AMERICAN PROMETHEUS: THE TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER by Kai Bird; Martin Sherwin

July 29, 2023szfreiberger Biography, Cold War Leave a comment

As American moviegoers obsess over two films, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” I decided to view substance over pure glitz, and I guess entertainment. On opening day, I went to see “Oppenheimer” and I was duly impressed with the acting, dialogue, and overall historical presentation. The film was based on Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin’s 2005 biography AMERICAN PROMETHEUS: THE TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER a book that stood tall on one of my bookcases for eighteen years – it was time to engage.

Kai Bird, a superb biographer with credits like THE CHAIRMAN, the life story of John J. McCloy, THE COLOR OF TRUTH, a dual biography of the McGeorge and William Bundy, and THE OUTLIER: THE UNFINISHED PRESIDENCY OF JIMMY CARTER tams with Martin Sherwin, who passed away in 2021 known for his seminal work on the atomic bomb in A WORLD DESTROYED: THE ATOMIC BOMB AND THE GRAND ALLIANCE in 1975 and updated in 2003, and GAMBLING WITH ARMAGEDDON: NUCLEAR ROULETTE FROM HIROSHIMA TO THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS in 2022. Both authors are known for their assiduous research, thoughtful analysis, and command of historical sources and other materials. Their joint effort supports that evaluation of their previous work and is certain to remain the most important study of Oppenheimer.

Katherine "Kitty" Oppenheimer (Images via Atomic Heritage Foundation, and LIFE Photo Collection/Google Arts and Culture)

(Kitty Oppenheimer, Peter, Toni, Robert)

Oppenheimer’s life is a dichotomy which the author’s describe as an irony of “a life devoted to social justice, rationality and science would become a metaphor for mass death beneath a mushroom cloud.” In tracing the evolution of Robert’s life we discover an individual who was raised in a household that stressed fairness and integrity, a commitment to scientific learning and progress, teaching the next generation, and a belief that what he had achieved by overseeing the development of the atomic bomb was necessary because of the aegis of war and realized that history had changed leading to taking the necessary steps by sharing the science to prevent a nuclear arms race. During Robert’s journey he became involved in left wing movements in the 1930s, particularly through speeches and donations involving republican forces in the Spanish Civil War, the unionization of teachers and professors at the University of California, Berkeley, and other causes which fostered the belief that he was a communist. But in reality, Oppenheimer was nothing more than a typical fellow-traveling New Deal progressive, even though J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI did not think so and would hound him well into the 1950s.

The author’s monograph is all encompassing. They provide insights into most aspects of his private life. Their “microscope” encompasses friendships, colleagues, family life – particularly his marriage to Kitty. They conclude that though they lacked parenting skills, suffered from personality defects they loved each other deeply and were mutually dependent. It was clear Robert was a polymath whose knowledge of science, literature, poetry, and music dominated his interests. Bird and Sherwin gather the most important aspects of Robert’s life in a well-written engrossing narrative interspersed with concrete analysis directed at the myths and inaccuracies that have been associated with his life. To begin, there was no evidence that Robert was a member of the Communist Party no matter how hard the US Army, Intelligence agencies, politicians, and those jealous of his work tried to prove it. He did associate with known communists, most importantly, Jean Tatlock, the love of his life who eventually committed suicide with whom he carried on long relationship even after he was married, and his brother Frank, also a physicist who was a party member who Robert would eventually bring to Los Alamos. For Robert, his support rested on social causes and what he considered right and membership in the party by friends and colleagues was not of primary importance.

(Niels Bohr)

Bird and Sherwin do a credible job laying out the leftist’s ideological currents of the 1930s focusing on Haakem Chevalier, a French literature professor at Berkeley who was a committed communist who was suspected of being a conduit for scientific information to the Russians because of his friendship with Robert. Chevalier and Tatlock were successful in moving Robert from theory to action when it came to social causes.

The names and beliefs of countless individuals associated with Robert come to the reader at a steady pace. A roster of the most important and brilliant physicists of the age appears. Most prominent was Neils Bohr, the Danish physicist who won the Nobel Prize in 1922 and was committed to an “open world” by sharing scientific discoveries to prevent future wars; the German scientist Werner Heisenberg who conducted atomic research for the Nazis; Ernest Lawrence, an American nuclear physicist who won a Noble prize in 1939; Isidor I. Rabi, another American physicist who won a Nobel Prize in 1944; Edward Teller who evolved into a jealous enemy of Oppenheimer and after the war pushed for a hydrogen bomb and replacing Los Alamos with Livermore under his leadership; among many other scientists. Apart from the scientific community the authors zero in on Robert’s relationship with General Leslie Groves who was in charge of the A-Bomb Project. The two men generally liked each other as they believed they could outmaneuver each other. Groves ruled by intimidation, Robert by his charismatic authority. Groves questioned Robert’s administrative experience and whether he was a security risk, but he soon came to realize that he was the best person to oversee the project.

(Edward Teller)

The Groves-Oppenheimer relationship was emblematic of the relationship between the Army and the scientists as the nuclear physicists believed that the military’s security protocols hindered their work. The Army bureaucracy was very suspicious of the leftists’ backgrounds of many of the scientists and it placed Robert and his colleagues under surveillance including illegal wiretaps throughout the period. Other important non-scientific personalities included Lt. Colonel Boris Pash who was in charge of security at Los Alamos and did not trust Robert, and Lt. Col. John Landsdale, Groves’ security aide who would come to accept Oppenheimer as a loyal American.

In relating their narrative, the authors integrate a great deal of dialogue taken from Robert’s papers, interviews, and other sources. It provides the reader with a certain intimacy with the characters and one can develop a very close relationship with Oppenheimer as you read on. In comparing the film to the book, it is obvious that a great deal of the actor’s dialogue and conversation comes directly from Bird and Sherwin’s research.

(Lewis Strauss)

A key theme that the authors develop is that once Robert is chosen as the director of a weapons laboratory he had to learn to integrate the diverse effort of the far-flung sites of the Manhattan Project and mold them into a usable atomic weapon. He would develop skills he did not yet possess, deal with problems he could not imagine, develop work habits entirely at odds with his previous lifestyle, and adjust to modes of behavior that were emotionally awkward and alien to his experience – Oppenheimer would remake a significant part of his personality, if not his intellect in a brief period of time to succeed. Once Robert realized that the Nazis were working on the bomb it became his mission to develop one for the United States first. Another theme that repeats throughout the book is that Robert’s statements, support for causes, association with colleagues would come back to haunt him after the war as the United states entered the McCarthy period of political paranoia when it came to communism.

To the author’s credit, there is no mathematics and little physics in the book which made it so readable. Bird and Sherwin concentrate on an intimate portrayal of Oppenheimer. As James Buchan wrote in his February 1, 2008, review of The Guardian; here, as it were, are the cocktails and wiretaps and love affairs of Oppenheimer’s existence, his looks and conversation, the way he smoked the cigarettes and pipe that killed him, his famous pork-pie hat and splayed walk, and all the tics and affectations that his students imitated, and the patriots and military men despised. It is as if these authors had gone back to James Boswell, who said of Dr Johnson: “Everything relative to so great a man is worth observing.”

Oppenheimer would become haunted by Hiroshima and came to believe that the Japanese were essentially defeated before the bomb was dropped. After the war as Director of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and as advisor to the new Atomic Energy Commission he tried to gain support for international control of nuclear weapons. He tried to convince President Truman to support his efforts, but Truman labeled him “a crybaby.” The military and Lewis Strauss, a former banker appointed by Truman to chair the Atomic Energy Commission hated Oppenheimer because of his opposition to plans to build a “super” or hydrogen bomb more powerful and lethal than anything developed previously.

