Recommended Reads for Adults – August 2011
To continue our monthly series of book lists, the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library would like to point out some books on spies and diplomats for summer reading. This list is a mixture of fiction and nonfiction, some for light reading and some for more serious reading.
June 2011—Spies and Diplomats
Madam Secretary by Madeleine Albright.
Memoir by former Secretary of State under President Clinton. Albright seeks to "combine the personal with policy" to describe the worldwide events in which she participated. Includes her reminiscences of childhood as a Czechoslovakian refugee and married life before she entered the tumultuous world of politics. Bestseller. 2003. Cassette Book RC 57408. Large Print Book LP 20024. Digital Book DB 57408 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.57048.
The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America by James Bamford.
Follow-up to The Puzzle Palace (RC 19096) and Body of Secrets (RC 52277) continues the history of the U.S. National Security Agency. Concentrates on the war on terror after the September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda attacks on America. Highlights interagency rivalries and the use of warrantless wiretapping. 2008. Follow-up to The Puzzle Palace (RC 19096) and Body of Secrets (RC 52277) continues the history of the U.S. National Security Agency. Concentrates on the war on terror after the September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda attacks on America. Highlights interagency rivalries and the use of warrantless wiretapping. 2008. Cassette Book RC 67885. Digital Book DB 67885. This book can also be downloaded from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.67885.
The Spy [#3, Isaac Bell Adventure] by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott.
1908. Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Detective Agency investigates the supposed suicide of battleship engineer Arthur Langner. After more deaths among naval research staff, Bell hunts for a foreign spy hobbling American military advances during a buildup to war. Some violence. Bestseller. 2010. Digital Book DB 71413. This book can also be downloaded from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.71413.
Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America after the End of the Cold War by Pete Earley.
Former Washington Post reporter profiles Russian spy Sergei Tretyakov (code name: Comrade Jean), who directed covert operations against America from 1995 until his defection in 2000. Details Tretyakov's career in the SVR--a KGB successor--his ties to the United Nations, and his work as a double agent. Some strong language. 2007. Cassette Book RC 66440. Large Print Book LP 23984. Digital Book DB 66440 can be downloaded from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.66440 .
The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst.
Warsaw, 1937. Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier, French military attache to Poland, spends his time socializing and recruiting spies. Mercier alerts his superiors to the threat of Nazi invasion but is ignored. Meanwhile he falls in love and rescues an agent. Some explicit descriptions of sex and some strong language. Bestseller. 2008. Braille Book BR 17812. Cassette Book RC 67031. Digital Book DB 67031. Large Print Book LP 23966. This book can also be downloaded from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.67031
Moonraker [#3, James Bond series] by Iam Fleming.
Secret agent James Bond investigates the activities of Sir Hugo Drax--card player, notorious cheat, and head of England's new missile defense system, Moonraker. Aided by Gala, a beautiful fellow agent disguised as Drax's private secretary, Bond uncovers trouble just before the project's scheduled test launch. 1955. Cassette Book RC 65927. Digital Book DB 65927. This book can also be downloaded from BARD: p://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.65927.
Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene.
A spy story about an unsuccessful English vacuum cleaner salesman who accepts a job as a secret agent with no intention of actually doing the job. But when the reports he makes up begin to come true, he is suddenly involved in frightening intrigue. 1958. Cassette Book RC 26596. Large Print Book LP 18527. Digital Book DB 26596 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.26596 .
Foreign Intrigue; The Making and Unmaking of a Foreign Service Officer by Eric Kocher.
A former Consul to Yugoslavia, Malaysia and Jordan describes his experiences from 1947 to 1968 with kings, presidents, heroes, villains, and ordinary people. 1990. Cassette Book CBA 7182. Digital Book DBW 7128. This book can also be downloaded from WTBBL: http://www.wtbbl.org/login.aspx .
A Most Wanted Man by John Le Carre.
Issa Karpov, a Chechen Muslim who has entered Germany illegally, uses human rights lawyer Annabel Richter to obtain his late father's millions from a shady British bank. Meanwhile the English, German, and American intelligence agencies all pursue Issa. Some violence and some strong language. Bestseller. 2008. Braille Book BR 18059. Cassette Book RC 67948. Digital Book DB 67948. Large Print Book LP 24764. This book is also available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.67948 .
