If you like historical mysteries and miss the Cold War, check out Tom Rob Smith's latest starring Leo Demidov, a surprisingly complicated and sympathetic Soviet cop.
The Secret Speech, by Tom Rob Smith. Grand Central Publishing, $24.99 (405p) ISBN 978-0-446-40240-8
Smith, a rising star in the historical mystery genre, brings back Leo Demidov, a Soviet-era secret police officer and the protagonist of his acclaimed debut novel, Child 44, for this gripping tale of conspiracy and revenge. (See my 2008 review of Child 44 here: http://www.military.com/entertainment/books/book-reviews/military-bookshelf-spring-potpourri-part-deux. A mass-market paperback edition was published in April, 2009.)
To set the stage: Long-time Soviet dictator Josef Stalin is dead, and following a secession struggle, has been replaced by his former protégé Nikita Khrushchev. The new numero uno, however, has a big surprise in store for his colleagues.
On Feb. 25, 1956, speaking before the 20th Party Congress, Khrushchev shocked the assembled delegates by denouncing his former patron's murderous regime. The address, justly renowned, is known as "the Secret Speech" or "the Khrushchev Report."
Khrushchev later ordered that the speech be read in all Soviet schools and factories. The long "conspiracy of silence . . . was over." That event and its aftermath is the back-story for Smith's thriller. For more on the origins of this surprising, and disingenuous, episode—including Stalin's bloody reign and Khrushchev's calculated rise to power—see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Speech
Smith's protagonist Demidov, haunted by his service as a member of the secret police, now runs a homicide bureau in Moscow and is trying to build a stable family life with wife Raisa and adopted daughters Zoya and Elena.
His life is upended, however, when someone starts killing retired secret police officers: an "agenda of revenge" that is led by one of Demidov's former victims and has him as its ultimate target.
When Zoya is kidnapped, Demidov is sent on a harrowing odyssey through the Soviet gulag system to save her.
What looks like a straight-forward story of revenge, however, is far more complicated. It turns out that the plot targeting Leo and his former colleagues is supported by unreformed Stalinists who hope to undermine Khrushchev's reforms.
The sprawling tale takes Demidov from the treacherous underbelly of Moscow to the frozen hell of a Siberian gulag and the rebellious streets of 1956 Budapest in a race to save his family and his soul. Smith has crafted a tale that's eerily plausible and utterly addictive.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Honoring Heroes
I've been away for awhile (Cannes!?), but I'm back. Just in time for Memorial Day. To honor all those who have served and their families, I'm reprinting a book review that I wrote last May. Since then, the book has been a finalist for a National Book Award and come out in paperback. It's a timeless memorial of service, sacrifice, and loss.
See here for the National Book Award citation and an excerpt from the book: http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2008_nf_sheeler.html
Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives, by Jim Sheeler. Penguin, $25.95 (304p) ISBN 978-1-59420-165-3
Marine Major Steve Beck has one of the toughest jobs in the military—one that he says "'has changed me in fundamental ways'"—and it's thousands of miles from a war zone.
Major Beck is a casualty assistance calls officer—the one responsible for "the knock." The moment that all military families live in dread of.
Pulitzer Prize-winning Rocky Mountain News reporter Sheeler had already attended a dozen military funerals when he met Major Beck at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver in 2004 and asked if he could shadow him.
This poignant and powerful chronicle of courage, sacrifice, grief, and recovery—gradual, halting, and never complete—is the result of Sheeler's two-year journey of discovery.
The narrative structure is circuitous. "The knock" comes first and with it an initial introduction to the families—wives, children, and parents—left behind. They, in turn, introduce us to the fallen soldiers and Marines—narratives that are completed by the testimony of their comrades. Later—as much as two years—the reporter returns to see how the families are coping.
The stories, however tragic, are important for Americans to hear if only to understand how much a few are sacrificing. There's amazingly little rancor here, but Sam Holder, Sr. admits that it bothers him "how disproportionately" the burden of military service is spread. (Marine Staff Sergeant Sam Holder, Jr., was killed in Iraq when he exposed himself to draw enemy fire away from an injured comrade. Holder earned the Silver Star for what his platoon leader called "'the most courageous act I have ever seen.'")
No matter how tough you are, you will be moved. And, you should be. I was stopped cold more than once and had to put the book aside for a while. My worst moment came when Dakota Givens, the young son of Army PFC Jesse Givens, who died when his tank plunged into a Euphrates River canal, asked if God would let him "be a little boy again" when he got to heaven so that he could play with his dad.
