Books

Spytime by William F. Buckley


James Jesus Angleton ran the CIA's counter-intelligence operations from 1954-1975, wielding enormous influence on a wide range of U.S. policy. Angleton remains one of the controversial figures of the Cold War period, respected for his intellectual gifts and his superb understanding of tradecraft, while vilified for his paranoid and damaging decision making.
William F. Buckley, in one of his last novels, invents his own James Angleton, using him as a fulcrum to explain numerous international events of the 1960 and 1970s.
"Spytime" is an entertaining read. Buckley's knowledge of the era, particularly its political ebbs and flows, serves him well here. More importantly, his Angleton is a fascinating character, duplicitous, conniving, brilliant and yet ultimately overwhelmed by the complexities of the world in which he resides, the world of high level espionage.
Buckley's side characters are less entertaining and the plot never really kicks into high gear. An action thriller it is not.
But if you like a cerebral, measured look -- through fiction -- at one of the most interesting and influential figures of the post Cold War period, "Spytime" is time well spent.