(General Leslie Groves)

The section of the book that runs about 70 pages provides insights into the political atmosphere in Washington in the early 1950s. Strauss hated Oppenheimer for his suspected betrayals and his personality and in 1953 sought to revoke Robert’s security clearance. The April 1954 Gray Board Hearing, brilliantly portrayed in the film, reflects how a man can lose his head and be totally disgraced by Strauss and Hoover who were convinced Oppenheimer was about to defect to the Soviet Union. The authors are correct in pointing out that the persecution of Oppenheimer showed liberals that the rules of the national security game had changed. “Now, even if the issue was not espionage, even if one’s loyalty was unquestioned, challenging the wisdom of America’s reliance on a nuclear arsenal was dangerous. The Oppenheimer hearings thus represented a significant step in narrowing the public forum during the early cold war.” The authors are correct when they argue further that Stalin had no designs on Western Europe after the war and once he died there was an opportunity to engage the Russians in arms control talks and prevent a hydrogen bomb fueled nuclear arms race. However, the Eisenhower administration never tried to approach the Kremlin over arms limitation.

Bird and Sherwin worked on their account for almost thirty years analyzing Oppenheimer’s behavior from many vantage points. What emerges is a biography that aligns its subject’s most significant decisions with his early education and his ultimate undoing. The book succeeds in providing an understandable description of their subject even the paradoxical aspects of his personality. As an aside, the movie was well done, but it does not compare to the book. In closing it is clear that writing a biography that stresses the intellect of its subject, is an art form – these two gentlemen are masters!

CALHOUN: AMERICAN HERETIC by Robert Elder

July 20, 2023szfreiberger American cultural history, American Political History, American Social History, Biography Leave a comment

(John C. Calhoun)

Today we live in a country where white supremacism is on the rise, descendants of former slave’s demand reparations, state legislatures try to obstruct the teaching of black history, the College Board gives in to extremists who did not like the content of Advanced Placement African history classes, the Supreme Court ends affirmative action for colleges, and state’s rights advocates seem to have the floor. Three years short of our 250^th anniversary, the United States finds itself with a bifurcated population politically, economically, and socially over issues of race. The question is how did we get here, when did it originate, and who is responsible? Historian Robert Elder tries to provide some of the historical background in his recent biography of the former 19^th century South Carolina Senator, Vice President, and Secretary of State John C. Calhoun, in CALHOUN: AMERICAN HERETIC. Some might argue how a man who was so impactful in the first half of the 19^th century could still maintain such influence today. The answer offered by Elder is clear. Calhoun, a slave owner who argued that slavery was a positive good for America, furthered the doctrine of “state interposition” which for many became the legal argument for secession that led to the Civil War, and was the dominant spokesperson for the south, state’s rights, and the enslavement of blacks deserves a great deal of credit for setting the United States on the path it now finds itself confronting – a political climate that does not seem to have an exit ramp, with racial violence on the upswing.

(Henry Clay)

Elder’s monograph should be considered the definitive account of Calhoun’s life through the lens of a cultural and ideological biography. The account encompasses all facets of Calhoun’s life and covers the most notable events of the first half of the 19^th century. In doing so Elder traces the intellectual development of his subject very carefully. He pulls no punches as he outlines in detail how Calhoun went from a proponent of optimistic nationalism featuring what historians refer to as Henry Clay’s American system which consisted of internal improvements such as roads and canals linking the country’s economic development, a low tariff to promote trade, a National Bank, and the use of federal funds to assist the states to achieve his goals.

As the War of 1812 approached Calhoun justified his views of federal power over the states as a necessity because of the exigencies of war. Further his ideology was predicated on the concept of “honor,” particularly as it related to British impressment of American citizens. Throughout his career honor was foremost in his mind especially in debates with colleagues and those who opposed his beliefs. Elder has engaged in a prodigious amount of research that yields wonderful character studies of Calhoun’s contemporaries. An interesting example of his commitment to his personal honor belief system is the author’s description of his disagreements reflected in debates with Virginia’s House leader, John Randolph. Calhoun as his wont was to employ a carefully crafted barrage of logic that demolished his opponent, raising points with surgical precision one after the other. It was Calhoun’s strength of debate and putting pen to paper that allowed him to be the equal among the great figures of the period, like Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, among others.

The head and shoulders of a man with light skin and gray hair nearly fills this vertical portrait painting. Shown against a peanut-brown background, the man’s shoulders are angled to our left, and he looks off to our right with blue eyes. His gray hair curls around his forehead and over his ears. His bushy gray eyebrows gather over a furrowed brow, and sideburns grow down past his earlobes. His long, straight, slightly hooked nose and high cheekbones are set into his long, oval-shaped face. His pink lips are closed over a rounded chin, which is framed by vertical wrinkles. The white edge of a collar peeks above the high neck of a velvety black garment with wide lapels. The area beneath the man’s shoulders is a dark ivory color, perhaps indicating that this painting is unfinished.

(President Andrew Jackson)

However, by the late 1820s he argued that the tariff of 1828 was unconstitutional. His solution, referred to as the South Carolina Exposition and Protest, argued the concept of “nullification” whereby the states had the right to declare federal actions as “null and void.” His viewpoint was clear as the Tariff of 1816 was designed to provide revenue, not to encourage manufacturing. The 1828 version was not a revenue measure. At this point Calhoun was not calling for disunion, as Elder argues he was trying to find a way to preserve the structure of the Union consistent with the principle that power resided in the people, although the people of states.” Calhoun would work creatively to find solutions for problems that arose within the system.

Calhoun was always a fervent defender of slavery though his justifications were part of an evolutionary process. He always argued that treating slaves as property gave masters a financial interest in their well-being. Calhoun was very wary of the British who ended the transatlantic slave trade in 1807 and ended slavery at home in 1833. His concern rested on his fear that London would undermine slavery as the United States expanded and their machinations throughout the western hemisphere. He would consistently point out British hypocrisy especially its rule of India and of course with his Irish lineage his dislike of England was predictable.

Calhoun’s mindset could be very convoluted as he saw no connection between European feudalism with its lords and vassals and southern slaveholding society. For Calhoun slavery was a “positive good” as Africans achieved a degree of civilization they had never previously attained. Further, he argued that slaves were treated better than European laborers who existed among the poor houses of Europe. Slavery created a stable society unlike the labor unrest in the north. Finally, he stated slavery was “an institution uniquely suited – morally, economically, politically – to the conditions of the modern world.” A believer in English philosopher, Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarianism, the greatest good for the greatest number, slavery fit perfectly as black inferiority and lack of progress were self-evident. Calhoun could compromise at times (see the Missouri Compromise of 1820 or the Compromise of 1850), however, when he believed southern rights centering on slavery were threatened he would draw the line.

(Daniel Webster)

Elder is correct when he argues that the second watershed in Calhoun’s development apart from 1828 occurred in 1836 as he finally came to reject Jeffersonian principles he once espoused. First was conflict with Andrew Jackson who created “Pet Banks” that his administration could fund instead of a National Bank – this would foster the Panic of 1837, the worst depression in US history to that point as cotton prices were hit hard. Further, the election of Martin Van Buren in 1836 reinforced Calhoun’s fears of hereditary monarchy. The result Calhoun’s views of state’s rights solidified resulting in his vehement support for slavery. These views were further exacerbated with the Texas annexation crisis, the Mexican War, and northern attempts to block or limit any expansion of slavery into territories acquired from the war. For Calhoun legislation like the Wilmot Proviso which would not allow slavery in any territory obtained from Mexico pushed Calhoun over the edge arguing that if this went into effect disunion could only result.

(Floride Calhoun, wife of John C. Calhoun)

Elder’s portrayal is of a brilliant man driven by intensity and unrelenting ambition. He believed that “Providence had placed him” on earth to complete his duty for his country. Elder strongly suggests that as Calhoun’s political career evolved his moods began to darken as does his belief system. Elder states he could be “noble, stubborn, suicidal or delusional,” all of which is supported by Calhoun’s own writings, speeches, political activity, and interaction with his contemporaries. Had Calhoun simply argued that slavery was a necessary evil whose abolishment would mean disaster for the south instead of arguing in a very tortuous manner that it was a moral good, economically sound, and made the south more democratic, he might be viewed more positively by history. However, his makeup would not allow this, and his defense of white racism, treatment of his slaves, and stubbornness are responsible for his reputation.