There are lots of heroes in this important book. Only some of them ever wore a uniform.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Running with the Devil
Running from the Devil, by Jamie Freveletti. William Morrow, $24.99 (310p) ISBN 978-0-06-1684227
Write what you know. That piece of advice has been repeated often enough that it's become a cliché. That doesn't mean that it can be safely ignored. But, in the course of a novel, a writer covers lots of ground—some familiar, some not so much. For the latter, there's research. Otherwise, the author risks the slow accumulation of credibility-sapping missteps.
I was reminded of this while reading debut novelist Freveletti's thriller. A trial lawyer by trade and a recreational runner, Freveletti knows the law and courtrooms. Sidewalks and trails. But hers is not a courtroom drama or legal thriller—terra firma for someone with her background. No, she opts for an international thriller set in the Colombian badlands and peopled by paramilitary thugs, drug lords, terrorists, Special Forces soldiers, and mercenaries: a slippery slope for the uninitiated. The resulting stumbles are enough to compromise an otherwise crisply-written debut.
When guerillas hijack and crash land a British Airways flight bound for Bogotá, Colombia, passenger Emma Caldridge, a chemist and ultramarathoner, is thrown clear of the wreckage. Hiding in the surrounding jungle, Emma watches as the guerillas corral the surviving hostages and march them off. Alone and without a compass, she decides to follow at a discreet distance.
Meanwhile, official Washington gears up for a response. For reasons that aren't entirely clear, the Executive Branch brings in Darkview, a security consulting contractor, to help. Darkview is headed by the suave and deadly Edward Banner who clashes with the arrogant Secretary of Defense.
Back in the jungle, Emma manages to rescure hostage Cameron Sumner, an American anti-drug agent, and they set about devising a plan to save the other hostages whose safety is further complicated by infighting among paramilitaries, drug cartels, and guerrillas A contingent of U.S. Special Forces, already in Colombia, also mounts a search and rescue operation.
Besides the hostage drama, there's also a mystery running beneath the surface here: What secret mission—"to set right the tremendous wrong she had done"—has brought Emma to Colombia in the first place and how does it relate to hostage drama?
All of this is fine and even has a "ripped from the headlines" quality. Just Google "Colombia and hostage rescue" and you'll see what I mean. And, the improbable scenarios, Indiana Jones escapes, and reflexive anti-business slant have become conventional fare for thrillers.
But, unforced errors are especially egregious. Unforced as in avoidable.
The Army doesn't wear desert camos anymore. Soldiers have been wearing the ACU (Army Combat Uniform) since 2006. Moreover, Green Berets try to blend in with the locals so they usually improvise anyway.
Except in the pages of the occasional thriller, you're not likely to encounter a Special Forces soldier with the rank of private. No private is special. Except to a parent.
Special Forces are uniquely-skilled, highly-trained soldiers who are in great demand around the world. They don't spend much time guarding private property. That's what we have Blackwater for. (In fact, the small contingent of SF soldiers in Colombia—strictly limited by Congress—is engaged primarily in training Colombian troops.)
Not to disrespect the Green Berets, but another SOF outfit, DELTA Force, specializes in hostage-rescue operations. In Freveletti's world, nobody even thinks of bringing DELTA on board. Even for advice. Who needs the professionals of DELTA Force when they've got a defense contractor?
Green Berets are not raw recruits. They are seasoned warriors. They do not talk loudly on patrol deep in hostile territory. They don't thoughtlessly kick litter spotted along the trial.
If you're going to write about the military and have no firsthand knowledge, do your homework. It's not rocket science.
Quotable
"All the money in the world doesn't buy class."
"Arguing with a force more powerful than you is always a mistake."
Write what you know. That piece of advice has been repeated often enough that it's become a cliché. That doesn't mean that it can be safely ignored. But, in the course of a novel, a writer covers lots of ground—some familiar, some not so much. For the latter, there's research. Otherwise, the author risks the slow accumulation of credibility-sapping missteps.
I was reminded of this while reading debut novelist Freveletti's thriller. A trial lawyer by trade and a recreational runner, Freveletti knows the law and courtrooms. Sidewalks and trails. But hers is not a courtroom drama or legal thriller—terra firma for someone with her background. No, she opts for an international thriller set in the Colombian badlands and peopled by paramilitary thugs, drug lords, terrorists, Special Forces soldiers, and mercenaries: a slippery slope for the uninitiated. The resulting stumbles are enough to compromise an otherwise crisply-written debut.
When guerillas hijack and crash land a British Airways flight bound for Bogotá, Colombia, passenger Emma Caldridge, a chemist and ultramarathoner, is thrown clear of the wreckage. Hiding in the surrounding jungle, Emma watches as the guerillas corral the surviving hostages and march them off. Alone and without a compass, she decides to follow at a discreet distance.
