Thanks, Paul for a meaningful review. John le Carre was a writer who opened the public’s view of Intelligence. While not as flamboyant as Ian Fleming, also a veteran British intelligence practitioner, John Le Carre (David Cornwell) brought the reality of his world to his readers.
When I was traveling in Europe a few years ago, I found a remarkable book by Christopher Andrew and Julius Green, two University academics. The book is STARS AND SPIES, subtitled 'Intelligence Operations and the Entertainment Business.' It is fantastic. The book goes into the connection between the World of Intelligence and the Entertainment Business. According to an old Viking poem (Havamal), “He is truly wise who has traveled far and knows the ways of the world. He who has traveled can tell what spirit governs the men he meets.” Entertainers often find themselves in that unique position.
As Paul points out, at the beginning of our American Intelligence adventure, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the CIA, relied heavily upon our British friends for guidance while it moved into previously unknown territory recruiting its sources of information. STARS AND SPIES illuminates the blending of the entertainment industry over the years as it came up against political information collection.
STARS and SPIES was published in 2021 by Bodley Head, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House, UK. The hard cover goes for 502 pages and for history buffs, is a “not to be missed” read. It can be found for sale in the US from some select booksellers online. Happy Reading!
Thanks! It does sound interesting. I love Carre. I can live without his anti-American jabs, however — he never quite got over America replacing the UK on the western world stage. He REALLY seems to have hated CIA. But from his perspective: maybe he had a case.
I saw it by mistake several years ago it was who was in it that caught my attention but when it was over I was totally engrossed. Time to re-watch one of the gifts of getting older is not remembering everything exactly! lol
Thanks, Paul for a meaningful review. John le Carre was a writer who opened the public’s view of Intelligence. While not as flamboyant as Ian Fleming, also a veteran British intelligence practitioner, John Le Carre (David Cornwell) brought the reality of his world to his readers.
When I was traveling in Europe a few years ago, I found a remarkable book by Christopher Andrew and Julius Green, two University academics. The book is STARS AND SPIES, subtitled 'Intelligence Operations and the Entertainment Business.' It is fantastic. The book goes into the connection between the World of Intelligence and the Entertainment Business. According to an old Viking poem (Havamal), “He is truly wise who has traveled far and knows the ways of the world. He who has traveled can tell what spirit governs the men he meets.” Entertainers often find themselves in that unique position.
As Paul points out, at the beginning of our American Intelligence adventure, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the CIA, relied heavily upon our British friends for guidance while it moved into previously unknown territory recruiting its sources of information. STARS AND SPIES illuminates the blending of the entertainment industry over the years as it came up against political information collection.
STARS and SPIES was published in 2021 by Bodley Head, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House, UK. The hard cover goes for 502 pages and for history buffs, is a “not to be missed” read. It can be found for sale in the US from some select booksellers online. Happy Reading!
JCK
Thanks! It does sound interesting. I love Carre. I can live without his anti-American jabs, however — he never quite got over America replacing the UK on the western world stage. He REALLY seems to have hated CIA. But from his perspective: maybe he had a case.
Thanks. I’ll check it out.
I saw it by mistake several years ago it was who was in it that caught my attention but when it was over I was totally engrossed. Time to re-watch one of the gifts of getting older is not remembering everything exactly! lol
“Love and Deception: Philby in Beirut” by James Hanning. Excellent!
Thanks for the recommendation.
Unbelievable cast…