To continue our monthly series of book lists, the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library would like to point out some books on spies and diplomats for summer reading. This list is a mixture of fiction and nonfiction, some for light reading and some for more serious reading.
June 2011—Spies and Diplomats
Madam Secretary by Madeleine Albright.
Memoir by former Secretary of State under President Clinton. Albright seeks to "combine the personal with policy" to describe the worldwide events in which she participated. Includes her reminiscences of childhood as a Czechoslovakian refugee and married life before she entered the tumultuous world of politics. Bestseller. 2003. Cassette Book RC 57408. Large Print Book LP 20024. Digital Book DB 57408 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.57048.
The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America by James Bamford.
Follow-up to The Puzzle Palace (RC 19096) and Body of Secrets (RC 52277) continues the history of the U.S. National Security Agency. Concentrates on the war on terror after the September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda attacks on America. Highlights interagency rivalries and the use of warrantless wiretapping. 2008. Cassette Book RC 67885. Digital Book DB 67885. This book can also be downloaded from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.67885.
The Spy [#3, Isaac Bell Adventure] by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott.
1908. Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Detective Agency investigates the supposed suicide of battleship engineer Arthur Langner. After more deaths among naval research staff, Bell hunts for a foreign spy hobbling American military advances during a buildup to war. Some violence. Bestseller. 2010. Digital Book DB 71413. This book can also be downloaded from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.71413.
Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America after the End of the Cold War by Pete Earley.
Former Washington Post reporter profiles Russian spy Sergei Tretyakov (code name: Comrade Jean), who directed covert operations against America from 1995 until his defection in 2000. Details Tretyakov's career in the SVR--a KGB successor--his ties to the United Nations, and his work as a double agent. Some strong language. 2007. Cassette Book RC 66440. Large Print Book LP 23984. Digital Book DB 66440 can be downloaded from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.66440.
The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst.
Warsaw, 1937. Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier, French military attache to Poland, spends his time socializing and recruiting spies. Mercier alerts his superiors to the threat of Nazi invasion but is ignored. Meanwhile he falls in love and rescues an agent. Some explicit descriptions of sex and some strong language. Bestseller. 2008. Braille Book BR 17812. Cassette Book RC 67031. Digital Book DB 67031. Large Print Book LP 23966. This book can also be downloaded from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.67031.
Moonraker [#3, James Bond series] by Ian Fleming.
Secret agent James Bond investigates the activities of Sir Hugo Drax--card player, notorious cheat, and head of England's new missile defense system, Moonraker. Aided by Gala, a beautiful fellow agent disguised as Drax's private secretary, Bond uncovers trouble just before the project's scheduled test launch. 1955. Cassette Book RC 65927. Digital Book DB 65927. This book can also be downloaded from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.65927.
Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene.
A spy story about an unsuccessful English vacuum cleaner salesman who accepts a job as a secret agent with no intention of actually doing the job. But when the reports he makes up begin to come true, he is suddenly involved in frightening intrigue. 1958. Cassette Book RC 26596. Large Print Book LP 18527. Digital Book DB 26596 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.26596.
Foreign Intrigue; The Making and Unmaking of a Foreign Service Officer by Eric Kocher.
A former Consul to Yugoslavia, Malaysia and Jordan describes his experiences from 1947 to 1968 with kings, presidents, heroes, villains, and ordinary people. 1990. Cassette Book CBA 7182. Digital Book DBW 7128. This book can also be downloaded from WTBBL: http://www.wtbbl.org/login.aspx.
A Most Wanted Man by John Le Carre.
Issa Karpov, a Chechen Muslim who has entered Germany illegally, uses human rights lawyer Annabel Richter to obtain his late father's millions from a shady British bank. Meanwhile the English, German, and American intelligence agencies all pursue Issa. Some violence and some strong language. Bestseller. 2008. Braille Book BR 18059. Cassette Book RC 67948. Digital Book DB 67948. Large Print Book LP 24764. This book is also available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.67948.