an early novel shifting British fears from the French to Germany. Despite the extremely minor literary contributions of these fanciful adventures, Le Queux can be seen as a logical predecessor to Tom Clancy and the sub-genre of "speculative fiction" that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s (Britton 9).<br /><br />At the same time, fellow UK novelist A. E. W. Mason's The Courtship of Morrice Buckler (1896) also fared better with contemporary critics more so than in hindsight. One reviewer, then, claimed this book put Mason "in the forefront of cloak and dagger writers." (McCormick 134). More successful, in terms of output, was E. Phillips Oppenheim who produced 115 novels and 39 short story collections, many of which were Edwardian spy stories emphasizing gambling and secret diplomacy as in The Mysterious Mr. Sapine (1898). Praised by John Buchan as his "master in fiction," Oppenheim spiced up his tales with local color in major city settings as in Mr. Grex of Monte Carlo (1915). Oppenheim was also later lauded by Eric Ambler as one of the earliest outstanding writers of cloak and dagger stereotypes including "the black-velveted seductress, the British Secret Service numbskull hero, the omnipotent spymaster," and the appeal to the snobbery of readers of the era (McCormick 144).<br /><br />So, nailing down just which book deserves the title of "first modern spy novel" must remain an open question, the answer depending on just how one defines "modern." Critics vary widely determining the characteristics demonstrating trends, contexts, eras, and trappings. Still, while admitting Kim is not primarily a spy novel, John Derbyshire observed that biographer Andrew Lycett "repeats the story, which I have heard elsewhere, that Kim is a cult book among spies; Allen Dulles, it is said, used to keep a copy beside his bed. I hope this is true--I mean, it would be nice to think that our intelligence operatives have such good literary taste." (Derbyshire) (note 2)<br /><br /> Kim certainly has one advantage over many of the titles and authors listed above as it is still in print, still read, and considered, if nothing else, a children's classic. But it seems clear Kipling deserves more credit for his many contributions to the genre that have been often overlooked by critics. For one matter, while it's now common practice to use the phrase, "The Great Game" as a virtual euphemism for espionage, before Kipling, the term had different connotations. The phrase, usually attributed to Arthur Conolly, was first used to describe the rivalry and strategic conflict between the British and the Tsarist Russian Empires for supremacy in Central Asia, specifically in Afghanistan. According to Wikipedia, "The classic Great Game period is generally regarded as running from approximately 1813 to the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 a second, less intensive phase followed." (The Wikipedia entry includes a chronology of significant events during both periods.) "Thanks in part to Rudyard Kipling, mention of `The Great Game' conjured up images of dashing heroism in the Wilds of the Afghanistan Mountains. While this romanticism was certainly a part of the game, it was more often played by politicians in London and St. Petersburg than by adventurers in the steppe." ("Great Game"-Information)<br /><br />As it happened, Kipling made another indirect contribution to espionage nomenclature. While his story of a talking locomotive, ".007" (1897) might have been a possible influence on Ian Fleming's children's story, Chitty, Chitty--Bang Bang, (this is but surmise), there's no likely connection between that fantasy and the code-number given James Bond. However, as reported in my Beyond Bond: Spies in Film and Fiction (2005), film director Alfred Hitchcock claimed seeds for his own spy projects, most notably his famous "McGuffins," came from the writings of Kipling. "Most of Kipling's stories," Hitchcock said in 1967, "were set in India and they dealt with the fighting between the natives and the British forces on the Afgan-Istan border. Many of them were spy stories and they were concerned with the efforts to steal the secret plans out of a fortress. The theft of secret documents was the original `McGuffin.'" (Truffaut and Scott 98) Beginning in the 1930s, Hitchcock made such McGuffins stables in his films, describing them as "the device, the gimmick . . . or the papers the spies are after." (98) Ironically, during the same decade, in 1937 Kim Philby--who reportedly was given the name "Kim" after the character in Kipling's novel--began his long career as a double-agent in British intelligence, setting up the foundations for the infamous "Cambridge Spy Ring." (Britton 29)<br /><br />Short Stories<br /><br />Interestingly, of the five published Kipling short stories with espionage tropes, none fully match the elements described by Hitchcock. Critical responses to them, to date, would seem to support editor Alan Furst's contention in his introduction to his 2003 The Book of Spies: An Anthology of Literary Espionage that there are apparently few classic spy short stories (Miller39). Instead, the book showed that the best espionage fiction seemed to be in full-length novels with developed and intertwining plot lines, complex characters, and situations requiring elements beyond what can be found in genres like detective or science-fiction stories. As Furst's collection relied on chapters from novels and few bona fide short stories so popular when Kipling and later figures such as Dornford Yates and Leslie Charteris contributed to magazines in the first half of the century, perhaps spy short fiction was not fairly addressed in the anthology. Putting literary merit aside, it still can be said that Kipling, after quasi-espionage stories by Doyle and Poe, and along with writers like E. Phillips Oppenheim, deserves acknowledgement as being among the earliest scribers of the secret agent short story genre.<br /><br />For example, Kipling's first two spy stories were included in the collection, Life's Handicap (1891). According to John Radcliffe, "The Man Who Was" (1890) has "to do with a British officer who had been captured in Russia on an intelligence mission and escaped many years later." (Radcliffe) In notes on the story edited by John McGivering, the "story first Appeared in Macmillan’s Magazine of April 1890." Frederick Kinsey Peile adapted it for the stage and it was performed at Drury Lane in London in 1907. McGivering added, "This story reflects the powerful feeling, shared by soldiers and civilians in British India, that they faced a serious threat from Imperial Russia, which at that time was extending its power and influence south and east into Asia." ("New Reader") (note 3) Whether a direct influence or not, the story's title was also the first in a long series of "The Man Who . . . " spy books and films from G. K. Chesterson's The Man Who Was Thursday (1908) to Ewen Montagu's The Man Who Never Was (1953) to the two versions of Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much.