Estimated reading time: 4 minutes Most genre fiction is formulaic. Mysteries may be detective stories, police procedurals, cozy mysteries, and so forth. Romance novels fall into categories of their own. And science fiction encompasses space travel, dystopia, First Contact, military science...
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Since the advent of the Second World War more than eighty years ago, spies have stripped the United States of a sobering volume of critical, top-secret information that threatens our security. Name a few names, and students of espionage will immediately recognize the spy scandals they caused....
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Russia and China have penetrated so deeply into the electronic systems that sustain the American economy that either country might be able to set us back two or three decades using cyber weapons. North Korea and Iran appear to be not far behind. What seems to be stopping them all is the equal or...
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You might be amazed at the number of Americans who have been convicted of spying against the United States over the past century. I certainly was. Wikipedia catalogs a total of 67. Nearly half that number (32) had committed espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union. Another five spied for Russia,...
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When Richard Nixon asked Chou En-Lai in 1972 about the impact of the French Revolution, the Chinese Premier famously said, “It’s too early to tell.” That terse response is generally understood to illustrate the Chinese ability to take the long view of history. But it might...
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The Switch is Joseph Finder’s 15th thriller. Like all the others I can recall—I’ve read many of them—the novel pits an intelligent and capable upper-middle-class man against the powerful forces of government or a large corporation. In The Switch, an entrepreneur named Michael Tanner,...
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Guilty Minds unfolds with explosive power and mind-bending suspense. It is a stellar example of an accomplished writer at work at the top of his game. The story is intriguing from the outset. One of the most powerful men in the nation calls on Nick Heller to disprove the charges in a forthcoming...
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I don’t know about you, but when I see smart people doing stupid things I get annoyed. And I become truly exasperated when a smart character in a mystery or thriller does things he or she would never do except to advance a lame plot. Sadly, that’s what happens not once but twice in the...
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Since 2013, when Edward Snowden released a flood of classified data from the National Security Agency to the public eye, whistle-blowers have come under increased scrutiny. Snowden’s courageous act has highlighted the earlier efforts of other men and women whose names are familiar to many...
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Occasionally, I come across a book on an important topic that’s crammed with information I was able to find nowhere else — but is a chore to read. Even though it is not an academic study but clearly intended for a general audience, Fred Kaplan’s recent history of cyber war, Dark...
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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes Why does Barack Obama’s performance on national security issues in the White House contrast so strongly with his announced intentions as a candidate in 2008? After all, not only has Obama continued most of the Bush policies he decried when he ran for the...
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When the news broke late in May 2013 about a junior contract employee of the National Security Agency (NSA) who had fled to Hong Kong with a collection of top secret documents about US intelligence practices in his possession, I didn’t pay a great deal of attention. Nor did I think much of...
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A review of Top Secret America: The Rise of the New American Security State, by Dana Priest and William M. Arkin. @@@@@ (5 out of 5). A deeply troubling study of the massive military-intelligence complex that has sprung up in the years since 9/11.
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Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review,
with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review,
with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.
Mysteries & Thrillers Tuesday includes my latest mystery and thriller book review, with links to other science fiction content.
Nonfiction Wednesday includes my latest nonfiction book review, with links to other nonfiction content.
The Weekly includes summaries and links to all the previous week’s three to five book reviews, including some that don’t appear in any of the other newsletters.