Meanwhile, official Washington gears up for a response. For reasons that aren't entirely clear, the Executive Branch brings in Darkview, a security consulting contractor, to help. Darkview is headed by the suave and deadly Edward Banner who clashes with the arrogant Secretary of Defense.
Back in the jungle, Emma manages to rescure hostage Cameron Sumner, an American anti-drug agent, and they set about devising a plan to save the other hostages whose safety is further complicated by infighting among paramilitaries, drug cartels, and guerrillas A contingent of U.S. Special Forces, already in Colombia, also mounts a search and rescue operation.
Besides the hostage drama, there's also a mystery running beneath the surface here: What secret mission—"to set right the tremendous wrong she had done"—has brought Emma to Colombia in the first place and how does it relate to hostage drama?
All of this is fine and even has a "ripped from the headlines" quality. Just Google "Colombia and hostage rescue" and you'll see what I mean. And, the improbable scenarios, Indiana Jones escapes, and reflexive anti-business slant have become conventional fare for thrillers.
But, unforced errors are especially egregious. Unforced as in avoidable.
The Army doesn't wear desert camos anymore. Soldiers have been wearing the ACU (Army Combat Uniform) since 2006. Moreover, Green Berets try to blend in with the locals so they usually improvise anyway.
Except in the pages of the occasional thriller, you're not likely to encounter a Special Forces soldier with the rank of private. No private is special. Except to a parent.
Special Forces are uniquely-skilled, highly-trained soldiers who are in great demand around the world. They don't spend much time guarding private property. That's what we have Blackwater for. (In fact, the small contingent of SF soldiers in Colombia—strictly limited by Congress—is engaged primarily in training Colombian troops.)
Not to disrespect the Green Berets, but another SOF outfit, DELTA Force, specializes in hostage-rescue operations. In Freveletti's world, nobody even thinks of bringing DELTA on board. Even for advice. Who needs the professionals of DELTA Force when they've got a defense contractor?
Green Berets are not raw recruits. They are seasoned warriors. They do not talk loudly on patrol deep in hostile territory. They don't thoughtlessly kick litter spotted along the trial.
If you're going to write about the military and have no firsthand knowledge, do your homework. It's not rocket science.
Quotable
"All the money in the world doesn't buy class."
"Arguing with a force more powerful than you is always a mistake."
Monday, May 4, 2009
Beautiful People
A Day in the Life: One Family, the Beautiful People, and the End of the 60s, by Robert Greenfield. Da Capo, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-0306-81622-2
Reading about the Sixties often is like watching a smashup in slow motion.
The Boomers, of course, won't like that judgment. Many of them—the leading edge really—came of age in the Sixties and will always wax nostalgic about it. But, the reality is that the decade set in motion much of what's wrong with America today.
That's not the thrust here though. Greenfield, a former editor at Rolling Stone and author of several rock biographies, sets his biography of Londoners Tommy and Susan "Puss" Weber against the backdrop of the psychedelic Sixties, but the era is very much in the background. The spotlight falls squarely on the glamorous and privileged young couple and their hedonistic lifestyle. Yes, the Sixties offered certain inducements for destructive behavior, but you can easily imagine a similar outcome for these two in other eras as well.
Tommy Weber and Susan "Puss" Coriat seemed to have it all: aristocratic connections, generous trust funds, public (i.e. private) school educations, and great looks. Tommy was rakishly handsome and a dare-devil. Puss, who was described as "a honey pot at age fourteen," was inordinately beautiful and dangerously romantic. Both were combustible.
The two met in London in the early '60s and immediately fell in love. When Puss discovered she was pregnant in 1962, the couple wed—in Tommy's words, "a shotgun marriage."
Neither seemed much interested in working. Tommy raced motor cars for a spell; speculated in real estate; and fell in with a drug smuggler eventually. Puss did a little modeling and dabbled at running a New Age restaurant.
But, both were heavily into the swinging scene—anchored in drug use and rock music—that defined London in the Sixties. The lifestyle was especially dangerous for Puss who famously "lived in her imagination." Soon, Puss was experimenting with LSD and lesbian love affairs. Along the way, the couple had two young sons that neither was really equipped to raise.
As with many Sixties' stories, this one ended badly. After Tommy and Puss separated, Tommy moved in with actress Charlotte Rampling. A junkie and a drug smuggler by then, he eventually ended up in prison.
After attempting suicide in 1968, Puss was admitted to a mental hospital in 1970 "suffering from LSD-influenced schizophrenia." Following her release, she overdosed on sleeping pills on June 7, 1971.