<br /><br />According to Douglas Kerr, “The Man Who Was” shows one side of the army, "the rituals and loyalty and gentlemanly self-restraint of regimental officers; "The Mutiny of the Mavericks" has a different focus (Kerr). John McGivering says the low regarded farce, also from Life's Handicap, deals with a secret Irish republican organisation, based in America, aiming to ferment mutiny against the British among Irish soldiers of the British army. "They send an agent, Mulcahy, who joins up in the 'Mavericks' and does all he can to stir up feeling against the authorities." The soldiers recognise Mulcahy for what he is, and reject his attempts to provoke a mutiny. Then, when they are sent into battle, the agent provocateur learns he has failed in his mission and will die either at the hands of the enemy or by his alleged comrades and is killed in the fight ("New Readers")<br /><br />The third spy adventure, according to John Radcliffe, was "A Burgher of the Free State" which was first "published in the London Daily Express weekly from June 26 to July 4 1900 . . . It was not collected until the Sussex Edition which was published after Kipling's death in 1936. It has to do with South Africa at the time of the Boer War." (Radcliffe)<br /><br />Due to the extensive use of naval details, Commander Alastair Wilson and Rear-Admiral P.W. Brock provided extensive notes regarding "The Bonds of Discipline" 1903) which appeared in a variety of publications. it seems that Kipling was working on it in November, 1899 and perhaps the story "was suggested by an actual incident, which received little publicity at the time and was not recorded for posterity." ("New Readers") In this comic tale, A French spy's cover is blown when he looks for secrets about a British ship. The captain decides to "bamboozle the Frenchman by putting on a show of total incompetence, and, loyally backed up by the crew, proceeds to put the plan into action for 24 hours. At the end of that time, the Frenchman is passed on to a providential collier, where he will have to work his passage. But he later reproduces all the<br />misleading actions to which he has been exposed as fact, and publishes them." According to Wilson: <br /><br />"In some ways, the tale may be considered almost as one of Kipling’s tales of revenge. Nationally, our relations with France, at the time the tale was started<br />(1899), were strained, to say the least (the incident at Fashoda, in the Sudan, had occurred only the previous year). So, at one level, the tale is of Britannia pulling the wool over the eyes of the `Frogs.'" ("New Readers")<br /><br />"The Spies March"<br /><br />The last of Kipling's short stories with an espionage connection was "The Edge of the Evening" which appeared in 1913, collected in A Diversity of Creatures. In this comic yarn, an American millionaire tells a British friend about an evening when an enemy bi-plane unexpectedly lands at a country estate. After a shoot-out with various English gentlemen, two aviators are killed. The group learns the two fliers were spies and ponder how to avoid a court trial for the murder. After prolonged debate and a mock trial of themselves, they put the dead spies back in the plane, set it off, and it flies off to an unknown destination, presumably crashing in the channel. (note 4)<br /><br /> Two years earlier, Kipling published the much more serious "The Spies March," a unique poem often interpreted to be about the role of the spy in war. The eight stanza refrain first appeared in The Literary Pageant: A Charity Magazine issued July 12, 1911 in aid of Prince Francis of the Teck Memorial fund for Middlesex Hospital. Apparently, one inspiration for the poem was an "Extract from a private letter from Manchuria" as Kipling used the following as a motto for the poem:<br /><br />“The outbreak is in full swing and our death-rate would sicken Napoleon . . . . Dr. M— died last week, and C— on Monday, but some more medicines are coming. . . We don’t seem to be able to check it at all . . . . Villages panicking badly . . . . In some places not a living soul . . . . But at any rate the experience gained may come in useful, so I am keeping my notes written up to date in case of accidents . . . Death is a queer chap to live with for steady company.”<br /><br />According to Kipling expert John Radcliffe, why the writer used this note is not clear and, to date, few critics have commented on the poem. "It was written when Kipling was very conscious of the danger of war in Europe and the need to prepare for it, and - one assumes - to be alert to the possible infiltration of spies into England." (Radcliffe) Kipling librarian John Walker adds the poem was probably instigated by Sir John Bland-Sutton, Kipling's close friend and physician for many<br />years, who "was associated with Middlesex Hospital. Presumably at Bland Sutton's request, Kipling contributed `The Spies' March'" To the Literary Pageant (Walker). It was later collected in The Years Between (1919). The text reads:<br /><br />The Spies’ March<br /><br />THERE are no leaders to lead us to honour, and yet with out leaders we<br />sally, Each man reporting for duty alone, out of sight, out of reach, of his<br />fellow.There are no bugles to call the battalions, and yet without bugle we rally<br />>From the ends of the earth to the ends of the earth, to follow the Standard<br />of Yellow!<br /><br /> Fall in! O fall in! O fall in!<br /><br />Not where the squadrons mass,<br /> Not where the bayonets shine,<br />Not where the big shell shout as they pass<br /> Over the firing-line;<br />Not where the wounded are,<br /> Not’ where the nations die,<br />Killed in the cleanly game of war—<br /> That is no place for a spy!<br />O Princes, Thrones and Powers, your work is less than ours—<br /> Here is no place for a spy!<br />Trained to another use,<br /> We march with colours furled,<br />Only concerned when Death breaks loose<br /> On a front of half a world.<br />Only for General Death<br /> The Yellow Flag may fly,<br />While we take post beneath—<br /> That is the place for a spy.<br />Where Plague has spread his pinions over Nations and Dominions—<br /> Then will be work for a spy!<br /><br />The dropping shots begin,<br /> The single funerals pass,<br />Our skirmishers run in,<br /> The corpses dot the grass!<br />The howling towns stampede,<br /> The tainted hamlets die.<br />Now it is war indeed—<br /> Now there is room for a spy!<br />O Peoples, Kings and Lands, we are waiting your commands—<br />What is the work for a spy?<br /> (Drums)—Fear is upon us, spy!<br /><br />“Go where his pickets hide—<br /> Unmask the shape they take,<br />Whether a gnat from the waterside,<br /> Or a stinging fly in the brake,<br />Or filth of the crowded street,<br /> Or a sick rat limping by,<br />Or a smear of spittle dried in the heat—<br /> That is the work of a spy!<br /> (Drums)—Death is upon us, spy!<br /><br />“What does he next prepare?<br /> Whence will he move to attack?