In Elder’s telling, Calhoun loved his country and his region, and despite his flaws his impact on American history cannot be denied. Elder’s work is one of objectivity that is well supported by the documentary evidence and should remain the most important biography of Calhoun for many years to come.

(John C. Calhoun)

THE LEOPARD by Jo Nesbo

July 7, 2023szfreiberger Crime, Mystery/Thrillers Leave a comment

Close up big leopard isolated on black background Close up beautiful big leopard isolated on black background Leopard Stock Photo

A few days ago, I emerged from the roller coaster of highs and lows engendered by Jo Nesbo’s Nordic crime thriller, THE SNOWMAN. After contemplating my next read I decided to continue the Harry Hole saga in the sequel, THE LEOPARD. As I began reading I realized that I had returned to the roller coaster as Nesbo opens his novel with the strange death of Borgny Stem-Myhre who woke up from being sedated and realized she had a large metal ball with ridges in her mouth. Warned not to pull the string attached to the ball, she did so anyway resulting in her death as she drowned in her own blood.

This is not an auspicious beginning as it produces a criminal case or cases that reflect a number of deaths, a sadistic psychotic killer, criminal justice politics, and a world-wide chase to end the murder spree. Nebo’s title, THE LEOPARD refers to the stealthy tread of the killer in the book, but its literal meaning is an “armoured heart,” which refers to what Harry Hole learns from his experiences.

Uganda, 2016: Uganda villagers work in gold mines under primitive conditions. Editorial Stock Photo

(Mining in the Congo)

The novel periodically crosses over to aspects of THE SNOWMAN as Hole remains in love with Rakel and her son Oleg, which prevents him from falling in love with a colleague. He also visits the Snowman in prison who provides the necessary insights to assist Hole in solving the murder cases. At the outset Hole, having not recovered from the brutality of his previous case, has left Oslo and was living in squalor in Hong Kong addicted to opium and his alcohol issues reemerged. He had borrowed money from Hermann Kluit, a rather unsavory character, to bet on the horses and once he becomes deep in debt, his loans are sold to the TRIAD who are after Hole. The new murders bring Kaja Solness, a new Crime Squad officer to Hong Kong at the behest of Hole’s former boss, Gunnar Hagen. At first Hole does not want to return, but once he learns his father is dying he becomes more accommodating, in addition to his issues with a Chinese crime syndicate.

Unlike other renditions of the Hole series the present one takes place in areas outside Norway; including the Congo, Rwanda, and Hong Kong. Nesbo’s inclusion of African states allows him to integrate the abuse of indigenous mining interests and the horrible plight of boys who are captured by guerilla commanders who kill their families and enslave them as “soldiers” to carry out their bidding.

Map of Hong Kong's main areas. © China Discovery https://www.chinadiscovery.com/hongkong-tours/maps.html

A key element to the plot is the nasty competition between the Crime Squad and Kripo as to who has jurisdiction over murder cases. Kripo Inspector Mikael Bellman hopes to squeeze out the Crime Squad through a series of underhanded and dangerous maneuvers and place himself in charge of all murder investigations. By manipulating Hole’s drug issues, Bellman tries to use the Crime Squad detective through blackmail. Bellman is a new character that Nesbo develops who cheats on his wife repeatedly, employs questionable investigative techniques, and bullies’ subordinates into doing his work. He sidekick Truls Berntsen, nicknamed Beavis (as in Beavis and Buthead) a friend since childhood carries out acts of violence to gain acquiescence for whatever schemes Bellman is involved in.

Most of Nesbo’s characters carry a great deal of baggage, none more so than Hole. Our noir hero is an alcoholic, uncompromising, anti-authority figure , whose personal hygiene habits are not to be admired. Further, he tends to suffer from melancholy, intuition, deeply felt emotions, and a propensity toward unconventional approaches to crime, particularly serial killers.

Kaja Solness emerges as a very important character as at first she becomes Hole’s partner, Bellman’s lover, and eventually falls for Hole. She replaces Katrine Bratt as Hole’s partner, but Bratt who is still recovering from her experiences with the Snowman has evolved into Hole’s computer expert and becomes a valuable asset in solving the murders.

As is the case in Nesbo’s other novels, the reader will come to a part of the story and have a sigh of relief as it appears that the case is about to be solved. This occurs a number of times with a series of characters, then lo and behold there is more work to be done. A character who stands out is Tony Leike, a minor celebrity who had been a mercenary in South Africa who lives life on the edge and is in the midst of developing a mining source in the Congo and stands to make a fortune by marrying into a rich Norwegian family, the Galtung’s, to a woman he does not care for.

Compared to his other novels, THE LEOPARD feels a bit too drawn out as certain details that some might consider interesting could have been left out. However, Hole overrides that concern as he continues to employ his unorthodox methods to solve a case where murders seem to multiply as the killer must get rid of any possible witness to what transpires at a cabin in northeastern Norway. Nesbo creates imaginative ways for the murderer to lure his victims and in the end Hole will be targeted. The key murder weapon is something referred to as “Leopold’s Apple,” a reference to Belgium’s 19^th century imperialist King Leopold. The item is shaped like an apple which “consisted of springs and needles using a ball containing a special alloy, coltan” and the balls are placed in the victim’s mouths to be set off by a string.

No one could deny Nesbo’s creativity in constructing the novel. Whether it is the characters who range from psychopaths, dying fathers, love interests and affairs, and the construction of murder scenes, Nesbo exhibits quite an inventive mind, For example, “The new serial killer is targeting people whose only connection is that for one night they met in a ski lodge. Their deaths are notably gruesome: Two women succumb to the torture instrument, a third is hanged and is so obese that her body separates from her head, and a young man is stuck to his bathtub by Super Glue and left to drown as the water rises.”*

Nesbo is a master at intensifying tension and drama which are key ingredients to any good crime thriller as he moves the goalposts repeatedly outpacing the reader’s ability to guess what will occur next. The novel is an enjoyable ride, and I would recommend that you take part!

*Patrick Anderson. “Jo Nesbo’s THE LEOPARD, a new novel about Oslo detective Harry Hole, Washington Post, December 19, 2011.

Focused

THE SNOWMAN by Jo Nesbo

June 29, 2023szfreiberger Mystery/Thrillers Leave a comment

(Oslo, Norway)

Roller coasters are a very popular ride for children and adults. Your heart rises and sinks according to the direction, angle, and speed of the car that you are in. This experience is the only way to describe Jo Nesbo’s seventh iteration of his Harry Hole series. Nesbo is a prolific writer of crime thrillers as the Hole series has thirteen books to its credit. Each is unique in the case it confronts, and each is equally satisfying as is the case of THE SNOWMAN. Since the death of Stieg Larson and the retirement of Henning Mankell critics have argued who should be considered the best Nordic writer of crime fiction. I am not an expert on the genre, but I do enjoy it and for my two cents worth I bestow the crown equally on Lars Kepler and Jo Nesbo. Both add to their work every year or two and I look forward to their plot lines. In the present case Nesbo takes the reader on an uncommon journey as he has created a story in which the reader believes that he has solved the crime, but as is usually the case, Nesbo completely shifts his focus from one possible perp to another…..repeatedly!

The novel has an inauspicious beginning in November 1980 as Sara Kvinesland is having sex with her lover during a snowy afternoon while her son waits in the car. The affair is about to end when her lover looks out the window and sees a snowman. This is just the inkling of what is to come as a number of women with children, disappear some never to be found, some with body parts discovered.

Portrait of nice, smiling snowman with green scarf in winter. Portrait of very nice, smiling snowman with green scarf in winter on the lake background. Positive mood. Adult Stock Photo

Nesbo creates a number of new characters, one of which plays a significant role in the story. Katrina Bratt, a beautiful young officer joins the Oslo Police Department Crime Squad and is assigned to Harry Hole an Inspector on the Crime Squad, the first time he has ever had a woman as a partner. Hole as he projected in previous novels remains a troubled individual, fighting his battle with alcoholism, and the end of his relationship with his lover, Rakel Fauke who informs him that she is about to marry a physician and would soon depart for Botswana to assist in the fight against the AIDS epidemic. Hole is devastated and as they keep having trysts he continues to hold out hope.