I'm not sure if there's anything new to learn from Tommy and Puss' tragic story. To his credit, Greenfield does not romanticize them—or the Swinging Sixties—but in the end, one wonders if there's any point in an account of pointless lives, no matter how well told.
*******************************************************
While reading Greenfield's account, I couldn't help being reminded of the story of Edie Sedgwick, an American equivalent to Puss Coriat Weber. Rich and beautiful, Edie arrived in New York in 1964 just as the Sixties subculture of sex, drugs, and rock-in-roll was gathering momentum. She joined pop artist Andy Warhol's merry band and was soon being celebrated in the media as a "Superstar"—perhaps the first media creation to be famous for being famous.
Alas, like Puss Weber, Edie was serially self-destructive—anorexia, cocaine, heroin, LSD, speed, and casual sex—was in and out of mental institutions and finally overdosed on barbiturates on Nov. 16, 1971—just five months after Puss' death.
Her life has been the subject of books and movies, including the 2006 biopic "Factory Girl" starring Sienna Miller. For a multimedia overview see here: http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,143641,00.html
Reading about the Sixties often is like watching a smashup in slow motion.
The Boomers, of course, won't like that judgment. Many of them—the leading edge really—came of age in the Sixties and will always wax nostalgic about it. But, the reality is that the decade set in motion much of what's wrong with America today.
That's not the thrust here though. Greenfield, a former editor at Rolling Stone and author of several rock biographies, sets his biography of Londoners Tommy and Susan "Puss" Weber against the backdrop of the psychedelic Sixties, but the era is very much in the background. The spotlight falls squarely on the glamorous and privileged young couple and their hedonistic lifestyle. Yes, the Sixties offered certain inducements for destructive behavior, but you can easily imagine a similar outcome for these two in other eras as well.
Tommy Weber and Susan "Puss" Coriat seemed to have it all: aristocratic connections, generous trust funds, public (i.e. private) school educations, and great looks. Tommy was rakishly handsome and a dare-devil. Puss, who was described as "a honey pot at age fourteen," was inordinately beautiful and dangerously romantic. Both were combustible.
The two met in London in the early '60s and immediately fell in love. When Puss discovered she was pregnant in 1962, the couple wed—in Tommy's words, "a shotgun marriage."
Neither seemed much interested in working. Tommy raced motor cars for a spell; speculated in real estate; and fell in with a drug smuggler eventually. Puss did a little modeling and dabbled at running a New Age restaurant.
But, both were heavily into the swinging scene—anchored in drug use and rock music—that defined London in the Sixties. The lifestyle was especially dangerous for Puss who famously "lived in her imagination." Soon, Puss was experimenting with LSD and lesbian love affairs. Along the way, the couple had two young sons that neither was really equipped to raise.
As with many Sixties' stories, this one ended badly. After Tommy and Puss separated, Tommy moved in with actress Charlotte Rampling. A junkie and a drug smuggler by then, he eventually ended up in prison.
After attempting suicide in 1968, Puss was admitted to a mental hospital in 1970 "suffering from LSD-influenced schizophrenia." Following her release, she overdosed on sleeping pills on June 7, 1971.
I'm not sure if there's anything new to learn from Tommy and Puss' tragic story. To his credit, Greenfield does not romanticize them—or the Swinging Sixties—but in the end, one wonders if there's any point in an account of pointless lives, no matter how well told.
*******************************************************
While reading Greenfield's account, I couldn't help being reminded of the story of Edie Sedgwick, an American equivalent to Puss Coriat Weber. Rich and beautiful, Edie arrived in New York in 1964 just as the Sixties subculture of sex, drugs, and rock-in-roll was gathering momentum. She joined pop artist Andy Warhol's merry band and was soon being celebrated in the media as a "Superstar"—perhaps the first media creation to be famous for being famous.
Alas, like Puss Weber, Edie was serially self-destructive—anorexia, cocaine, heroin, LSD, speed, and casual sex—was in and out of mental institutions and finally overdosed on barbiturates on Nov. 16, 1971—just five months after Puss' death.
Her life has been the subject of books and movies, including the 2006 biopic "Factory Girl" starring Sienna Miller. For a multimedia overview see here: http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,143641,00.html
Friday, May 1, 2009
Weekend Adviser
It's May! Here in Hog Heaven it's time to plant the corn that will grow up to be ethanol and pork chops. That is, if the fields are dry enough. Farming is a lot of waitin' and worryin' sandwiched between a couple of slices of intense activity.
