SIRO

by David Ignatius ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1991

Ignatius, foreign editor of The Washington Post and author of Agents of Influence (1987), returns with another brainy thriller--this one about a grand old CIA man and his bright young protÉgÉs who make mischief for the Soviet Union as they revive nationalist hopes among the tribes of old Turkestan. It is 1979, the darkest days of the CIA, a time when thrifty Jimmy Carter still busily implements his plans for a more open, less complicated spy agency; the Russian empire is still a going concern; and nobody has even heard of Saddam Hussein. Anna Barnes, pretty and clever daughter of a career diplomat, has drifted from Harvard graduate school to the CIA, where her knowledge of the Ottoman Empire and fluency in various Middle Eastern languages bring her to the attention of Edward Stone, a charter member of the CIA hiding from the modern management reformers. Mr. Stone, instead of carrying out efficiency memos, has continued to think about ways to plague the Russians, whose imperial underpinnings he believes have been corroded by ancient nationalist sentiments and the new wave of Islamic fervor. He teams Anna with Alan Taylor, the cynical, smart agency chief in Istanbul, and together they work up a plot to make the ultra-suspicious Soviets believe that there is a growing and well-organized insurgency movement in the southern republics. Anna and Alan make a smashing pair, and their schemes seem to take nicely. But they are playing with real lives and real histories, and they are not only getting to the Russians--they have also come to the attention of their own superiors back at Langley. This is exceptionally good. The characters are wonderfully attractive and intelligent, the southwestern Asian shenanigans sadly believable. It's all very funny--and quite sad.

Pub Date: April 1, 1991

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: "Farrar, Straus & Giroux"

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1991

Categories: FICTION