As the novel evolves in 2004 a series of murders take place, and it is obvious a serial killer is responsible. Since Hole is the only one on the Crime Squad who has solved a serial case, years before in Australia he is assigned to lead the investigation. He sets up a team of four and they soon learn that a 1994 cold case is similar to these murders. The officer in charge at that time was Inspector Gert Rafto who seemed to be the perfect candidate for murder because of his reputation and action over the years on the force. We soon return to 2004 and along with several women, Rafto turns up dead.

Nesbo has set the scene and the investigation moves quickly but as each suspect seems to be the killer, evidence emerges that is not the case. Nesbo has constructed a plot that will leave the reader’s head spinning as Nesbo shifts the plotline to areas that seem unimaginable. Hole has taken a shine to Bratt, but he does not pursue it as he sees it as only a means to deal with his lost love. Hole’s approach to the investigation is rather unorthodox. For example, when the police announce they have captured the killer, Hole goes on a popular television program and announces the suspect is not the killer who remains at large. The Chief Superintendent is apoplectic as the department looks rather foolish.

(Jo Nesbo, author)

Nesbo provides plenty of atmosphere through Hole’s commentary. One will acquire a sense of life in Oslo; this is one of the achievements of the book. Another is the use of language. Nesbo has a fine sense of detail and how to make certain details significant, and others, less so. In fact, Nesbo is something of a magician, performing one sleight after the next with icy calm as the plot keeps shifting. The killer is referred to as the Snowman because the killer builds a snowman in front or near the homes of his intended victims. The real snowmen face inward, toward the house. And occasionally, part of a snowman is replaced with a human part or a carrot!

Nesbo introduces a number of fascinating characters in addition to Bratt. Arve Stop was a piece of work who was obsessed with sex and beautiful women. He was the editor and owner of the Liberal, an important Norwegian magazine who had a reputation for speaking up for the downtrodden. Hole uncovers an interesting paternity history in dealing with Stop and he is out to prove he is the killer. Nesbo describes the lives of the victims carefully as he does with all his characters including Gunnar Hagen, the Head of the Crime Squad, Magnus Skarre, a member of the missing person’s unit, Dr. Matthias Lund-Helgesen, who was to marry Hole’s ex., Dr. Idar Vettlesen, a plastic surgeon, and others who have worked with Hole previously.

There are a number of creepy scenes in the book as Nesbo takes the reader on a tour of Oslo in neighborhoods that are rather seedy as well as those that are upscale. The creepiness goes further as Hole believes that; “I just have the feeling that someone is watching me the whole time, that someone is watching me now. I’m part of someone’s plan.” This does not stop Hole from applying his years of experience and methods to try and solve the case despite obstacles placed in his way by higher ups and a series of suspects.

In reviewing Nesbo’s work one must be careful as to how much information about the plot is put forward as you do not want to give away the ending. In this case the reader will be shocked on numerous occasions and will be quite surprised with Nesbo’s conclusion – which of course makes him a superb practitioner of the Nordic crime thriller as his edgy story will attest to. It is a story that would make Alfred Hitchcock proud!

(Oslo, Norway)

ELIE WIESEL: CONFRONTING THE SILENCE by Joseph Berger

June 21, 2023szfreiberger Holocaust, Intellectual History Leave a comment

(Elie Wiesel)

Before I turn to my review of Joseph Berger’s latest work, ELIE WIESEL: CONFRONTING THE SILENCE I must put forth a disclaimer concerning the subject. First, my father’s side of the family lived north of Krakow, Poland before World War II about two hours from Auschwitz. Some were fortunate and left before the war and went to Palestine, France, and the United States. The majority did not and perished in the gas chambers. This has always brought me to an uncomfortable place having been educated in an orthodox Yeshiva in Brooklyn and grown up with children of survivors. Where was God? How could he allow his people to be slaughtered? Why didn’t he answer their prayers? After the Holocaust how could I remain a believer? In the 1970s I turned to the works of Elie Wiesel, beginning with NIGHT and continuing through most of his novels and his memoirs as they were published availing myself of the opportunity to be exposed to Wiesel’s wisdom, commentary on the horrors of the Holocaust, elements of Hasidic mysticism, Biblical portraits and other subject matter and came away with a deeper understanding of my emotions and values from a voice that was like no other. I sought answers, but to be honest on an intellectual level I remain in a quandary as to my belief system.

I consider myself very fortunate to have witnessed remarks by Wiesel in person two times during his quest to educate the American public on the dangers of racism, antisemitism, and the plight of refugees and persecuted people worldwide. First, at the Washington Hebrew Congregation in 1978, and later in 2008 at Boston University. After a twenty year gap in listening to Wiesel in public it appeared the man who the Nobel Prize Committee referred to as “a messenger to mankind,” had grown more pessimistic about the future.

Prewar view of the Transylvanian town of Sighet.

(Main square in the village of Sighet, Romania before WWII)

Berger has written a powerful biography of Wiesel exploring his tortuous experiences as a victim of the Nazi Final Solution. He delves deep into a myriad of topics within the larger scope of Wiesel’s life story and intellectual journey integrating excerpts of his memoirs, novels, works of non-fiction, speeches, articles, teaching, and countless interviews from his boyhood in Sighet, Romania to evolving into the messenger or conscience of the Holocaust. The volume is not a traditional biography as once Wiesel is liberated from Buchenwald and makes his way to France the sense of chronology largely disappears, and Berger presents a series of chapters which in part can stand alone as separate essays. The volume includes important experiences apart from Auschwitz and Buchenwald to include becoming the voice of Soviet Jewry; his involvement and key role in the creation of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, taking “Hollywood” to task for its representation of the Holocaust; confronting the Reagan administration over its visit to the Bitburg cemetery where 49 members of the SS were buried, his work championing the plight of refugees, speaking out against apartheid; the plight of the Cambodian and Vietnamese people; and indigenous people in Central America; his approach to the academic classroom and teaching; and being awarded the Nobel Prize.

Berger’s work is more of an intellectual journey that Wiesel has undertaken his entire life. He has authored a penetrating portrait which focuses on a “frail, soft-spoken writer from a village in the Carpathian Mountains” who “became such an influential presence on the world stage.” Wiesel’s writing forms the back story for themes, arguments, and inner conflict as he tries to understand God’s role in the Holocaust, anger at the allies for doing nothing in terms of refugees and bombing the camps, along with his personal struggles to come to terms with what has happened to his family and the Jewish people. What comes across is a man who pulls no punches in educating all, including American presidents, Soviet government officials over its Babi Yar Memorial and refusal to allow Jews to emigrate, Hollywood moguls for its film representation of the Holocaust, his co-religionists, leaders of other faiths and almost anyone who he came in contact with.

Elie Wiesel (right) with his wife and son during the Faith in Humankind conference, held before the opening of the USHMM, on September 18–19, 1984, in Washington, DC.

(Elie Wiesel (right) with his wife and son during the Faith in Humankind conference, held several years before the opening of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. September 18–19, 1984, in Washington, DC.)

Berger presents Wiesel’s honesty based on a deeply emotional and evocative intellect which is present for all to see and cherish. Many of Wiesel’s feelings stand out that he dealt with his entire life; from his anger at his father’s naivete in remaining in their Romanian village, and wrestling with his relationship to God concluding, “I have never renounced my faith in God. I have risen against His justice protested His silence, and sometimes His absence, but my anger rises up within faith and not outside it,” to a life-long bitterness at western allies for their lack of action to assist victims of the Holocaust during the war.

Berger presents numerous poignant scenes particularly how the son became the father of the in the camps as Elie tried to avoid death, or Wiesel’s own relationship with his son Elisha. Further, Wiesel’s issues with the fledgling Israeli government in the late 1940s and their negative attitude toward Holocaust survivors, his frustration with the publishing world over accepting NIGHT for publication as they argued that there was no market for the Holocaust after the war, and lecturing President Jimmy Carter about aspects of faith and how it related to survivors.