—<br />By water, earth or air?—<br /> How can we head him back?<br />Shall we starve him out if we burn<br /> Or bury his food-supply?<br />Slip through his lines and learn—<br /> That is work for a spy!<br /> (Drums)—Get to your business, spy!<br /><br />“Does he feint or strike in force?<br /> Will he charge or ambuscade?<br />What is it checks his course?<br /> Is he beaten or only delayed?<br />How long will the lull endure?<br /> Is he retreating? Why?<br />Crawl to his camp and make sure—<br /> That is the work for a spy!<br /> (Drums)—Fetch us our answer, spy!<br /><br />“Ride with him girth to girth<br /> Wherever the Pale Horse wheels<br />Wait on his councils, ear to earth,<br /> And say what the dust reveals.<br />For the smoke of our torment rolls<br /> Where the burning thousands lie;<br />What do we care for men’s bodies or souls?<br />Bring us deliverance, spy!”<br /><br />While the subject of "The Spies March" might seem, at first glance, about espionage, John Walker offers a different interpretation. "I think that this is one of the `layered' pieces he enjoyed so much. The Society of Epidemiologists (originally a wartime group, I think) adopted part of the poem as theirs, interpreting the spies as<br />those needed in the battle against disease. Remember, this was written for a hospital fund raising publication, and for the Middlesex, where epidemiology was a specialty. It is<br />fever, and not the fight." (Walker) To support this interpretation, in "Kipling and Medicine - Sanitation," Gillian Sheehan connected the extract from the letters heading the poem to Kipling's lifelong concern with proper sanitation (Sheehan). Putting the poem in this context, the stanzas clearly take on different meanings than commonly assumed. With this reading, espionage becomes metaphor giving readers a "layer" that was not the central theme of "The Spies March."<br /><br />---<br /><br />"Famed Spectacular Adventure Story Filmed Against Authentic Backgrounds in Mystic India The Greatest Spy Thriller of Them All!"<br />(Tag line for 1951 film version of Kim)<br /><br />Lest film buffs fear the movie adaptations of Kipling's spy stories have been slighted here, it's worth noting that on January 26, 1951, MGM released its lush on-location version of Kim giving top billing to screen swashbuckler, Errol Flynn. The actor played Mahbub Ali, the Red Beard, despite the relatively minor role played by the character in the novel. Dean Stockwell was Kim and Paul Lukas played the Lama, the latter to mixed reviews for his credibility in the part. Telescoping the novel, the plot focused on Kim disguising himself as an Indian to avoid school and indulge in some espionage for the British, via Errol Flynn's shady horse-trading. In 1984, a made-for-television movie headlined Peter O'Toole as the Lama and young Indian actor Ravi Sheth as Kim. Most reviewers found this version truer to the letter and spirit of the novel, albeit with an inserted sub-plot not in the novel involving a British soldier and his Indian wife.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Notes<br /><br />1. Robin W. Winks noted how the novels of Buchan established the template for subsequent spy fiction in his introduction to The collection of Buchan's The Four Adventures of Richard Hannay: The 39 Steps, Green Mantle, Mr. Standfast, The Three Hostages. (Boston: D. R. Godine. 1988). I developed the concepts in both Spy Television (2004) and Beyond Bond, listed below.<br /><br />2. In an April 10, 2007 personal e-mail to this author, writer Ron Payne claims, "John Huston, with whom I used to correspond when he lived in Mexico, discussed 'the spy elements' in Kipling and how he wanted to work some of it into his original script of 'The Man Who Would Be King.' After all, he did have James Bond (Sean Connery) and Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) in the leads. Huston loved Kipling and considered himself a 'Kiplingesque hero,' as he really saw himself as a cross between 'Danny Dravot' and 'Peachy Carnahan.'<br /><br />3. Notes, resources, and links for "The Man Who Was," "The Mutiny of the Mavericks," and "The Bonds of Discipline" are included at "The New Readers Guide" listed below.<br /><br />4. According to Lisa Lewis in her "The Manuscript of Kim," Kipling abandoned another potential spy adventure. "Mother Maturin" was the story of an old Irish woman who<br />kept an opium den in Lahore but sent her daughter to be educated in England. She marries a Civilian and comes to live in Lahore - hence a story how Government<br />secrets came to be known in the Bazaar and vice versa. The character would be used in a film script, drafted by Kipling around 1920 together with an American film director, Randolph Lewis, to be called ‘The Gate of a Hundred Sorrows’. The film was never made, but in an attempt to drum up interest Lewis leaked its plot to the New York Times, who published a summary on 29 April 1923. See the full article at the "New Readers Guide" cited below.<br /><br />---<br />Sources<br /><br />Amis, Kingsley. The James Bond Dossier. New York: New American Library. 1965.<br /><br />Birjepatil, J. " Hybridity And History In Rudyard Kipling." Marlboro College.<br />www.marlboro.edu/~birje/home.html - 29k -<br /><br />Britton, Wesley. Beyond Bond: Spies in Film and Fiction. Westport, CT: Praeger Pub. 2005.<br /><br />Derbyshire, John. "Rudyard Kipling & The God of Things as They Are" New Criterion 18, no. 7 (March 2000): 5-13.<br /><br />Hemon, Alexander. "The timely anxieties of spy literature." Slate magazine. Monday, June 14, 2004. http://www.slate.com/id/2102347<br /><br />Jussawalla, Feroza. "(Re)reading Kim: Defining Kipling's Masterpiece as Postcolonial.1" Journal of Commonwealth and Postcolonial Studies 5, no. 2 (fall 1998): 112-30.<br /><br />Kerr, Douglas. "Life's Handicap." Literary Encyclopedia. June 6, 2003. www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3939 - 16k -<br /><br />Keskar, Sharad. " Introduction." New Readers Guide. Feb 10 2004. http://www.kipling.org.uk/bookmart_fra.htm<br /> <br />Mackean, Ian. "Kim, by Rudyard Kipling. An analysis of the novel Kim." November 2001. www.literature-study-online.com/essays/kipling.html - 50k -<br /><br />Mahony, Mary. “Critical Evaluation of Kim." Masterplots Classics. https://salempress.com/Store/pdfs/product_sheets/All_masterplots.pdf -<br /><br />McCormick, Donald. Who's Who in Spy Fiction. New York: Taplinger. 1977.<br /><br />"New Readers' Guide, The." The Kipling Library. http://www.kipling.org.uk/bookmart_fra.htm<br /><br />Miller, Laura. "The Last Word: Smiley's People." New York Times Book Review. June 6, 2004. late edition, Section 7, Column 1: 39.<br /><br />Radcliffe, John. E-mail to author, April 3, 2007<br /><br />"Rudyard Kipling - Biography and Works." The Literature Network Alt+1<br />www.online-literature.com/authorsearch frame<br /><br />Schneier, Bruce. "Schneier on Security: Rudyard Kipling As a Security Author." December 29, 2006. www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/12/rudyard_kipling.html -<br /><br />Sheehan, Jillian. "Kipling and Medicine - Sanitation."<br />http://www.kipling.org.uk/rg_med_sanitation.htm- <br /><br />"The Great Game: Information from Answers.com."<br />www.answers.com/topic/the-great-game - 55k -<br /><br />"The Great Game - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Game - 36k -<br /><br />Truffaut, Francois with the collaboration of Helen G. Scott. Hitchcock. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967.<br /><br />Walker, John. E-mail to author, April 26, 2007.<br /><br /><br />To see related articles, check out<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wesleybritton.com/">WWW.WesleyBritton.com</a>The Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-9437779401651068772007-07-01T16:27:00.001-07:002007-07-01T16:27:58.776-07:00Radical Islam and the International Intelligence Summit 2007Radical Islam and the International Intelligence Summit 2007: A Report<br /><br />By<br /><br />Helene Fragman Abramson<br />(with appendices)<br /><br />Writer and researcher Helene Fragman Abramson spent two days at the International Intelligence Summit in St. Petersburg (March 4-7, 2007), "where I was invited to join Impossible Spy executive producer Harvey Chertok to honor the memory of both Eli and Maurice Cohen by providing historical context during the Q&A. I offer my kudos and deep-felt gratitude to Summit organizers Dr. Robert Katz and John Loftus for making the return of Eli’s remains from Syria to Israel a priority."<br /><br />The following is Helene's recap of what she heard and learned at the summit. After her observations are appendices related to the conference.<br /><br />---<br /><br /><br />"From the shores of Tripoli"<br /><br />It seems not much has changed since Thomas Jefferson, according to Congressional meeting notes, was told by the Warlord of the Barbary Coast that “all nations who should not have acknowledged the authority [of the laws of the Prophet, Mohammed] were sinners, that it was their [Muslim] right and duty to make war upon [the sinners] wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners.” As president, Jefferson took the Islamic leaders to task for piracy and hostage taking in 1805; U.S. Marine bombardments eventually forced them to abandon their ways.<br /><br />Today, anyone who turns on a television in this post 9-11 era is aware of the dangers of radical Islam. Never before have so few posed such a grave danger to so many regardless of where we live. Yet we barely shudder when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad publicly calls for the destruction of Israel and the United States or when his close ally and beneficiary, Hizbollah leader Hassan Nazrallah, tells Washington Post reporter David Ignatius that there are no terms under which Islamic militants would agree to halt their suicide bombings. <br /><br />As with hostage taking, such acts are a continueing part of U.S. international relations. But America’s failure to respond in kind to attacks on our own soil—our embassies are on American soil—according to former al Qaeda associate Dr. Tawfik Hamid, was a clear signal that radical Islamic terror tactics could be successful. During his keynote address at the Intelligence Summit, Hamid's observations on the motivation for suicide bombers included the idea that Americans have a short memory and no stomach for a long war while radical Muslims have eternity to rid the universe of non-believers. Every Muslim steeped in Koran knows killing an infidel can save him from the horrific hell-fires of the sinner, explained Dr. Hamid. (Hamid made his remarks despite a fatwah [Muslim religious edict] calling for his death.)<br /><br />Gaps in Intelligence<br /><br />The annual Intelligence Summit, hosted by the Intelligence and Homeland Security Education Center (IHEC) to offer a non-partisan forum for information exchange in the fight against terrorism, drew speakers with expertise ranging from biological warfare to international law to linguistics in the private, military, academic and intelligence sectors. Unfortunately, forums like these tend to attract the already-converted. The rest of us remain nonplussed and secure that our everyday lives and personal priorities take precedence—we hope.<br /><br />Alas, “hope is not a strategy” according to Lieutenant General Thomas G. McInerney. <br /><br />McInerney's summit address underscored Dr. Hamid’s message noting the need for success in Iraq is the turnkey if we are to convince the followers of radical Islam that America won’t pack up and go home before the job is done. The benefits of covert operations are not lost on the General who wants Iran to turn into the ‘most accident-prone place on the planet’. At least all seems well along the back channels. Just days after the summit, missing Iranian General Ali Rez Asghani turned up at a German NATO base with his family despite Gen. McInerney’s concerns about culling resources for covert endeavors in the face of both a lame-duck president and the effects of a less-than-informed public. <br /><br />An "uninformed public" is but one of the issues cited for making the "War on Terrorism" difficult. Of course, the pundits of D.C. have long held the American populace as incapable of digesting more than a sound byte. It comes as no surprise that this Administration has been less than forthright, and the Bush team has much to be embarrassed about. First among them, of course, was the Iraqi initiative supposedly launched to locate WMDs but moving troops so slowly that Saddam Hussein could relocate them. According to a Belgium-based biological weapons development expert, the difference between a pharmaceutical research lab and a biological warfare manufacturing site is in the minute details, like the depth of a facility’s walls or the level of safety precautions in place, among others. Even those critical of the Iraqi invasion assert that having bio-warfare experts on the ground in Iraq would have made it far more difficult to elicit the current level of public anti-war support. More embarrassing still is that U.S. back channels ignored information that live weapons-grade bacteria were being transferred to Syria well before American forces arrived in Iraq. <br /><br />It’s no wonder we couldn’t intercept them; we don’t understand Arabic. We have few reliable translators able to speak the local dialect. This poses a significant hurdle in gaining strategic intelligence for those in the field and serves to keep the majority of Americans ignorant as well. <br /><br />Apparently lessons come hard: The 1979 American failure to have a single reliable translator during the takeover of the American Embassy in Teheran led us to disregard the warning from Israeli Intelligence in the days before the takeover as well as incapacitated our ability to quickly negotiate the release of American hostages there. Current hiring practices of our governmental agencies, according to Colonel Jerry Gordon, places such severe restrictions on the pool of available language resources that naturalized, patriotic Americans like Brigitte Gabrielle, a former Arabic World News anchor who speaks six dialects of Arabic along with Hebrew and English, are immediately rejected in favor of male Muslims of such questionable allegiance that several have been prosecuted for intentionally mistranslating in order to protect the Ummah (or Islamic community as a whole). He sees strategic objectives of this nation outweighed by bureaucracy and personal job security of government employees. Lack of awareness in the public sector means little is done to heighten accountability and fill the critical gaps.