[Misc] What Book are you Currently Reading?

[FamilyGuy]

A Spy Among Friends - Ben Macintyre's excellent addition to the well-documented Cambridge Spy Ring. An interesting take on how Kim Philly was tracked down by his chum Nicholas Elliott and, to a lesser degree, James Angleton. Well written and skilfully plotted, despite a non-fiction piece. Friendship or country first? Discuss.

Also enjoyed Andrew Lownie's excellent biog of Guy Burgess. Fascinating portrait of the man and a revealing social history of middle / upper class Britain on either side of the second world war.

Just finished "Double Cross" by Ben Macintyre - The True Story of the D-Day Spies.

A wonderful book that gives a real insight into the mindset needed to run a successful stable of double agents in the war - from the perspective of the Agent and of the British Spy Chiefs - it touches on Blunt, Burgess, Philby, et al - ironically Blunt was working in the heart of the British Secret Service and acting as a double agent for the Russians.

 

[Marshy]

Just finished "Double Cross" by Ben Macintyre - The True Story of the D-Day Spies.

A wonderful book that gives a real insight into the mindset needed to run a successful stable of double agents in the war - from the perspective of the Agent and of the British Spy Chiefs - it touches on Blunt, Burgess, Philby, et al - ironically Blunt was working in the heart of the British Secret Service and acting as a double agent for the Russians.

I have read Agent Zig Zag and Operation Mincemeat, I enjoyed both greatly, have you read them and how do they compare ?

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

The Girls by Emma Cline. Good so far.

 

[DJ NOBO]

The end of the world running club. Decent post apocalypse fare

 

[Gwylan]

Hitch-22, Christopher Hitchens' autobiography. It's a riveting read; made more poignant by the fact that he was not to know that he was about to be stricken with cancer when he started writing it, but the updates for the paperback edition were written in full knowledge of his impending death.

What are particularly interesting are the chapters on Iraq, where he explains how the barbarity of Hussein's regime forced him to take the side of Bush and Blair, dismissing the anti-war protesters as supporters of a form of fascism. He died before the full horrors of the chaos in Iraq became apparent, before the emergence of ISIS and before Syria was engulfed in flames. One wonders whether he would still support the overthrow of Saddam if he knew what was to come. It would have been an interesting read.

But whether he's on the right side or wrong side, it can't be denied that he's a brilliantly fluent writer - one who's much missed

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

The end of the world running club. Decent post apocalypse fare

On my endless book list that one. Supposed to be a good read. I meant to get it but ended up being diverted by similar fare - Station Eleven, which I finished, and Children of Men, which I binned after a chapter.

 

[crasher]

I've just finished The Battle for Spain - Anthony Beevor's history of the Spanish Civil War. Picked it up because it was an event I knew almost nothing about and wanted to learn more.

It was certainly informative - he's a skillful and fluent historian. My only gripe he's more interested in the battlefield details than I am - too many long lists of which divisions were involved on which flank etc. That said, it's both authoritative and digestible. I've learned a lot (and reminded myself that both fascists and communists are utter *******s).

 

[DJ NOBO]

On my endless book list that one. Supposed to be a good read. I meant to get it but ended up being diverted by similar fare - Station Eleven, which I finished, and Children of Men, which I binned after a chapter.

I thought Station 11 was absolutely fantastic . Running club is ok, nothing special. on cheap at tesco

 

[Surf's Up]

Blowing Up Russia by Alexander Litvinenko and Yuri Felshtinsky - allegedly the book that signed Litvinenko's death warrant.

 

[Gwylan]

I've just finished The Battle for Spain - Anthony Beevor's history of the Spanish Civil War. Picked it up because it was an event I knew almost nothing about and wanted to learn more.

It was certainly informative - he's a skillful and fluent historian. My only gripe he's more interested in the battlefield details than I am - too many long lists of which divisions were involved on which flank etc. That said, it's both authoritative and digestible. I've learned a lot (and reminded myself that both fascists and communists are utter *******s).

You should read Homage to Catalonia, Orwell's awakening to the full horrors of communism. If you want a good, recent, fictional account of the Spanish Civil War, Alan Furst has covered the topic: NIght Soldiers and Midnight in Europe both have the war as background to the action and they're excellent thrillers

 

[Larry Day]

I thought Station 11 was absolutely fantastic . Running club is ok, nothing special. on cheap at tesco

Interesting -- I struggled a tad with Station 11, thought it a bit of a curate's egg. That said, good bits were v good. Felt like a more literary version of King's mighty The Stand.

 

[crasher]

You should read Homage to Catalonia, Orwell's awakening to the full horrors of communism. If you want a good, recent, fictional account of the Spanish Civil War, Alan Furst has covered the topic: NIght Soldiers and Midnight in Europe both have the war as background to the action and they're excellent thrillers

Cheers, not heard of the Alan Furst - I may take a look.

 

[FamilyGuy]

I have read Agent Zig Zag and Operation Mincemeat, I enjoyed both greatly, have you read them and how do they compare ?