At times Berger is able to unmask the lyrical nature of Wiesel’s writing particularly when speaking of visiting a Moscow Synagogue while pressuring the Kremlin over its treatment of Jews. His book, JEWS OF SILENCE went a long way in obtaining the emigration of over 250,000 Soviet Jews in the 1970s. Another event that catapulted Wiesel on the world stage was the Six Day War and the resulting Israeli victory which created a new Jewish self-concept and a proliferation of new histories, novels, and films dealing with the Holocaust. It is at this time that Wiesel began to acquire the role of spokesman for his brethren. Applying his Talmudic education, his knowledge of Hasidic mysticism, and his biblical knowledge he was perfect for the task.

(President Bill Clinton (center), Elie Wiesel (right), and Harvey Meyerhoff (left) light the eternal flame outside on the Eisenhower Plaza during the dedication ceremony of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. April 22, 1993)

Perhaps one of the most important questions people have asked Wiesel concerns his writing. When asked, Why do I write? He responds, “Perhaps in order not to go mad. Or, on the contrary, to touch the bottom of madness….Not to transmit an experience is to betray it. I owe them [the dead] my roots and my memory. I am duty-bound to serve as their emissary, transmitting the history of their disappearance, even if it disturbs, even if it brings pain. Not to do so would be to betray them, and thus myself….To wrench those victims from oblivion. To help the dead vanquish death.”

Berger’s perceptive biography presents the humanity of Wiesel as he hid a lifetime of suicidal bouts, depression, agonizing cries tinged with haunted memories of the evisceration of his home village. Miraculously, Wiesel was able to overcome these issues with the help of his wife, Marion, who was a partner in his work to educate the world and create as Diane Cole writes in her recent Wall Street Journal review of Berger’s work, “a legacy that compels us to bear witness in his absence and continue to confront the silence.”

THE HOUSE OF SPECIAL PURPOSE by John Boyne

June 17, 2023szfreiberger Historical Fiction Leave a comment

(The Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia)

All novelists who engage in historical fiction must develop their subject matter by conducting the necessary research, creating a cogent and believable story, and presenting it in a well written and engaging manner. This criteria has been easily met in John Boyne’s THE HOUSE OF SPECIAL PURPOSE as the author has chosen a well known topic that has already produced hundreds of historical monographs and works of fiction. What sets Boyne’s effort apart from others is a fascinating storyline and wonderful characters integrated with historical events. Some might refer to the work as Nicholas and Alexandra Volume II and criticize it for stretching the genre of historical fiction. However, the point is that it is fiction, and well done fiction as the author has accomplished in previous novels such as THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS and THE HEART’S INVISIBLE FURIES.

The novel encompasses the period from World War I through 1981 witnessing the Russian Revolution, the reign of Joseph Stalin, World War II, to a time when cracks in the Soviet edifice begin to appear. Boyne organizes the novel around the life of Daniil Vladyavich Jachmenev (Georgy) who we first meet in his eighties as he looks back on a lifetime where he experienced the usual range of aches, pains, and failures, highlighted by his devotion to his wife, Zoya who is dying of cancer but had a rich marriage undaunted by the many hardships and tragedies they endured. The book is organized as a double narrative as Boyne begins in 1981 as Georgy visits the British Museum library where he worked for decades and provided him with a sense of security and a life of books that began when Tsar Nicholas II allowed him access to the Romanov library. From that point we turn to 1915 and the deteriorating situation in Russia and alternating historical periods that will come together in an interesting, somewhat implausible conclusion.

File:Nicholas-and-Alexandra-the-romanovs-12206241-581-725.jpg

(Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra)

Georgy’s amazing life carries him from a small village in Kashin, Russia to St. Petersburg and the Winter Palace as he is appointed the guardian of the Tsarevitch, Alexei after achieving heroic status by inadvertently stopping a bullet meant for the Tsar’s uncle and commander of Russian forces during WWI. He will develop a relationship with one of the royal daughters as he is ensconced in the royal palaces with the Romanov family. Boyne maintains his pace as he shifts the locus of the story to London during the German air blitz where he works at the British Museum library and lives with his wife, Zoya, and daughter Arina.

Boyne possesses an excellent command of world history as he weaves major events and characters throughout the novel. The author presents insightful historical and personal observations especially dealing with the hypocrisy of Romanov rule during WWI as the Russian upper class maintains their lifestyle as the situation on the war front rapidly deteriorates. Boyne does an exceptional job creating dialogue which he invents but seems real, i.e.; conversations between Nicholas II and Georgy, and conversations between Rasputin and Georgy.

(Rasputin)

Georgy and Zoya are forced to escape the Bolsheviks in the early 1920s beginning a lifelong desire to return to St. Petersburg, a wish that seems would never be unfulfilled. These feelings are among the many poignant experiences depicted throughout the novel. Among these include certain characters like Rachel Anderson, a lonely English woman who becomes a surrogate grandmother to Arina, earlier as Georgy develops a relationship with Anastasia, a royal daughter, or how Georgy treats Zoya who suffers from a deep depression for most of their marriage. Boyne is a wonderful storyteller and creator of numerous characters. One who stands out is Mr. Tweed or perhaps his name is Mr. Jones who works for the British War Office during WWII who recruits Georgy as a translator. Throughout the novel Georgy and Zoya consider themselves refugees despite the fact they spent five years in Paris and over twenty in London. They had to cope with suspicious neighbors, co-workers and others on a daily basis because of their accents. This led to an insular life as they tried to remain isolated from the larger society, which was difficult, particularly hiding in the Underground tunnels which served as a shelter from German bombing during WWII.

(Nicholas II and his wife, Empress Aleksandra (far right), with their four daughters and son. The tsar was forced to abdicate in 1917 and he and his family were shot and stabbed to death by Bolshevik troops, in 1918, before their bodies were doused in acid and dumped into a mine shaft.)

Boyne expertly conveys the mood of his characters throughout be it the Russian Imperial family during WWI, Georgy and Zoya who constantly fear being identified and captured by the Bolsheviks, and how they react when their daughter is killed in a car accident and the driver responsible tries to apologize.

Many important historical characters play a major role in the novel including the mad monk, Rasputin; the hated German princess, Alexandra, the Tsarina of Russia; Nicholas II, Tsar of Russia; and even Winston Churchill and Vladimir Lenin will make appearances. Georgy’s role in events involving these characters is presented seamlessly applying the memories of Georgy and Zoya.

The expanse of the novel is intriguing as Boyne carries the reader from place to place through diverse historical periods. The ending of the novel is a bit far fetched, as are many scenes in the book, however, it remains a wonderful fictional rendition of history. Despite this the reader is left with high quality fiction, and a spellbinding, passionate story as he brings a fresh eye to important historical events and characters. I highly recommend Boyne’s work and I expect to enjoy many of his other historical efforts especially his latest, ALL THE BROKEN PLACES.

(The Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia)

A FEVER IN THE HEARTLAND: THE KLU KLUX KLAN’S PLOT TO TAKE OVER AMERICA, AND THE WOMAN WHO STOPPED THEM by Timothy Egan

June 6, 2023June 6, 2023szfreiberger American cultural history, American Political History, American Social History Leave a comment

( David C. Stephenson)

Today, we live in an America beset by racist groups who over the last decade seem to have been accepted by a significant element of society. The anti-Semitic murders at a Pittsburgh synagogue and the murder of George Floyd are just two examples in a world where white supremacists and extremists engage in attacks against Jews, Blacks, Muslims, the LGBT community, Asians, and Hispanics seemingly on a daily basis. If that was not bad enough, according to the Anti-Defamation League, the ACLU, and other civil rights organizations violence against minorities is on the rise along with malevolent threats against what racists see as “the other” in our society, while many politicians, including an ex-president grant these groups legitimacy through their public support and commentary. For some this period is an aberration in our history, however, the historical record does not support that conclusion.

