After being teased by Nick Harkaway, one of le Carré's sons, during book events surrounding the release of Silverview we now have additional details on a book of John le Carré/David Cornwell correspondence. The book, currently titled A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré, 1945-2020, has a UK release date of November 3rd, …
I've made a few recent appearances on some podcasts that I wanted to let everyone know about. First, I was a guest on the Spy Hards podcast talking about the film The Day of the Jackal. It was a lot of fun and I hope folks check it out. I also was recently on the …
Continue reading Spy Hards, Cinema Junkies and le Carré Cast – Several new podcast appearances
UPDATE: Both US and UK covers for Bad Actors have now been released. The book will be released via John Murrays new thriller imprint Baskerville. We see some slight adjustments from the style we've seen for the past several books. The US cover via Soho Press stays simliar to what we've seen previously. The book …
This is a hard one. In a year that has seen many, many losses, for lovers of literature, the loss of David Cornwell aka John le Carré is a difficult one to handle. Jonny Geller, his agent and friend, posted this note as well as a note from le Carré's family. https://twitter.com/JonnyGeller/status/1338239733638508547 On a personal …
We are getting closer and closer to the release of the seventh book, Slough House. As such, bookstores are putting up preorders for their signed copies. The wonderful Goldsboro Books has a signed copy available here. The book selling behemoth Waterstones is also offering a signed edition with an essay by Herron and a endpapers …
These were released a couple of months ago, but still worth highlighting. Book seven of the series is titled Slough House, I'm guessing to coordinate with the, now COVID delayed, TV series. No major redesign to the covers on offer. Publisher John Murray makes a minor adjustment by adding a splash of color to their …
Rarely am I shocked while reading a book, but this was the exception. As I perused my latest purchase, a binded transcript of a speech John le Carré gave at John Hopkins University in 1986 titled The Clandestine Muse, I had a shocking revelation. John le Carré had won Blistex lip balm’s 1985 “Most Beautiful …
Continue reading Secret Lip Services – The honor John le Carré doesn’t want you to know about
I posted previously about the book description for the next book in Mick Herron's Slough House series and it looks like it might now have a title. According to Amazon and Barnes and Noble the next book is titled - Slough House. It's a title that's appropriately full circle from the first novel Slow Horses, …
The Mick Herron news continues! On the heels of the announcement of a tv adaption of the Slough House series, Slow Horses, details of a new novella have been released. News first appeared on twitter and a full description of the book can now be found on Amazon. The Catch is described as follows - …
Continue reading The Catch by Mick Herron – a Slough House novella coming soon
As fall and Halloween are a spooky time of the year, I had to share this creepy spy story I read. A couple of years back the BBC posted a really fascinating article on a shortwave radio station that has been broadcasting since the Cold War. It plays a mysterious droning noise which is only …
The biggest story of last year was the announcement that John le Carré had written a new Smiley novel. Fans of le Carré's all over the world were shocked. Le Carré had seemed to put a button on Smiley with The Secret Pilgrim so every fan is excited about the new novel. As a collector, …
More Harm Than Good is Andrew Grant's return to his David Trevellyan spy series after a two year hiatus. His previous novels in the series, Even and Die Twice, were excellent entries into the spy genre. In his latest, gone are the chapter opening observations on spycraft or Trevellyan's past, which I quite enjoyed for …
Finding books that John le Carré has recommended, contributed to or written introductions/forewords to has become something of a passion project for me. In the process of doing this research I came upon its flip side - the fake le Carré blurb scandal. Back in 1991 a writer named Derek Van Arman was involved in a …
Wow. After over twenty five years we have a new Smiley book. Something I never thought I'd see happen, has happened. Was it worth going back to the well? I think so. Before we get too far, it's best to set expectations. In truth, A Legacy of Spies is about Peter Guillam, not Smiley. It’s …
Continue reading Non spoiler review: A Legacy of Spies by John le Carré
The Illinois Holocaust Museum is hosting another traveling spy-themed exhibit following up on its successful hosting several years ago of Spies, Traitors and Saboteurs. This new exhibit, Operation Finale, is focused on the secret plan to kidnap Adolf Eichmann and bring to him to Israel for trial. Eichmann was one of the officers responsible for …
We continue our discussion with Robert Lance Snyder in advance of the release of his new book, John le Carré's Post-Cold War Fiction. Read part one here. Jeff Quest: Le Carré has managed to stay relevant in a way that his other contemporaries still writing, like Frederick Forsyth or Charles McCarry, haven’t. McCarry in particular released a book …
Continue reading John le Carré’s Post-Cold War Fiction – Robert Lance Snyder Interview Part Two
Here are some of my favorite things I did or discovered in 2016 in no particular order- Slough House series - Mick Herron blew me away with his spy series. I burned through all 5 books in the series in a matter of weeks. I read an advance copy of Spook Street, out early next year …
You've read all of John le Carré’s novels, short stories, opinion columns, letters to the editor, his biography and autobiography. Before you go back to the beginning and start all over, you want to try something different. What to do? Read books le Carré has recommended of course! Le Carré is very deliberate in what …
I wrote at the end of last year about lost spy novels by famous authors. Recently a new book came to light that I am extremely excited for and wanted to make sure readers knew about. Donald Westlake Westlake was a prolific author and has the distinction of creating two iconic crime fiction characters. The …
Who knew that Chicago was such a hot bed of intrigue? This story from 1977 in the Chicago Reader brought it to light. The article tells the story of how the CIA used (uses?) legitimate companies to provide a cover for CIA agents in other countries. In return these companies received lucrative contracts from the …
For anyone interested in up to date information on the bleeding edge of spying in the modern world, Wired's Danger Room blog is a must-visit site.
Does it get any better than Computer Animated news on spies? I didn't think so. The news came out through another cable that Wikileaks has released. As discussed in this full story at the Telegraph, Japan has had no spy agency since WWII.
Recently Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, a former member of the KGB, cracked a spy joke
On Wired.com there is a really interesting story about an artist, David Moore, who is currently the only civilian allowed to photograph a secret British bunker for top Military and Governmental officials.
In a mix of "The Birds" and "The Bourne Identity" comes this story of Israel being accussed of using a bird to spy on Saudi Arabia.
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security is the State Department’s security arm and is responsible for the safety of all U.S. diplomatic workers and any visiting foreign dignitaries. Ghost: Confessions of a Counter-Terrorism Agent, the true story of Burton’s time working on the Counter-Terrorism team for the DS, is riveting reading.
NPR's Talk of the Nation in 2005 had a interesting interview with a number of former CIA workers that have written spy related fiction and nonfiction. It's well worth a listen - NPR Talk of the Nation - Spy Writers
In just another example of how much things have changed since the Cold War, the US government is looking to pass a law to make it easier to collect information on people using the internet. The software programs these plans are aimed at relate to sites that offer encryption or allow peer to peer traffic. …
Continue reading The Spies want to be your Facebook Friend – Spy Story of the Week
It's been determined that a Russian spy, Sergei Tretyakov, who defected to the US several years ago died while choking on a piece of meat. Ouch, what a way for a spy to go. His book with Pete Earley, Comrade J, is a must read for anyone interested in espionage in modern Russia. Read more …
The Department of Defense is attempting to block publication of the book Operation Dark Heart: Spycraft and Special Ops on the Frontlines of Afghanistan by Anthony Shaffer, a former agent for the Defense Intelligence Agency. The book had been vetted by the Army Reserves but apparently has still has some sensitive information included. Full story …
Continue reading DOD suppresses spy book – Spy News Story of the Week – 9/10/2010