Monday, August 22, 2022

Summer Reading


What Hugh Hewitt is reading this summer. [The list goes far beyond a mere summer but it's a good one.]

My own summer reading has included:

  • Slow Horses by Mick Herron
  • Post journalism and the fall of newspapers (sic) by Andrey Mir
  • The Breakdown of Higher Education by John M. Ellis
  • Nimitz at War by Craig L. Symonds
  • World Without Mind by Franklin Foer
  • A Time to Build by Yuval Levin
  • Reinventing Racism by Jonathan M. Church
  • Dead Lions by Mick Herron
  • The Rothchilds by Frederick Morton
  • Getting Under the Skin of "Diversity" by Larry Purdy
  • Beyond Measure by Margaret Heffernan
  • The Dumbest Generation Grows Up by Mark Bauerlein

9 comments:

MI6 said...

Summer reading? Just because Bond wrote his stuff in Jamaica by a beautiful beach doesn’t mean you shouldn’t research what to read on which beach on your next holiday? One non-Bond espionage thriller has been made to measure just for you in this regard and Ian Fleming even knew Colonel Alan Pemberton CVO MBE known as Mac, the MI6 handler of its author (MI6 codename JJ) in real life.

Bill Fairclough’s epic spy novel Beyond Enkription in The Burlington Files series features Copacabana Beach, Nassau and Governor's Beaches in the Bahamas, Miami Beach, Plages de Saint Tropez, the Palm Beach casino in London and even Beachy Head! If you’re into all things espionage you’ll love this curious fact based book. It's the first stand-alone novel in The Burlington Files series. It’s a true story about an accountant who unwittingly works for MI5 and MI6 who is later hired “eyes wide open” by the CIA. It’s set in 1974 not only on a beach near you but also in London, Nassau and Port au Prince. Google it for more.

Michael Wade said...

MI6,

I have just ordered and am eagerly awaiting Beyond Enkription.

Upon your judgment I rely.

Michael

MI6 said...

If you are genuinely into espionage (not just Bond and Bourne stuff) you will be listening to Edith Piaf forever afterwards ... Non, je ne regrette rien ... let me know how you get on. By the way if you did not know we try on a pro bono basis to help promote crime and espionage books (especially non-fiction) where the profits from publishing go to noble causes related to the authors' experiences. The Burlington Files ticks all those boxes and just as happened to Mick Herron's now famous Slough House series, the series was rejected for spurious reasons by mainstream publishers in pursuit of profit.

Many authors create fictitious stories about make-believe spies without so much as a nod or a wink to acknowledge the real spies who risk their lives for the very countries the authors live in. Those authors, famous names included whether dead or alive, simply exploit and mislead for their own advantage. Most of them can’t even realistically depict what espionage is about. It’s time authors in the fictional espionage genre put warning labels on their misleading products and gave credit to those in the real world who have to face down daily dangers for their fellow compatriots including those authors who do them such disservice.

MI6 said...

Hope you got my answer

Michael Wade said...

MI6,

I will post an update.

Reading novels about a subject that you know can be as frustrating as reading news articles of the same nature. In short, cringe-inducing if not worse.

It's nice when you can read an account that has a serious connection to the real world.

Thanks for the recommendations!

Michael

MI6 said...

Hope you like it. Any questions do root via us. We try on a pro bono basis to help promote crime and espionage books (especially non-fiction) where the profits from publishing go to noble causes related to the authors' experiences. The Burlington Files ticks all those boxes and just as happened to Mick Herron's now famous Slough House series, the series was rejected for spurious reasons by mainstream publishers in pursuit of profit.

Michael Wade said...

MI6,

I recall a literary agent telling me years ago that Marketing not only has a vote on the decision to publish, it is the only vote that matters.

Aargh.

Michael

MI6 said...

The publishing world is too much of a cosy cartel ... just ask KT Rowling who was rejected by the industry at large until successful beyond their wildest dreams. Too many authors have their "Decca Moment"!

Michael Wade said...

Orwell had his share.

Michael