One of the more interesting historical examples is the 1920s – the Jazz Age, a period which witnessed the height of a uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Their region of support was not the south, but the heartland and the west. They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics, and immigrants and would do anything to block these groups from entering the United States and achieving the American dream. The group was led by a charismatic charlatan named D. C. Stephenson. This era with its focus on the KKK and its “Grand Dragon” is the subject of Timothy Egan’s latest book, A FEVER IN THE HEARTLAND: THE KLU KLUX KLAN’S PLOT TO TAKE OVER AMERICA, AND THE WOMAN WHO STOPPED THEM. Egan, a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award Winner has written a number of excellent monographs including, THE WORST HARD TIME describing the depression and THE IMMORTAL IRISHMAN which deals with the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s. In his latest work he has produced a riveting historical thriller which deals with one of the darkest periods in American history. The period under discussion is highlighted by a cunning con man and his supporters and the woman who stopped them. The narrative evokes deep emotions as it reflects a deeper concern that we are now inside an even more dangerous period of racial hatred and violence.

(Wesley Hiram Evans)

Egan immediately lays out the problem in his introduction as in the 1920s the KKK controlled three state governorships including Indiana which Stephenson ruled as an autocrat, and a number of mayor’s offices nationwide. In addition, the KKK had its own 30,000 man legally deputized police force, and the state of Indiana passed the world’s first eugenic sterilization law, something that Adolf Hitler noticed and studied. In the South whites wiped out Black voting rights and imposed Jim Crow laws absolving government from supporting equal rights and was supported by a Supreme Court with only one justice dissenting. Lastly, the KKK claimed fifteen US senators and 75 House members to impact Congress.

As in all of Egan’s works A FEVER IN THE HEARTLAND is deeply researched and reflects the author’s command of the material. From the outset Egan argues that the KKK problem began at the conclusion of the Civil War with its foundation in Tennessee under the leadership of the defeated Confederate general, Nathan Bedford Forrest who unleashed a reign of terror throughout the south after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the accession of Andrew Johnson to the presidency who was an out and out racist. Lynchings, murders, violence rampaged throughout the south until General Ulysses S. Grant assumed the presidency and by 1872 he had crushed the Klan and Forrest disbanded it.

The Klan would rise again with a slightly different agenda beginning in 1921 sending recruiters throughout the Midwest providing employment for D. C. Stephenson was living in the segregated city of Evansville, IN with the hope of expanding the organization in the north. Stephenson would soon move on to Indianapolis, a city Egan describes along with other midwestern cities and states as having become racially unhinged following WWI. People were fed racist lies and religious bigotry with no basis in fact by the Klan under the leadership of Stephenson, who Egan describes as a “drunk and a fraud, a bootlegger and a blackmailer,” a rapist and a man prone to lies, violence, using bribery to achieve his aims. He left a family behind in rags and distress who he refused to support.

(Madge Oberholtzer)

Egan explores Stephenson’s life and beliefs in detail and concludes he was nothing more than a huckster who traded in racial theories that were demeaning and dangerous. He would help reconstruct the KKK in part as a business investment that eventually would make him a millionaire. Egan lays out Stephenson’s strategy and the resulting machinations which would allow him to take over the state of Indiana leading to his view that “I am the law” which he would use as a basis for his actions. He would help spread KKK doctrine to Texas, Colorado, Ohio, and Pennsylvania as his ultimate goal was to use the Klan as a vehicle to take over the federal government and gain the presidency. Egan carefully develops the theme that racial hatred was not a southern phenomenon, but a northern one as membership in the Klan in the Midwest was rapidly expanding throughout the early 1920s. This expansion was due to the Klan’s rejection of modernism and a belief the world was spinning too fast and the threat of the “other,” southern European, Russian, and Italian immigrants who were mostly Jews and Catholics were a threat to what they viewed as the traditional American way of life.

(President Calvin Coolidge)

Aside from Stephenson there are a number of important historical figures that Egan introduces. Henry Ford, the catalyst for the rise in anti-Semitism through his newspaper the Dearborn Independent which had a circulation of over one million and the use of his wealth. Patrick O’Donnell, bravely stood against the Klan using his newspaper, Tolerance to spread the truth about their beliefs and the danger they presented. Hiram Wesley Evans, former Imperial Wizard who eventually shared leadership of the Klan with Stephenson and later had a falling out with him. Daisy Douglas Barr, a Quaker preacher who held a broad vision of White Supremacy and worked to develop a role for women in the Klan. President Calvin Coolidge who did nothing to offset the Klan’s popularity and used it for his personal political benefit. Governor Edwin Jackson and Senator James Watson both from Indiana owed their political success to Stephenson.

Egan’s narrative is in two parts. First he developed the strategies and actions of the Klan from 1920-1925. The author drills deeply into Klan ideology and the personalities that spread their beliefs. He points to numerous historical examples from the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, the acceptance of eugenics as science to justify Klan actions, Klan control of state legislatures to implement their programs, events designed to attract more members and reinforce their beliefs and goals, and the lack of response by state and federal officials to the violence against Blacks, Jews, Catholics, and immigrants. Egan will then shift his story to that of the events of March 1925 and introduce a series of new characters, the most important of which is Madge Oberholtzer, the manager of the Indiana Young People’s Reading Circle, a special section of the Indiana Department of Public Instruction. When she heard rumors that her job and program were about to be eliminated because of budget cuts she turned to Stephenson who she felt had the political power to assist her. Stephenson would take a shine to her which in the end resulted in a brutal rape and the death of Oberholtzer.

Egan explores the events that led to Oberholtzer’s rape and murder and the trial that followed. He introduces Asa Smith, Oberholtzer’s lawyer, and Will Remy, an unassuming prosecutor for Marion County, IN, both of whom wanted to destroy Stephenson and cut the Klan down to size. Egan’s descriptions are disturbing because of the violence involved and the political system that Stephenson sought to manipulate to obtain his acquittal at a time when there were between two and five million Klan members nationwide.

(Prosecutor William Henderson Remy and jury that convicted Stephenson))

Egan writes with adept authority with an eye toward disconcerting detail as a White Protestant racial movement sought to take advantage of the historical racial animus that has existed in the United States from its outset. Jeff Shesol’s New York Times book review of April 2, 2023, encompasses how deeply the Klan became ingrained in American society; “It offered a more expansive set of resentments, providing more points of entry for aggrieved white Protestants. Racial purists were armed with the so-called science of eugenics and stoked with fears of being replaced by “insane, diseased” Catholics and Jews. Moral purists and traditionalists were called from the pulpit to wage war against modernity — enlisting in K.K.K. vice squads that beat adulterers and smashed up speakeasies. But the Klan did more, in this period, than raise the fiery cross. For a startlingly large number of Americans, Egan writes, the Klan “gave meaning, shape and purpose to the days.” It was possible to do your shopping at Klan-approved stores and cook Klan-approved recipes, to enroll your sons in the Junior K.K.K. and daughters in the Tri-K Klub, and to spend evenings singing Klan songs by the piano. The K.K.K., in later parlance, was an ecosystem. “Folks got their news from editors loyal to the Klan,” Egan explains, or from a disinformation network that spread lies with speed. Corruption kept the enterprise running and growing: The police and politicians were bribed; businesses owned by Jews, Catholics or Blacks were shaken down; leaders and recruiters — including pastors — got a cut of initiation fees, dues and robe sales.”

Egan’s main theme that Oberholtzer’s death and Stephenson’s conviction stopped the Klan before it could take over America goes a bit too far. Granted, it was a major reason why the Klan’s membership rapidly declined within a few years of the trial, but more importantly was the graft and public hypocrisy reflected in the rot exhibited by Klan leadership and organization played more of a role in its regression. In addition, there were other actors who were emboldened to take on the Klan including Black editors, Jewish and Catholic groups which all contributed to the weakening and loss of influence by the Klan.

Despite Egan’s overemphasis of Oberholtzer’s role in the narrative the book is clearly written, well supported, and an addictive read. Anyone with interest in understanding the rise and fall of the Klan, and perhaps the rise of White Supremacy today should take the time to read Egan’s work – it will be eye opening.