But, real farmers are few and far between. Even here in Iowa—the heart of farm country—most of us don't know a rootworm from a corn borer. And, just like everybody else, we just wanna have fun. So, for all those who're still trying to fill their weekend planner, here are a few suggestions.
If you can't get enough of comic book heroes, you're in luck. The latest in the X-Men franchise, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," opens today. It stars Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, and it has fan boys everywhere in a lather. Industry estimates predict gonzo opening-weekend box-office in the $100 million range. Early reviews have been mixed, but this genre is immune to movie criticism. That said, you can check out "Variety's" take here: http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940156.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
The main competition is romantic comedy "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. In a caustic review, critic Nick Schager dismisses it as "formulaic" and an "assembly line studio rom-com" here: http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/film review.asp?ID=4256
For the stay-at-home movie crowd, the selection of newly-released DVDs is also limited this week. Besides the forgettable romantic comedy, "Bride Wars," there's not much other than re-releases. "Bride Wars" stars Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson as best friends forever until they schedule their fairy-tale weddings in the same venue on the same day.
Given that May is Sweeps Month, even TV offers slim pickings this weekend. ABC's got "Harry Potter 3" on Saturday night, but who needs all those commercials? Rent the DVD if you must and save yourself forty-five minutes. HBO has the continuing saga of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" on Sunday night, and Showtime features "The Great Debaters" on Sunday evening.
Sports fans fare a bit better. The best-known horse race in the U.S., the Kentucky Derby, comes down the home stretch on NBC late Saturday afternoon. It's the perfect entertainment for an attention-deficit nation: two weeks of sizzle and two minutes of meat.
Later on Saturday evening, HBO will televise the Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton junior welterweight championship fight from Las Vegas. Where else?
Elsewhere, the never-ending NBA and NHL playoffs continue. Wake me when they're over.
Given the paucity of entertainment choices, I'm going to suggest something radical: Read a book. And, I've got one in mind: Jim Sheeler's Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives. It's just out in paperback this week, and it's a powerful, unforgettable experience. It's the story of some of the young Americans who have paid the ultimate price in the War on Terror and the families they left behind. I reviewed the book when it came out in hardcover in 2008 here: http://www.military.com/entertainment/books/book-reviews/military-bookshelf-honoring-heroes
With Memorial Day coming along at the end of the month, you might want to pass it along when you're finished.
But, real farmers are few and far between. Even here in Iowa—the heart of farm country—most of us don't know a rootworm from a corn borer. And, just like everybody else, we just wanna have fun. So, for all those who're still trying to fill their weekend planner, here are a few suggestions.
If you can't get enough of comic book heroes, you're in luck. The latest in the X-Men franchise, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," opens today. It stars Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, and it has fan boys everywhere in a lather. Industry estimates predict gonzo opening-weekend box-office in the $100 million range. Early reviews have been mixed, but this genre is immune to movie criticism. That said, you can check out "Variety's" take here: http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117940156.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
The main competition is romantic comedy "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. In a caustic review, critic Nick Schager dismisses it as "formulaic" and an "assembly line studio rom-com" here: http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/film review.asp?ID=4256
For the stay-at-home movie crowd, the selection of newly-released DVDs is also limited this week. Besides the forgettable romantic comedy, "Bride Wars," there's not much other than re-releases. "Bride Wars" stars Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson as best friends forever until they schedule their fairy-tale weddings in the same venue on the same day.
Given that May is Sweeps Month, even TV offers slim pickings this weekend. ABC's got "Harry Potter 3" on Saturday night, but who needs all those commercials? Rent the DVD if you must and save yourself forty-five minutes. HBO has the continuing saga of "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" on Sunday night, and Showtime features "The Great Debaters" on Sunday evening.
Sports fans fare a bit better. The best-known horse race in the U.S., the Kentucky Derby, comes down the home stretch on NBC late Saturday afternoon. It's the perfect entertainment for an attention-deficit nation: two weeks of sizzle and two minutes of meat.
Later on Saturday evening, HBO will televise the Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton junior welterweight championship fight from Las Vegas. Where else?
Elsewhere, the never-ending NBA and NHL playoffs continue. Wake me when they're over.
Given the paucity of entertainment choices, I'm going to suggest something radical: Read a book. And, I've got one in mind: Jim Sheeler's Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives. It's just out in paperback this week, and it's a powerful, unforgettable experience. It's the story of some of the young Americans who have paid the ultimate price in the War on Terror and the families they left behind. I reviewed the book when it came out in hardcover in 2008 here: http://www.military.com/entertainment/books/book-reviews/military-bookshelf-honoring-heroes
With Memorial Day coming along at the end of the month, you might want to pass it along when you're finished.
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