.com Penzler Pick, March 2002: Robert Littell, long known as one of the best writers of fiction about the Cold War, is not as well known as John le Carr or the great Charles McCarry, but nevertheless has a devoted following among serious aficionados of the literary spy novel. His latest book, which runs close to 900 pages and covers the years 1950 to 1995, is an ambitious one that is destined to become the definitive novel about the CIA. The historical events of that crucial period are well known to most of us. The end of World War II and the division of Germany into sectors by the Allies laid the groundwork for the Cold War and the rise of the OSS, a wartime branch of the American government, into one of the most powerful tools of intelligence. The involvement of that agency in the defection of Burgess and MacLean from Britain to the Soviet Union; the Suez Canal crisis, which ended Britain's role as a superpower; the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the Cuban Missile Crisis; the arming of rebels in Afghanistan to repel the encroaching Soviet forces; the Gulf War--all are well documented here. All these events, which had such major consequences for our own history and that of the world, were well known to, organized by, or played out with the full cooperation of the CIA. These, as well as such minor events as defections on both sides, are the backdrop to this novel which stars a large cast of characters who we get to know as young men and women recruited while still in college. Their personal and public lives are followed as they rise through the ranks of the Company, and we know that one of them is a mole. We don't know who it is any more than the CIA does, and it will take years to unmask the traitor. In the meantime, we have become involved not only with Littell's fictional characters, but also with some of the real people who inhabited that world: William F. Buckley Jr., G. Gordon Liddy, William Casey--and we are privy to conversations in both the Kennedy and Reagan Oval Offices. We also know by the end of this exciting story that the fight is not always the good fight. Compromises are made, mistakes happen, and pragmatism wins out over idealism. We do not live in a perfect world, but it's the only one we have and it is that way because of the events in this book. Don't let its size deter you. This is nothing less than a stunning historical document. --Otto PenzlerFrom Publishers WeeklyThis impressive doorstopper of a book is like a family historical saga, except that the family is the American intelligence community. It has all the appropriate characters and tracks them over 40 years: a rogue uncle, the Sorcerer, a heavy-drinking chief of the Berlin office in the early Cold War days; a dashing hero, Jack McAuliffe, who ages gracefully and never loses his edge; a dastardly turncoat, who for the sake of the reader will not be identified here, but who dies nobly; a dark genius, the real-life James Jesus Angleton, who after the disclosure that an old buddy, British spy Kim Philby, had been a Russian agent all along, became a model of paranoia; a Russian exchange student who starts out with our heroes at Yale but then works for "the other side"; and endless assorted ladyfolk, wives, girlfriends and gutsy daughters who are not portrayed with anything like the gritty relish of the men. Littell, an old hand at the genre (he wrote the classic The Defection of A.J. Lewinter) keeps it all moving well, and there are convincing set pieces: the fall of Budapest, the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba and an eerily prescient episode in Afghanistan, in which a character obviously modeled on Osama bin Laden appears, accompanied by a sidekick whose duty is to slay him instantly if his capture by the West seems imminent. It's gung-ho, hard-drinking, table-turning fun, even if a little old-fashioned now that we have so many other problems to worry about than the Russians but it brings back vividly a time when they seemed a real threat. There are some breathtaking real-life moments with the Kennedy brothers, and with a bumbling Reagan, and with Vladimir Putin, now the leader of Russia, who is here given a background that is extremely shady. (Apr.)Forecast: The Afghanistan element will lend itself to handselling, but that will be only icing on the cake of Overlook's full-tilt publicity campaign, which will include national ad/promo, a TV/radio satellite tour and an author tour. Along with Littell's reputation among critics and spy-lit cognescenti, it should all add up to a breakout book with serious bestseller potential. And Overlook's planned reprinting in hardcover of all of Littell's work, beginning with The Defection of A.J. Lewinter, should keep Littell's name in readers' minds for years to come. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.From Library JournalFor readers enthralled by the phrase walking back the cat (also the title of one of Littell's previous thrillers), this hefty tome will be nirvana. Littell, whose spy thrillers have ensnared readers since 1973's The Defection of A.J. Lewinter, here turns his literary eye and rapier-sharp mind on the Central Intelligence Agency. Starting during the Berlin years in the deep freeze of the Cold War, Littell follows two generations of agents and administrators right up through the 1995 mole episode. He devotes one gut-wrenching segment to the CIA's efforts in Afghanistan in 1983, which will have heightened significance for today's readers. Using historic figures amplified by artfully drawn figments of his abundant imagination, Littell also dramatizes the internal feuds and cutbacks that left the CIA, already vulnerable on the moral knife edge of espionage, barely able to meet the challenges of a changing world. Gathering its power slowly, the novel accelerates as events become more and more familiar and current. This is a work of fiction, yet its scholarship and analysis are outstanding. Littell avoids the didactic in favor of wit, irony, and ambiguity. A sure winner for libraries of all types.- Barbara Conaty, Library of Congress Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. how do you write a book review for high school The Company: A Novel of the CIA
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy EricExcellent story about the early days of the CIA. different than the movie, especially the ending.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Better than the movieBy robertpri007Movie was good but the book is great! Now have to see the movie again.7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. A real spy story minus all the hollywood.By U2popTruth be told the world of the CIA is not glamorous, exiciting, or even rewarding. It's a dangerous world where you'll never get credit and nobody will say anything to you unless you screw up!"The Company" is actually quite an easy story: the true history of the CIA, interwoven with fictional characters, memorable plot twists, page-turning suspense, and a real spy adventure in your head. You'll be dreaming of KGB agents for many night to come......but put all of that aside for a moment. A good spy novel has to do a few things very well: 1. It must tell a good story without flakey plot twists and half-baked dialog. 2. It cannot drag and become boring, where turning the page is more about just getting to the good part. 3. Above all a good spy novel won't insult your inteligence! You know what I'm talking about! Plot lines, harrowing escapes, and leaps of imagination that seem more like an overblown hollywood production than a real novel.Enter "The Company", a truly remarkable, amazing, epic that will literally keep you reading from one page to the next. Like most spy enthusiasts I've read Le Carre, Forsyth, and the other greats but "The Company" surpasses them all - and I'll tell you why: the story and the characters are BELIEVEABLE. As a reader you're moved through a great narrative about the CIA, from its beginnings at Foggy Bottom to the tumultuous years just before 9/11. With fictional characters that you can really relate to, understand, sympathize, and believe, you are pulled through history.At 900 pages I'll admit it's daunting to look at, but you won't be able to put it down. You'll learn more about the CIA than you ever could imagined. By the end I think you'll be very satisfied and amazed at Robert Littell's enormous amount of research.If you've ever wandered about the CIA, its beginnings and its history, or just imagined yourself as a spy (like who hasn't!) you'll really enjoy this book. Even for the novices of the genre this book won't let you down.