CITY OF DREAMS by Don Winslow

May 31, 2023szfreiberger Mystery/Thrillers 2 Comments

(Providence, RI)

There is no novelist that can compare with Don Winslow’s novels that deal with the drug cartels and organized crime, their operations, what it was like to be inside these murderous organizations, and what it was like to try and end their reign of drug induced terror. If you have read Winslow’s cartel trilogy; THE POWER OF THE DOG, THE CARTEL, and THE BORDER then you have experienced the depth of the author’s knowledge of the drug trade in well-written, deeply insightful, and carefully crafted works. Winslow is the author of twenty-three bestsellers, many of which have been made into films. His latest is the Danny Ryan trilogy which begins with CITY ON FIRE followed by his latest work, CITY OF DREAMS where we become reacquainted with Mr. Ryan who is now on the run from the FBI, the Mob, and the police as he tries to create a new life for himself in California. The crime fiction genre has no shortage of memorable mob sagas by such practitioners as Mario Puzo, James Ellroy, and Dennis Lehane. With its large cast of memorable characters and low-key allusions to classical literature, in CITY OF DREAMS Winslow provides incontrovertible evidence that he is part of this elite group, and perhaps is the best among them with his wit, erudition, and riveting approach to storytelling.

Winslow begins the novel describing the end of an organized crime war between the Irish and Italian mobs for control of the New England market, circa 1988. The Murphy’s, which Danny Ryan belonged to, lost the war to the Moretti family, and Ryan and his crew are driving south on I95 trying to escape the feds, the cops, and most of all the Moretti’s. Peter Moretti had set up the Murphy gang and they fell for what appeared to be an effective drug heist, but it backfired resulting with Ryan and his crew on the run and Moretti trying to recover millions of lost drugs.

The novel’s plot centers on Ryan who, when push came to shove, dumped $2 million worth of heroin into the ocean and killed a dirty FBI agent named Phil Jardine. The problem for Ryan is that the FBI’s national sub director for organized crime, Reggie Moneta was Jardine’s lover and she wants revenge against Ryan no matter the cost. For Ryan, who winds up in San Diego and later Las Vegas life is hard. Right before he left Providence, RI his wife Terri died of cancer. Further, his father the old leader of the Murphy gang, suffers from dementia and is institutionalized. Ryan also has a young son Ian and is broke.

Winslow’s story presents the dysfunctional nature of mob families. The Moretti’s are a case in point as Peter and Paul Moretti, brothers, do their best to make the other look bad. As the novel unfolds one gumba is screwing another’s wife, one of the gambas daughters commits suicide, and all are looking for the next drug deal that will set them up for life. Interestingly, one of the affairs is between Peter Moretti and Cassandra Murphy even as their families are trying to kill each other.

The author’s writing is serious, witty, and extremely entertaining. His characters’ experiences are fodder for Winslow’s sarcasm and somewhat perverted view of human nature that permeates the novel. It is clear the FBI and the mob want Ryan dead, but the former head of the CIA and currently a Georgetown University professor, Evan Penner wants him alive, which allows Winslow to introduce a number of characters that help create varied plot twists. There is Brent Harris, a former student of Penner who is a DEA agent with the Southwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force. He will track Ryan down in Las Vegas and convince or blackmail him into doing his bidding against the Baja Cartel and its leader Domingo Abbarca. Other important characters include Madeline McKay, Ryan’s mother who has done very well financially as a courtesan to feds, cabinet members, judges and other officials as a “high class courtesan,” who has morphed into a “dotting” grandmother.” Celia Moretti who hates her husband Peter is screwing Vinnie Calfo who will eventually become head of the crime family. Lastly, Reggie Moneta who is obsessed with killing Ryan even when she is told by higher ups to stand down telling associates she “wants Ryan delivered like KFC. In a bag or in a box.”

Perhaps the most entertaining section of the book is the author’s insight into the Hollywood film industry, particularly comments that show how “the Hollywood film industry and the criminal class intersect.” It centers on two members of Ryan’s crew, “the Alter boys,” Kevin Coombs and Sean South who weasel and threaten their way onto the set of a film about the New England mob as “consultants.” The film entitled, “Providence” has a “Danny Ryan type figure” and when the “Alter boys” want a larger stake in the film the producer pushes them away resulting in negative happenings on the set. Eventually Ryan is contacted to reign in his crew, invests in the film himself, and meets its star Diane Carson, just out of rehab.

The result of all of the machinations Winslow introduces is a continuing drug war involving the FBI carrying out an off-book operation against a Mexican cartel, a continuing war with the remnants of the Murphy and Moretti crime families, Danny Ryan seemingly working with the feds to survive, and a Hollywood film, resulting in a fascinating plot as Ryan falls in love with a Hollywood starlet. The progression of Ryan’s life involves numerous twists and turns, the result of which makes for a sweeping tale of family, revenge, and survival as he confronts the reality of what he hopes his life will turn out to be.

(Las Vegas, NV)

As Maureen Corrigan writes in her April 27, 2023, review in the Washington Post, ”before journey’s end, Danny will also be hunted down by a Mexican cartel run by a psychopath named Popeye Abbarca, whose men will comb roadside motels and bars, thirsting for Danny’s blood and that of his kin. Though inflected with occasional reflections on the absurdity of the human condition, “City of Dreams” is no picaresque; instead, as his many fans have come to expect from Winslow, this latest novel in a projected trilogy is unrelentingly tough, tense and violent. Distinct from its predecessor, “City on Fire,” in the geographical sweep of its story, “City of Dreams” reads like one long breathless drag race between Danny and his many enemies on the all-American road to Nowhere.”

By the end of the new novel, Danny and the few friends he has left are on the run again, setting the stage for the trilogy’s upcoming conclusion, CITY IN RUINS.

(Providence, RI)

INDEPENDENCE SQUARE by Martin Cruz Smith

May 28, 2023szfreiberger Mystery/Thrillers Leave a comment

Independence Monument in Kyiv. View from drone

(Independence Square, Kyiv, Ukraine)

Without a doubt Martin Cruz Smith is a master of the international thriller. His Detective Arkady Renko series is exceptional in plot development, writing style, and a character who combines wit, sarcasm, and self-deprecation. With the war in Ukraine in its 15^th month, Smith tackles some of the background for Putin’s illegal invasion in his 10^th iteration of the Renko series.

What separates Smith from others who practice the “thriller” genre is his ability to offer important and accurate insights into contemporary Russia in his novels. His expertise as a Kremlin observer was readily apparent in his previous works including; GORKY PARK, STALIN’S GHOST, THE SIBERIAN DILEMMA, WOLVES EAT DOGS, POLAR STAR, and RED SQUARE as they are in his newest novel, INDEPENDENCE SQUARE.

The title of the book would have one believe that the story took place in Kyiv during the 2014 Orange Revolution that occurred before Putin’s seizure of Crimea. The Russian autocrats’ actions were a result of a corrupt election that produced an emotional reaction by the Ukrainian people who demonstrated against a corrupt election in Maidan Square, the precursor to Independence Square. The Orange Revolution would have a profound effect on the way Ukrainians perceived themselves and their national identity. For the first thirteen years of independence, the political, cultural, social, and economic boundaries between Ukraine and Russia had remained blurred. Most people on both sides of the border continued to regard the fates of the two notionally separate countries as inextricably intertwined. This changed dramatically in 2014 when millions of Ukrainians mobilized in defense of free elections.

Crimea is an autonomous region in Ukraine. The Crimean population has shown much stronger support for Russia than Ukrainians in Kiev and the West. Map by Jerome Cookson, National Geographic

Putin would go on to try and Russify Crimea after the invasion and his illegal annexation of the region. His goal was to secure what he argued was illegally given to Ukraine decades before and was the home of the Russian fleet at Sevastopol. Further, it provided him with the opportunity to ethnically cleanse Crimea of the Tartars much like Joseph Stalin did towards the end of World War II. This background permeates the novel and provides an understanding as to what motivated Putin.