<br /><br />Poor public awareness also provides cover for our government’s failure to acknowledge and respond to the dangers of now-nuclear but poverty-ridden North Korea and Kim Jong Il’s readiness to capitalize on it. Il, who now operates without international or public scrutiny, has few obstacles to selling arms to well-financed radical Muslim organizations. The diplomatic front is equally dismal in dealing with North Korea, according to former KGB Lieutenant Colonel Konstantin Preobrazhensky, who said at the summit that asking Russian leader Vladimir Putin to join America in negotiating a solution to North Korea’s nuclear proliferation is ridiculous. He sees Putin and Il in bed for the long haul: North Korea’s border with the former USSR is completely unsecured and, although religion is banned in North Korea, Il recently erected a Russian Orthodox temple as homage to Putin. <br /><br />In addition, intelligence efforts have long been stymied by an ill-informed, fragmented decision-making bureaucracy that, in the business jargon of the day, has no skin in the game. American ability to monitor activity in China is no exception. It is ironic that American auto manufacturers seem unable to produce a single interchangeable part for a car, while China, Syria and Iraq were able to secretly collaborate on and build a missile that, once assembled, is nuclear. Save for the missile bodies manufactured in Iraq before America stepped in, Syria is free to go on enriching uranium and China can continue making the warheads. Given the lucrative opportunities of the arms business, surely someone will soon fill the gap left by Iraq.<br /><br />If any theme was clear throughout the summit, not only is the world a more dangerous place than it’s ever been but, left unchecked, America will be the last big battleground. Terror opportunities have indeed already landed on our shores. Most recently, last year John Loftus, IHEC President who formerly worked for the CIA and as an attorney for the Justice Department, prosecuted and won a case against Sami Al Arian for smuggling stolen cars out of Tampa Bay to be used as car bombs and fund Hamas terror activities. <br /><br />Europe, with its massive Muslim population, has also long ignored the danger. One would think Europe would be more proactive given the history of the last century. Instead, radical Muslim attacks on citizens and the burning of cars and synagogues remain mostly unreported across the continent. Reliance on Arab oil and the incredible wealth oil has generated in Saudi Arabia has made us soft on the Saudi export of Wahabism, a radical form of Islam that ultimately results in terror. Squelching it demands policy set to condemn terror wherever it occurs whether it be in America, in Israel or in Europe. <br /><br />The Future?<br /><br />Dr. Louis Rene Beres, an international law professor at Purdue University, has a controversial and unpopular opinion within the academic world. “No country,”<br />he asserts, “is obligated to wait for annihilation.” He believes that anticipatory self-defense passes the litmus test of jurisprudence for a pre-emptive military response to threats like those from Iran’s Ahmadinejad, along with others who support, fund or harbor terror networks. Given the potential danger America faces, we’d be loath to let public opinion obfuscate the facts. <br /><br />Putting it all together for this mother of four whose sons have never even owned a toy gun is a formidable task. Truth lies beyond labels: ‘on the right’ or ‘on the left’, them and us, liberal and conservative. To positively impact public policy ordinary Americans must step outside the comfort zone and reassess the world with wider eyes and more critical thinking. <br /><br />Even if al Qaeda’s Dr. Hamid is only partially right, terror networks are growing and the danger is real. He says slowing their activities demands a powerful and direct blow in a language understood by the proliferators of terror—whether they are in Iran, Syria, North Korea, Gaza, the West Bank, Pakistan or elsewhere. Everyone agrees public opinion will be hard won; casualties and civilian deaths are likely regardless of whether we wage a war of arms or a war of words. Summit organizers and speakers say we must determine if we, as a nation, have the stomach to limit those casualties to the Arab Middle East, places former Israeli spokesman Ra’anan Gissin calls “Greenhouses of terror,” or, if we opt to wait for it on our trains, our bridges, our food supply, our backyards. <br /><br />Courage to do the kind of self-examination that differentiates between hating radical Muslim promoters of terrorism and hating Muslims is essential, no matter how much the media tries to blur that line or academia brands us ‘unintelligent and biased’ in sorting it out. Finding reliable information outside the political agenda of this or any other Administration and reading between the lines might just be our saving grace and is a job no American can afford to outsource.<br /><br />The world has surely changed since the Vietnam war was my dinner companion. Our perspective needs to shift as well. A terrorist who blows up a disco in Tel Aviv is no less a terrorist than one who hijacks and pilots a plane into the World Trade Center. Like Jefferson, we must take them to task. The question is “how?”<br />---<br />For more info, check the links listed at www.intelligencesummit.org. <br />The American Congress for Truth, spearheaded by Brigitte Gabriel, at<br /><a href="http://www.americancongressfortruth.com/">www.americancongressfortruth.com</a> has an extensive list of domestic and international media links.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Copyright © 2007 by Helene Fragman Abramson. All rights reserved. The opinions of Ms. Abramson are her own and not necessarily those of SpyWise.net<br />---<br /><br />Appendix I<br /><br />In conjunction with the Intelligence Summit,a Secular Islam Summit was held at the same location with many of the same participants. On March 5, 2007, delegates to the Secular Islam conference released "THE ST. PETERSBURG DECLARATION" which reads:<br /><br />We are secular Muslims, and secular persons of Muslim societies. We are believers, doubters, and unbelievers, brought together by a great struggle, not<br />between the West and Islam, but between the free and the unfree.