I read Mincemeat a couple of months ago - it was a Christmas present - and thought it vg.

Zig Zag (mentioned in "Double Cross" in passing) is next on my list.

 

[FamilyGuy]

I've just finished The Battle for Spain - Anthony Beevor's history of the Spanish Civil War. Picked it up because it was an event I knew almost nothing about and wanted to learn more.

It was certainly informative - he's a skillful and fluent historian. My only gripe he's more interested in the battlefield details than I am - too many long lists of which divisions were involved on which flank etc. That said, it's both authoritative and digestible. I've learned a lot (and reminded myself that both fascists and communists are utter *******s).

I've read his books "Berlin", "Stalingrad" and "Ardennes" - all very readable and very informative - "Berlin" is one of the very best books about WW2 that I have ever read, just amazingly illustrative and fascinating.

 

[Gwylan]

Cheers, not heard of the Alan Furst - I may take a look.

If you like thrillers,he's your man. He writes exclusively (as far as I can tell) on the 30s and 40s and his books are excellent. I've read about half a dozen now and he's not disappointed yet

 

[Marshy]

I read Mincemeat a couple of months ago - it was a Christmas present - and thought it vg.

Zig Zag (mentioned in "Double Cross" in passing) is next on my list.[/QUOTE

Zig Zag I found much easier to read than Mincemeat, you will enjoy very much. Eddie Chapman is a proper character !

 

[Larry Day]

I've just finished The Battle for Spain - Anthony Beevor's history of the Spanish Civil War. Picked it up because it was an event I knew almost nothing about and wanted to learn more.

Found C J Sansom's Winter in Madrid a very evocative account of life in Madrid during the Spanish civil war. Very detailed research and an excellent story. Recommended if you like 20th century history and espionage. Although a really a story of friendship and enduring love. Great stuff.

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

Just finished "Double Cross" by Ben Macintyre - The True Story of the D-Day Spies.

A wonderful book that gives a real insight into the mindset needed to run a successful stable of double agents in the war - from the perspective of the Agent and of the British Spy Chiefs - it touches on Blunt, Burgess, Philby, et al - ironically Blunt was working in the heart of the British Secret Service and acting as a double agent for the Russians.

Agreed - Ben Macintyre's books are compelling. Plus I can commend his live talks if you get a chance to see him on tour.

I'm part way through 'The Secret War - Spies, Codes and Guerrillas 1939-45' by Max Hastings. Excellent so far and well up to Hastings' usual standard. Offers a deeper insight than Macintyre, while remaining very readable - and without the intense detail offered by Beevor. I'm just reading the section where Hastings suggests there is an ongoing British and American 'obsession with the 'Cambridge Five' and just how the Americans did not trust us for many years. All very true of course - but Hastings points to how history conveniently overlooks 'the Washington and Berkeley Five Hundred' i.e. US informants for Soviet intelligence in the 30's to 50's....... Hastings gives accounts of many double agents such as Seth and Sorge who had a more tangible impact than Eddie ('ZigZag') Chapman.

'SpyCatcher' by Peter Wright might seem a bit dated but IMO well worth reading for his personal perspective of successes and failures by the British. Some amusing first hand accounts of us bugging foreign embassies but also incompetence, collusion and many tragedies. Mostly in the context of WWII and the Cold War but also for his ongoing fears of complete infiltration of British intelligence by the Soviets. You can understand why the same British establishment that was so comprehensively fooled by the Soviets from the 30's to the 80's were keen to prevent Wright publishing 'SpyCatcher' Mrs. T. threatened to have Wright arrested for treason if he ever returned to the UK. A good read.

 

[Smirko]

Just finished The Nazi Hunters by Damien Lewis, account of an uktra secret SAS unit towards the end of WW2 tasked with disrupting German forces behind enemy lines and their subsequent capture torture and execution etc. Then the story of their colleagues hunt for the Nazis that killed them and the French citizens that helped them. True story well worth reading.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

The only other I'd really recommend from the other shortlisters would be Orhan Pamuk - 'Strangeness in my Mind'. However, if you're after a good book then I'd highly recommend Ian McGuire's 'The North Water'. I've set myself the task again this year of reading the Man Booker longlist, currently I've only read The North Water and found it impossible to put down - I had to read it as quickly as possible. Unusually for a Man Booker lister this is an action thriller novel - a historical one at that. Set in the 1800s it follows the journey of a whaling ship from Hull to Greenland and the 2 main protagonists - one a ship's captain and the other a Bill Sykes type baddie who is evil personified. It's fast-paced but still quite cerebral and the attention to period detail is something else, it could easily have been written by someone like Joseph Conrad or Herman Melville.

You're clearly a man of good literary taste. I loved The North Water too. Brilliant, brutal and bloody. A real pager turner wasn't it. It was the ship's surgeon of course, not the captain, who was the other protagonist.
How are you getting on with the Booker list? Any recommendations?