Smith’s work revolves around the Democracy Forum, an organization that opposes Putin’s tyrannical rule. Further, applying character dialogue, Smith explains oligarchic corruption, the origin of Putin’s personal wealth, and the Kremlin’s fraudulent regime. Further, the author introduces a series of characters, some new and some from previous novels. Of course, Arkady Renko dominates the story as he tries to solve three murders and determine how they are linked together. Tatiana, his ex-lover who he has still not gotten over as she left for Kyiv on assignment for the New York Times without telling him. New characters include Lenoid Lebedev, the leader of the Forum for Democracy, Fydor Abakov, head of the rackets in Moscow asks Renko to locate his daughter Karina who appears to be a Forum for Democracy member and has gone missing, Uzeir Osamanov, a friend of Lebedev and his daughter Elena, another Forum for Democracy supporter, Alex Levin a computer hacker, and lastly, the Werewolves, a biker gang that comes across as Putin’s “Hell’s Angels.”

The author has created an intricate plot involving three murders. Renko is dispatched to solve the first, but that will lead to two more deaths and travel from Moscow to Kyiv, to Sevastopol. For Renko old and new demons emerge. First, he will come across his former lover in Kyiv, second, he is not sure of Karina’s loyalties, third he learns that he has contracted Parkinson’s disease which he tries to deal with as he conducts his investigations. Interestingly, there is an autobiographical element to Renko’s health as the author has been diagnosed with the same disease.

Distant view of new Crimean bridge in Kerch strait

(Kerch Bridge)

Smith conveys the corruption of the Russian state very carefully. The most useful example he points to is the Kerch Bridge that links Crimea to the Russian mainland. One of Putin’s St. Petersburg thugs Konstantine Novak is a governor in Crimea and was in charge of building the bridge. The bridge cost billions of rubles and as with any major project kickbacks were standard adding to Putin’s wealth. In addition, Novak will take a share of the proceeds for himself, not a smart thing to do under Putin.

Renko remains the archetype of an honest cop working for a corrupt regime who, despite the roadblocks he must deal with, usually emerges as a stronger person. Smith has delivered another solid work of international crime thriller and I recommend it to Smith’s fan base and to those who have never tackled one of his novels.

(Independence Square, Kyiv, Ukraine)

THE OLD LION: A NOVEL OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT by Jeff Shaara

May 26, 2023szfreiberger Historical Fiction Leave a comment

Medal of Honor Recipient Theodore Roosevelt

(Lt. Colonel Theodore Roosevelt)

When ranking American presidents Theodore Roosevelt is usually positioned among the top five in American history. His life is fascinating as a number of biographies highlight. Probably the most impactful is Edmund Morris’ biographic trilogy among many others. Roosevelt’s life reflects a weak child growing up in New York City who overcame his physical limitations who thrived on being physically fit; a career that included being New York City Police Commissioner, Governor of New York, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and the presidency. Along the way he evolved into a central figure in the Spanish-American War and a committed naturalist and conservationist. After his political career ended his exploits continued as he engaged in sustained travel and continued his writing centering on history and nature. Clearly, a full life.

To tackle Theodore Roosevelt as a subject of historical fiction is quite an undertaking. However, novelist Jeff Shaara was undaunted and committed to the task resulting in his eighteenth historical novel, THE OLD LION: A NOVEL OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. Shaara originally made his mark authoring GODS AND GENERALS and THE LAST FULL MEASURE, which are the prequel and sequel to his father’s award winning novel, THE KILLER ANGELS. Among his novels are topics that include the American Revolution, the Mexican War, the Civil War, World War I and II, the Korean War and his latest which he is about to complete on the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Edith Roosevelt, First Lady stock photo.

(First Lady, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt)

Choosing Roosevelt as the focus of his novel created a dilemma. How does an author pick and choose areas of concentration in such a rich life when the book is not supposed to be a traditional biography? Shaara has done so with ease and class as he delves into important public and private aspects of the former Rough Rider.

Shaara begins the novel pointing to two important components of Roosevelt’s development, his battle with asthma and his relationship with his father. Both provide the key motivations developing physically as Alfred Adler, an important Neo-Freudian has written that individuals who suffer from a self-perceived inferiority complex strive their entire lives to achieve superiority to overcome it. In Roosevelt’s case his lungs and his father’s encouragement and acting as a role model for his son allowed him to develop “the strenuous life,” which led to his obsession with natural history and his love of nature.

Throughout the book, Shaara formulates a Roosevelt that is never far from his need for adventure and his naturalist education. Shaara picks and chooses very carefully scenes from his protagonist’s life. Each segment is well written, and it allows the reader to develop an intimate relationship with future “Bull Moose.” Shaara does not provide a writer’s note, a la Steve Berry, which would explain his sources and what he considers fact and fiction. Doing so would greatly enhance the reader’s experience and trust in the material presented.

Shaara’s tool in organizing the novel is a series of interviews conducted by New York Times reporter Hermann Hagedorn which took place at the end of December 1918 which allows Roosevelt to look back on his life and fill in gaps that are not fully developed by the author. Shaara uses the interviews as a bridge between the time Roosevelt left for the Dakotas in 1887 and his experiences in the war with Spain in 1898. Shaara focuses on his family and career and his commitment to reform – rooting out corruption as Civil Service Commissioner, New York City Police Commissioner, and Assistant Secretary of the Navy.

(Kermit Roosevelt)

The structure of the novel is effective with Hagedorn’s interviews filling in the gaps. At first Roosevelt’s constant battle with asthma and his relationship with his father is stressed. Shaara moves on to a section, perhaps his best dealing with Roosevelt’s commitment to ranching and living in the Dakota Badlands as a vehicle to decompress after the deaths of his mother and his first wife Alice within a twenty-four hour period. The section highlights his relationship with “real” cowboys and cattle ranchers and the difficulties of running a successful cattle business. This is followed with a detailed discussion of events leading to and the actual fighting of the Spanish-American War which turned Roosevelt into a hero and a viable candidate for high office. Shaara moves on to an exploration of Roosevelt’s rise to the Vice Presidency and Presidency once William McKinley is assassinated and implementing a progressive agenda. Shaara’s last section brings the novel to a close. Entitled “The Old Lion,” the author again employs Hagedorn to ferret out of Roosevelt his reactions to The Treaty of Portsmouth, taking the Panama Canal, difficulties with William Howard Taft, escaping assassination, and dangerous sojourns to Africa and the Amazon where he almost perishes.

Shaara’s Roosevelt is a dichotomy. He employs his effusive personality and energy to his legislative agenda as President. His “Square Deal” includes a reform agenda which mostly passes Congress and encompasses issues of improving working conditions, controlling trusts, and race. It is interesting to read his views dealing with non-white Americans and trying to improve their lot, and at the same time engaging in a foreign policy based on Social Darwinism. Foremost, Shaara’s Roosevelt is an egoist which he balances with great empathy for others especially members of his Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War for which a great deal of respect and trust for him by his men is reciprocated.

The book is clearly not a complete biography in novel form as Shaara stresses certain aspects of Roosevelt’s life. The two most important components are his family whose credit goes to his childhood companion Edith Crow who becomes his second wife and his children. Second is his commitment to the environment developing nature preserves, national parks, and conservation. A wonderful book that encompasses this aspect of Roosevelt’s life is historian Douglas Brinkley’s mammoth work; THE WILDERNESS WARRIOR: THEODORE ROOSEVELT AND THE CRUSADE FOR AMERICA.

Against the backdrop of the Wild West, San Juan Hill and the jungles of Brazil, the White House appeared to be less satisfying for Roosevelt. Perhaps this explains why the sections of the novel that follow his presidency read more like straightforward and familiar history. Many of the details and events in this section are nevertheless significant and lively. We see Roosevelt confront racism in Congress after meeting with Booker T. Washington at the White House, we learn how the term “Speak softly and carry a big stick” evolved and we discover the origin of teddy bears. The novel, if that is a correct characterization of Shaara’s work, is thoughtfully written and provides many insights into the most energetic and effusive person who dominated his presidency and the time period in which he lived.