CIA spooks regularly review spy fiction for a classified in-house journal, rating John le Carré above American writers for his veracity, reports Jon Stock.
Crime master writer John le
Carré will make his debut at the Telegraph Hay Festival 2013 it was announced
this week Photo: Rex
Features
The novels of John le Carré, the British spy writer, have been given the
thumbs up by CIA officers, who use pseudonyms to review espionage books for
Studies in Intelligence, an
Agency in-house journal.
Le Carré is considered to portray the world of espionage far more accurately
than American writers, although his later books are criticised for their shrill
anti-US tone.
Writing in the introduction to a special reviews
edition of the journal, John McLaughlin says: "...what the public
sees and reads is with rare exception fantasy mixed with a few kernels of truth.
This is particularly true when it comes to American authors... We have not yet
produced an espionage novelist with the maturity and perfect pitch so frequently
found in the work of British masters such as John le Carré - although writers
such as Charles McCarry and David Ignatius are edging into that circle."
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, le Carré's 1963 novel, comes in for
special praise from Barry Royden, a former operations officer. "Le Carré's
description of intelligence operational life as seen through the eyes of a case
officer is well grounded," he writes. "I found particuarly insightful Leamus's
thoughts about 'living' the role of the defector...so that he didn't
inadvertently say or do something inconsistent with his cover story. This
equates very closely with the kind of training that we have seen necessary for
agents who will be directed to try to penetrate terrorist networks by feigning
dedication to their beliefs."
Le Carré's post 9/11 books are, however, criticised for containing
"increasingly shrill anti-Americanism". Reviewing the recent film of le Carré's
1974 novel, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,
Michael Bradford, a "National Clandestine Service Officer", and James Burridge,
an "independent contractor at the CIA", also don't believe that the movie will
help new recruits to the CIA.
"Except for intelligence professionals and le Carré aficionados, the film
version is almost incomprehensible," they write. "The Center for the Study of
Intelligence offers a lecture to new CIA hires and others on the portrayal of
CIA and the intelligence profession in popular culture. We don’t believe the
film version of Tinker, Tailor will make the cut for inclusion in the
session."
Another British writer, Patrick O'Brian, is singled out for creating a rival to James Bond. Writing about Stephen Maturin, one of the two main characters in O'Brian's epic Master and Commander series, CIA historian Nicholas Dujmovic says: Intelligence professionals of the 21st century, particularly those engaged in the counter-terrorism mission, could use an inspirational icon from the world of literature to replace the outdated figure of James Bond.
"It may come as a surprise that the best fictional figure to represent the kind of intelligence officer we need these days is a Catalan-Irish physician and naturalist serving the British Crown in the Royal Navy two centuries ago during the Napoloenic era."
Maturin is praised for being an expert at codes and secret writing, at breaking and entering and at "flaps and seals" work for opening envelopes and dispatches.
Anthony Horowitz's teenage British spy Alex Ryder is also praised for being a worthy successor to James Bond.
According to The Register, Studies in Intelligence scrutinises the work of real life spies, too. The journal includes a regular feature called The Intelligence Officer's Bookshelf, which carries reviews of non-fiction books about intelligence.
Another British writer, Patrick O'Brian, is singled out for creating a rival to James Bond. Writing about Stephen Maturin, one of the two main characters in O'Brian's epic Master and Commander series, CIA historian Nicholas Dujmovic says: Intelligence professionals of the 21st century, particularly those engaged in the counter-terrorism mission, could use an inspirational icon from the world of literature to replace the outdated figure of James Bond.
"It may come as a surprise that the best fictional figure to represent the kind of intelligence officer we need these days is a Catalan-Irish physician and naturalist serving the British Crown in the Royal Navy two centuries ago during the Napoloenic era."
Maturin is praised for being an expert at codes and secret writing, at breaking and entering and at "flaps and seals" work for opening envelopes and dispatches.
Anthony Horowitz's teenage British spy Alex Ryder is also praised for being a worthy successor to James Bond.
According to The Register, Studies in Intelligence scrutinises the work of real life spies, too. The journal includes a regular feature called The Intelligence Officer's Bookshelf, which carries reviews of non-fiction books about intelligence.