<br /><br />We affirm the inviolable freedom of the individual conscience. We believe in the equality of all human persons.<br /><br />We insist upon the separation of religion from state and the observance of universal human rights.<br /><br />We find traditions of liberty, rationality, and tolerance in the rich histories of pre-Islamic and Islamic societies. These values do not belong to the West or the East; they are the common moral heritage of humankind.<br /><br />We see no colonialism, racism, or so-called "Islamaphobia" in submitting Islamic practices to criticism or condemnation when they violate human reason<br />or rights.<br /><br />We call on the governments of the world to[:]<br /><br />• reject Sharia law, fatwa courts, clerical rule, and state-sanctioned religion in all their forms; oppose all penalties for blasphemy and apostacy, in<br />accordance with Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human rights;<br /><br />• eliminate practices, such as female circumcision, honor killing, forced veiling, and forced marriage, that further the oppression of women;<br /><br />• protect sexual and gender minorities from persecution and violence;<br /><br />• reform sectarian education that teaches intolerance and bigotry towards non-Muslims<br />; and<br /><br />• foster an open public sphere in which all matters may be discussed without coercion or intimidation.<br /><br />We demand the release of Islam from its captivity to the totalitarian ambitions of power-hungry men and the rigid strictures of orthodoxy.<br /><br />We enjoin academics and thinkers everywhere to embark on a fearless examination of the origins and sources of Islam, and to promulgate the ideals of free<br />scientific and spiritual inquiry through cross-cultural translation, publishing, and the mass media.<br /><br />We say to Muslim believers: there is a noble future for Islam as a personal faith, not a political doctrine;<br /><br />to Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Baha’is, and all members of non-Muslim faith communities: we stand with you as free and equal citizens;<br /><br />and to nonbelievers: we defend your unqualified liberty to question and dissent.<br /><br />Before any of us is a member of the Umma, the Body of Christ, or the Chosen People, we are all members of the community of conscience, the people who must<br />choose for themselves.<br /><br />Endorsed by:<br /><br />Ayaan Hirsi Ali<br />Magdi Allam<br />Mithal Al-Alusi<br />Shaker Al-Nabulsi<br />Nonie Darwish<br />Afhin Ellian<br />Tawfik Hamid<br />Shahriar Kabir<br />Hasan Mahmud<br />Wafa Sultan<br />Amir Taheri<br />Ibn Warraq<br />Manda Zand Ervin<br />Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi<br /><br />---<br /><br />Appendix II<br /><br />Other reactions to the summit were posted at:<br /><br />Politics And Islam: The first Secular Islam Summit was a success if for no other reason than it intimidated the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the PR machine of militant Islam.<br />Posted 3/6/2007<br />Investor's Business Daily stock analysis and business news<br />Investors.com<br /><br />ight Web Profile International Intelligence Summit<br /> “About Intelligence Summit”<br />rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/3594 - 22k -<br /><br />(Includes commentary on participants.)<br /><br />Mapping Strategy: The International Intelligence Summit.<br />cartegic.typepad.com/mapping_strategy/2006/03/belated_review_.html - 46k -<br /><br />(Comments by one presenter.)<br /><br />Southpinellas: Intelligence conference draws criticism<br />www.sptimes.com/2007/03/06/Southpinellas/Intelligence_conferen.shtml - 33k -<br /><br />(Criticizes motives and organization by summit leadership.)The Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3886873752592831806.post-33672246854048576862007-06-30T13:26:00.000-07:002007-06-30T13:27:01.645-07:00Spy Blogs and Online Files: An Annotated DirectorySPY BLOGS AND ONLINE FILES: AN ANNOTATED DIRECTORY<br /><br />By Wesley Britton<br /><a href="mailto:spywise@verizon.net">spywise@verizon.net</a><br /><br />I'm a frequent online searcher looking to uncover the latest news in the world of espionage . Often, I've found that, beyond established websites, nuggets of information are most often buried in avalanches of hits to blogs and forums that are essentially personal in purpose, opinionated without necessarily being informed, or often just nuts.<br /><br />Over time, I collected a list of the most reliable places that are worth bookmarking as well as those of casual interest. In the main, the best reading comes from blogs, forums, and websites posting declassified documents, news stories, feeds from news services, and bulletins from organizations focused on a number of special interests. Blogs and forums that go beyond repeating what they find in international journals and periodicals also often contain perspectives and updates overlooked in mainstream media. Below is a directory of the best I've found to date along with notes on blogs more mysterious in their origins and purposes.<br /><br />Note: Blogs and websites devoted to spy fiction and film tend to be very topic specific, that is they share material on one actor, author, TV series, and are easy to find with no need for listing here. I admit, I know of only one website that attempts to be interesting to readers, viewers, and news-hounds alike--and this is the place. If 007 is your thing, then a separate file<br /><br />JAMES BOND ON THE WEB: AN ANNOTATED DIRECTORY<br /><br />Is posted at this site. In addition, if your interest is Israeli intelligence, then check out--<br /><br />THE MOSSAD: AN ANNOTATED DIRECTORY OF ONLINE SOURCES AND PRINT ARTICLES<br /><br />I welcome notes and suggestions about sites that should be added to any of these files.<br /><br />This directory is in alphabetical order. For most listings, I include descriptions taken from the source itself followed by my opinion of it. Additions will appear as addenda.<br /><br />---<br /><br />AboveTopSecret.livejournal.com<br /><br />"Our areas of interest include the intelligence community (foreign and U.S.), espionage (including tradecraft, practices, and political ramifications), secrecy policy, the Freedom of Information Act, terrorism and counterterrorism, and conspiracy theory."<br /><br />Postings tend to be of very high-quality and the site's archives and links include a long list of useful resources.<br /><br />---<br /><br />The Black Vault <br />www.bvalphaserver.com/content-21.html - 67k -<br /><br />About The Black Vault Government Document Archive:<br /><br />"For over 7 years, The Black Vault has striven to be the best source for U.S. Government documents online! Even the U.S. Government's databases, in some cases, are so hard to use -- many can not find use out of them. This is where The Black Vault is trying to help. With index categories and sub-categories, The Black Vault has put organization to an unorganized world -- Government Secrecy. Throughout The Black Vault's archive -- you will have access to well over 100,000 pages of material."