On Wednesday 19 October 2011, Hove's premier book group came together for another evening of top literary and cultural discourse. We gathered to discuss Robin's choices.
BOOK: 'See No Evil' by Robert Baer
'See No Evil' by Robert Baer
Just as Robin was about to launch into his review some sandwiches arrived. The Landlady of the very wonderful Poets Corner pub in Hove had promised us some sandwiches and that's what we got. Tasty, lovely sandwiches - lots and lots and lots of sandwiches. Some with a particularly potent spicy Mexican cheese.
After sampling the sandwiches Robing explained how we really enjoyed the book and bandied words like "fascinating" and "interesting". He lavished the book with 7.5/10.
Tristan thought it was very interesting and gave it 6/10.
Keith was less satisfied after reflecting on the book. 6/10
Don was unable to attend however emailed a review... I have not finished the masterful tome unleashed upon us by Robin. Here's a few thoughts. I will continue reading until I have finished, not because I am captivated by the writing…lets be clear the guy is not an author so I can’t hang him for that…but the accounts resonate with me one way or another.
First there is the political dimension. The foot soldier, who is trying to do the right thing getting shafted by a Mullins looalike. Yes I had to mention him. I can imagine this Chris Mullins-type character sitting there in his office saying ….’I know it’s the wrong thing to stitch him up, but I am worried about how this will make me look’…….Mullins you port swilling loathsome toady. Its you and your kind I despise…..in fact the more I read of the book, the more it’s the behind the scenes stuff that pisses me off. And that’s why it resonates. Liam Fox and his poncey mate sucking up to bloated bureaucrats lining there pockets and looking after their own self interest whilst the ‘good guys’ are out there trying to protect our hallowed soil……..
Its no good I am spitting nails as I write. To be honest I have nothing intelligent to add, I will leave that to Tristan…..on that I point Mr T I think the time line add up..I checked. 7.5/10
Here's my review. In a nutshell: For all of Robert Baer's interesting tales, I feel the book could have been considerably shorter and, whilst interesting, it's not essential. The basic messages could be distilled down to a couple of pages. There's also no reference to the CIA's more dodgy dealings (destabilising democratically elected governments, sponsoring torture and death squads etc.) I'm sure there's a fascinating book to be written about the CIA (maybe there already is) but this is not it. 6/10
Hamish also submitted a written review:
The first chapter started the book well. Secretive organisation. Assassinating Saddam. A man facing charges from his employer following his courageous efforts to spy on their behalf in various difficult countries. It should have led to an intriguing and gripping book.
But for several chapters from No. 2 onwards things went downhill.
To start with, Mr Baer seems to have attended virtually every major piece of social unrest since WWII I think we have now discovered the real identity of the person stood in front of that tank in Tiananmen Square! Truly unbelievable however quirky his mum was. Then of course he became world downhill skiing champion and fluent in about 76 different languages. Remarkable. I expect he is currently occupying Wall Street. Single handedly. I found Mr Baer to be too full of himself for me to trust him. He seems to think he is the only one who knows what is going on in the world and how to sort it out. Which made believing his book difficult.
His writing style. Also not a plus point for me. It seemed to involve jumping from one subject to another without much hesitation or explanation. I found it hard at times to understand what was really going on, particularly when he introduced new shady characters and seemed to think the reader would already have heard of them. perhaps he wrote this for an audience of fellow spies or perhaps Americans are just more familiar with the Ahmad Chalabis of this world.
Part 3 " You're on your own" was the highlight of the book for me, whilst still fairly confusing and all over the place. The conflict and tension between Washington and agents in the field became more apparent. It reminded me of management and workers in my own joyous workplace. And also the lobbying interests of that nice Doctor Fox and Mr Werritty. Power corrupts of course and there was ample evidence of the "you scratch my back" attitude of Washingtons high fliers towards the end. That redeemed the book a bit for me. Enough for me to rate it higher than "Stumbling through the Amazon armed only with a tennis racquet."
In summary, I thought the book was okay. He struck me as a writer who had spent too much time writing factual (and probably pretty turgid) reports. Sadly he wrote the book in the same style. I guess this nailed the actual boredom of spying activities, compared to the more traditional romantic and heroic view, but I didn't feel it made it particularly enjoyable. I do wonder whether I have become so cynical about the world we live in and the political slant to everything but much of what he said was truly depressing. Score 5/10
Robin lauded this film and gave it 7/10.
I loved 'Let The Right One In' and so had high hopes for Tomas Alfredson's latest outing. I was not disappointed. It's superb. A great evocation of the 1970s. Amazing cast and stunning performances. 9/10.
Don described the choice of the film to support the book as "a masterstroke".
Keith was impressed too and gave the film 7/10. Tristan kept the love for the film going with a score of 8.5/10
MUSIC: 'The Ultimate John Barry' by John Barry
Keith echoed this sentiment and recommended a listen to the soundtrack to The Scarlet Letter.
I recommended JB's soundtrack to The Knack (the UK's first film soundtrack album triv fans). Here's a sample"
And here's some of The Scarlet Letter:
And here's The Persuaders theme:
