Episode · The Book Review · 2020-09-25
Books mentioned on C.I.A. Operatives in the Early Years of the Cold War
Gilbert Cruz recommended The Man Who Ran Washington by Peter Baker and others and The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, and discussed Lawrence in Arabia by Scott Anderson, The Quiet American by Graham Greene, and Just Us by Claudia Rankine. Scott Anderson discussed The Quiet Americans by Scott Anderson. Peter Baker discussed Kremlin Rising by Peter Baker and others. Greg Cowles recommended Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey. Joumana Khatib recommended Convenience store woman.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
-
Lawrence in Arabia
Lawrence in Arabia by Scott Anderson is a sweeping history that examines the geopolitical turbulence, imperial deceit, and secret diplomacy that shaped the modern Middle East during the First World War.
Discussed“so you were last on the podcast to talk about your previous book Lawrence in Arabia which came out in 2013 and which of course feels like now centuries ago”
Where to get it
-
The Quiet Americans
The Quiet Americans by Scott Anderson is a gripping historical non-fiction book that traces the lives and covert operations of four key CIA officers during the tumultuous early years of the Cold War.
Discussed“what I was drawn to in both in Lawrence and with in the quiet Americans the four CIA officers I follow is that in both cases this was at a time when individuals out in the field had a tremendous freedom of of action”
Where to get it
-
The Quiet American
The Quiet American by Graham Greene is a brilliant political novel set in Vietnam that examines the tragic consequences of misguided Western idealism and foreign intervention through the eyes of a cynical, world-weary British journalist.
Discussed“your title is obviously a reference to the Graham green novel why the quiet Americans”
Where to get it
-
The Man Who Ran Washington
The Man Who Ran Washington by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser is an authoritative biography detailing the life and times of James A.
Recommended“joining me now my colleague Peter Baker chief White House correspondent at the New York Times and Susan Glasser staff writer at the New Yorker both of them together co-authors of the new book the man who ran Washington The Life and Times of James A biger III”
Where to get it
-
Kremlin Rising
Discussed“well first of all I have to say the good news is we're still talking to each other so we did our first book Kremlin Rising uh after spending uh four years in Russia”
Where to get it
-
Memorial Drive
Memorial Drive is a powerful memoir by Natasha Trethewey that investigates the tragic murder of her mother by her former stepfather and the author's own journey through grief and memory.
Recommended“I'm reading Natasha tre's new Memoir called Memorial Drive”
Where to get it
-
Convenience store woman
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata is a contemporary novel that explores societal pressures and nonconformity through the life of a thirty-six-year-old unmarried woman working in a Japanese convenience store.
Recommended“but I picked up recently convenience store Woman by Saka marada which is her English language debut”
Where to get it
-
The Warmth of Other Suns
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson is a powerful and extensively researched historical account that chronicles the decades-long Great Migration of black citizens leaving the American South for northern and western cities.
Recommended“and Wilkerson of course was a guest on the podcast talking about this book as she was last year was it now that it was the year before talking about Michelle Obama's book but also about her own first book the warmth of other Sons which is probably one of my favorite narrative non-fiction books of of of all time”
Where to get it
-
Just Us
Just Us by Claudia Rankine is a provocative examination of American race relations, whiteness, and the cultural imagination.
Discussed“and another book that I'm reading right now is Claudia Rankin's new book just us and it it's very much about kind of the racial imagination the the way that we conceive fantasize about race”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (3) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“Scott Anderson will be here to talk about his new book The Quiet Americans who is the man who ran Washington for decades”
“and Wilkerson of course was a guest on the podcast talking about this book as she was last year was it now that it was the year before talking about Michelle Obama's book but also about her own first book the warmth of other Sons”
“so you're reading two non-poetry books by Poets because you're Claudia Rankin sort of is a poetry book in the same way that citizen is poetry and Essay and art it it kind of brings everything together because that that is her mode as a poet”