<br /><br />Essentially, this site is one of many collections of documents on CIA mind control experiments.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Center for the Study of Intelligence<br />https://www.cia.gov/redirects/ciaredirect.html - 6k -<br /><br />The CIA page includes public information about the agency--including how to get hired. Among the many useful publications are the renowned "World Factbook," articles on the history of intelligence, and declassified issues of Studies in Intelligence.<br /><br />cloaknet.blogspot.com<br /><br />Eric Jackson says his blog provides "intelligence news for all of us. Disclaimers: We are not a government entity nor do we attempt to represent one. We do not<br />perform actual intelligence work, and have not acquired this information via spying. Info presented in this blog is for information and education, not<br />crime or action. If you choose to engage in spywork, be prepared for the consequences (detainment, incarceration, etc.). You are responsible for your own<br />actions."<br /><br />Eric's most recent posts are reviews and discussions of spy equipment,methods,and books on these topics.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Congressional Research Service - Intelligence & Related Reports Archived by FAS<br />www.fas.org/sgp/crs/index.html - 5k -<br /><br />Invaluable resource for reports, articles, links, and databases often correctly marked "Required Reading."<br /><br />---<br /><br />counterterrorismblog.org<br /><br />" The first multi-expert blog dedicated solely to counterterrorism issues, serving as a gateway to the community for policymakers and serious researchers. Designed to provide realtime information about terrorism cases and policy developments."<br /><br />With articles and postings by a group of distinguished contributing experts, the site also includes the CT Library, information about the Counterterrorism Foundation, lists of Websites & Centers, Syndicate, and Archives.<br /><br />---<br /><br />CRIMES AND CORRUPTIONS OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER NEWS<br /><a href="http://mparent7777.blogspot.com/">http://mparent7777.blogspot.com/</a><br /> and <a href="http://mparent7777-2.blogspot.com/">http://mparent7777-2.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />marc parent's blog has comments, responses, criticism, and both lively and angry discussions of policy and intelligence reports in the media. Various posters have varying levels of credibility, but this is a place representing what the Blogisphere is all about.<br /><br />---<br /><br />cryptome.org<br /><br />In depth collection of articles on intelligence with a technological bent. One announcement:<br /><br />"Donate $25 for a DVD of the Cryptome 10+-years archives of 39,000 files from June 1996 to December 2006 (~4.1 GB). Click Paypal or mail check/MO made<br />out to John Young, 251 West 89th Street, New York, NY 10024. Archives include all files of cryptome.org, cryptome2.org, jya.com, cartome.org, eyeball-series.org<br />and iraq-kill-maim.org. Cryptome offers with the Cryptome DVD an INSCOM DVD of about 18,000 pages of counter-intelligence dossiers declassified by the<br />US Army Information and Security Command, dating from 1945 to 1985. No additional contribution required -- $25 for both. The DVDs will be sent anywhere<br />worldwide without extra cost."<br /><br />---<br /><br />Early Warning - William Arkin's Blog<br />Posted at WashingtonPost.com<br />blog.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/2007/<br /><br />"Starting Sept. 14 [2005], Early Warning will report daily on the comings and goings of the national security community -- military, special ops, intelligence, homeland security -- part blog, part investigative journalism (a jog!). Here I can post documents, go into great detail, stick with a story when others have moved on, and introduce one that has escaped the mainstream media. <br /><br />"My basic philosophy is that government is more incompetent than diabolical, that the military gets way too much of a free ride . . . and that official secrecy is the greatest threat citizens actually face today."<br /><br />---<br /><br /><a href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/">www.globalsecurity.org</a><br /><br />An outstanding archive of articles on: Military, WMD, Intelligence, and Homeland Security. Under "Intelligence," categories include: Systems, Operations, Countries, Hot Documents, News, Reports, Policy, Budget, Congress, Imagery and Links.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Global Incident Map Displaying Terrorist Acts, Suspicious Activity, and General Terrorism News<br />www.globalincidentmap.com/home.php - 266k -<br /><br />This group post terrorism Events and Other Suspicious Activity and automatically reloads every 240 seconds.<br /><br />---<br /><br />I am SPY <br />Espionage and theory of conspiracy news<br />http://www.spy.im<br /><br />More conspiracy theory than espionage, this blogger posts news articles touching on a range of topics. Erratic.<br /><br />---<br /><br /> Intelligence Community Enterprise Services - Operations Center<br />http://ra.intelink.gov/<br /><br />Note: Access to this database is restricted. For those eligible--<br /><br />DNI-U is the network infrastructure portion of the system formerly known as the Open Source Information System (OSIS). In mid 2006, the name OSIS which<br />referred to both the network and the content was retired. The network and content portions were decoupled. The network piece is now named DNI-U while the<br />content piece is named Intelink-U.<br /><br />The DNI-U network is maintained by the DNI-CIO Intelligence Community Enterprise Services office (ICES). FOR ASSISTANCE PLEASE CONTACT:<br /><br />Office of the Director of National Intelligence - CIO<br />Intelligence Community Enterprise Services - Operations Center<br />Phone: 1-301-688-1800<br />Email: accounts AT intelink.gov<br /><br />---<br /><br />Intelligence History - Dalhousie University Libraries<br />www.library.dal.ca/subjects/Intelligence.htm - 16k -<br /><br />"This web page is designed to be useful for research in Intelligence history by students at Dalhousie University, specifically to `enhance student's understanding of national intelligence communities in Britain, Canada, Russia and the United States.'"<br /><br />While not updated since 2003, the holdings in this collection partially include:<br /><br />Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS)<br />"ForeignRelations volumes contain documents from Presidential libraries, Departments of State and Defense, National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency, Agency for International Development, and other foreign affairs agencies as well as the private papers of individuals involved in formulating U.S. foreign policy . . . particularly those involved with intelligence activity and covert actions." Volumes from recent years are available online including 1945-1950, Emergence of the Intelligence Establishment.