A curious but compelling account by Count de Marenches, for 11 years (1970-81) the head of the French intelligence service, and Andelman, longtime Paris correspondent for The New York Times and CBS News. Though de Marenches claims that ``the Fourth World War has already begun''—a war, waged by ``small, highly deadly units of terrorists,'' that has ``the very real prospect of ending civilization, at least Western civilization, as we know it''- -there's very little information here to back this claim. Equally odd is his treatment of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, for he asserts that the Russians still harbor dreams of world domination and that conservative Communists have put aside billions of dollars to continue their secret war. As a memoir, however, the book contains a good deal of sage advice and some significant revelations. Among the latter are that, after de Marenches learned that the US was about to devalue the dollar in 1971, the Central Bank of France accumulated enormous profits by quietly selling dollars and buying francs; that French Intelligence carried out more than 40 operations along the lines of the Entebbe raid during de Marenches's tenure, including the overthrow of Emperor Bokassa of the Central African Empire; that during the 1970's, against the count's advice, terrorists operating out of French territory, even targeting its European allies, were not disturbed, provided that no operations took place in France; and that de Marenches sent secret emissaries to Rome to warn the Pope of hard intelligence that the Soviet leadership had decided to kill him, a warning that was dismissed out of hand. A mixed bag, but rewarding for its insider's discussion of French intelligence operations and for its friendly look at the deficiencies of American intelligence.
Pub Date: Sept. 18, 1992
ISBN: 0-688-09218-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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