<br /><br />intel/index<br />"This latter volume is the result of a massive retrospective attempt to gather the archival record of the intelligence institutions and their relationships to the Department of State."<br /><br />Intelligence Forum<br />"a forum dedicated to the scholarly study of intelligence, history, theory and practice. The<br />News & Notes section offers numerous links to diverse news media around the world."<br /><br />The Literature of Intelligence: a Bibliography of materials, with Essays, Reviews, and Comments Compiled by a former CIA officer, useful for its geographic breakdown, including links to Canada, United Kingdom,and Russia.<br /><br />The U.S. Intelligence Community<br />(from Columbia University)"an excellent academic website devoted to library resources available for research on U.S. agencies involved in intelligence activities. It includes links to actual documents as well as agency web sites."<br /><br />Gulflink<br /> "a searchable collection of declassified military and intelligence documents concerning Gulf War Illnesses; includes a useful Guide to Intelligence outlining the intelligence process from raw information sources to finished intelligence products."<br /><br /><br /><br />Liquidmatrix Security Digest<br />http://www.liquidmatrix.org/blog<br /><br />Specializes in internet security, but also post news related to internet and online spying.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Loyola Homepage on Strategic Intelligence<br />www.loyola.edu/dept/politics/intel.html - 78k -<br /><br />Includes many documents and articles on military and economic espionage collected from print magazines, government agencies, institutes, and scholarly reports.<br /><br />---<br /><br />The Memory Hole<br />www.thememoryhole.org/ - 17k -<br /><br />According to Russ Kick, "The Memory Hole exists to preserve and spread material that is in danger of being lost, is hard to find, or is not widely known . . . The emphasis is on material that exposes things that we're not supposed to know (or that we're supposed to forget)."<br /><br />Recent notes indicate that Kick's postings may slow down as he's involved in other projects, but this remains a source to watch. Can subscribe to e-mail notifications of postings.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Metro Spirit national security blog: Don't Look Here!<br /><a href="http://augustans.blogspot.com/2007/02/dont-look-here.html">http://augustans.blogspot.com/2007/02/dont-look-here.html</a><br /><br />Apparently, the principal poster here is Corey Pein whose blog mixes news reports with lively commentary. Subjects include security at the NSA and political rants. <br /><br />---<br /><br />NARDIC Publications<br />www.hqda.army.mil/library/publications.htm - 72k -<br /><br />The Pentagon Library has catalogues, bibliographies, online sources, databases,even an "Ask a Librarian" link. Also has news about events and speakersat the library.<br /><br />---<br /><br />The National Security Archive<br />Gelman Library, The George Washington University<br />nsarchiv@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu<br />http//www.seas.gwu.edu/nsarchive. html<br /><br />"The National Security Archive is a non-governmental research institute and library that collects and publishes declassified documents obtained through the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, a public interest law firm defending and expanding public access to government information through the FOIA, and an indexer and publisher of the documents in books, microfische, and electronic formats.<br /><br />"The National Security Archive was founded in 1985 by a group of journalists and scholars who had obtained documentation under the FOIA and sought a centralized<br />repository for these materials. Over the past twelve years, the Archive has become the world's largest non-governmental library of declassified documents."<br /><br />In the main, this is one of many collections with CIA declassified documents about mind-control experiments.<br /><br />---<br /><br /> Secrecy News Blog<br />http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/<br /><br />Items from the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy are typically de-classified or cleared by military sources for public distribution. Also accessible through a link at Above Top Secret.livejournal.com.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Spy Blog - Watching Them, Watching Us<br /><a href="http://spyblog.org.uk/">http://SpyBlog.org.uk</a><br /><br />While I was unable to find out who's behind this one, browsing through the postings was quite interesting. Obviously, the focus is on British intelligence, and the blog is a mix of news items and reader responses.<br /><br />---<br /><br />terrorizethis.org<br /><br />I was unable to find who established this or any clear mission for the blog. The postings are more political statements on a myriad of topics, some related to terrorism, many not.<br /><br />---<br /><br />thespyreport.livejournal.com<br /><br />This blog is my own extension for this site (SpyWise.net), sharing news and views on all aspects of espionage from books to the media to news items gleaned from a variety of sources. Thespyreport has no political, ideological, or any such agenda but I do offer reviews of spy projects on which I do have an opinion. Naturally, I recommend it strongly!<br /><br />---<br /><br />Tom Heneghan Intelligence Briefing - MySpace Blog<br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/tom_heneghan_intel">www.myspace.com/tom_heneghan_intel</a><br /><br />One endorsement at the blog claims:<br /><br />"If you are not yet aware, be apprised that International Intelligence Expert, Tom Heneghan, has hundreds of highly credible sources inside American and<br />European Intelligence Agencies and INTERPOL, sources who are putting their very lives on the line, 24/7, for you and I and our loved ones to SAVE America<br />and the World from Traitors-Treason-Tyranny." --Mary Schneider, Court adjudicated Federal Whistleblower<br /><br />Posts claim, among other things, that both Bush and Hillary Clinton use Mossad hit squads in the U.S. and that Heneghan himself has been a target. Apparently, among others, so was Sonny Bono. Ah ha.<br /><br />---<br /><br /><a href="http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/">www.whatreallyhappened.com</a><br /><br />The purpose of this site is to "expose lies" and is thus a mix of information with short, speculative essays on topics in the categories of: 9/11, The "War on Terror," US Bankruptcy and Vote Fraud, Israel, Conspiracies, Cover-Ups, and Deceptions, and Assassinations.<br /><br /><br />For related articles on espionage, see<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wesleybritton.com/">WWW.WesleyBritton.com</a>The Spy Wise Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05775684307972015116noreply@blogger.com5