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Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Three Minutes to Doomsday: An Agent, a Traitor, and the Worst Espionage Breach in U.S. History in Books

May 16, 2018  
TM
Three Minutes to Doomsday: An Agent, a Traitor, and the Worst Espionage Breach in U.S. History
Joe Navarro | 2017
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
When it comes to books, non-fiction typically isn't something I'm interested in. Lately though, I've found a few from that genre that have piqued my interest, most notably former FBI Agent Joe Navarro's Three Minutes to Doomsday, Andrew Leatherbarrow's Chernobyl: 01:23:40, and another upcoming novel entitled The Radium Girls by Kate Moore. The latter two of these books I'll discuss at another time, because this review is about Navarro's latest book, detailing the final moments of the Cold War and the arrests of Clyde Conrad and Rod Ramsey.

I was born in the late 90s, so this particular espionage case is not something I had any knowledge about prior to opening Navarro's book. All I knew was that it took place shortly before I was born and had extremely high risks associated with it. Given my tastes in crime, movies, and most fiction, this seemed to be something that would appeal to my interests and I was not wrong. In this account of Joe Navarro's pursuit of Rod Ramsey against attempts at hampering the investigation by the FBIHQ and Washington Field Office, readers discover just how terrifying close we came to a crushing defeat with the information sold by Conrad and Ramsey.

The build-up to Ramsey's arrest, trial, and conviction is agonizingly slow, which is quite suiting given that the process itself was not only flawed by those higher up in rank than Navarro, but nearly crippled by inaction. It was easy to feel Navarro's tension and frustration, while simultaneously granting readers that may prefer fiction over non-fiction a very human-like perspective of an account that might have seemed uninteresting.

The only nitpick I truly have is how unclear the passage of time is. Whether or not this was intentional, I do not know. I just know that I prefer clear indications of time's passing. Other than that, it is clear from his style of writing that Former Agent Navarro is, first and foremost, a gentleman in every aspect of the word.

Joe Navarro's memoir of this espionage case is mind-numbing and terrifyingly well-written and I would like to thank NetGalley, Scribner, and Joe Navarro for this advanced copy for the purpose of review. Not only that, I would like to thank Former Agent Joe Navarro especially for his service to our country, and his drive to fulfill his duty to his fellow Americans first and foremost.
  
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Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August in Books

Mar 15, 2018  
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
Claire North | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.4 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
What an amazing book! I was intrigued by the rather minimal plot synopsis on the jacket and so had to check this book out, and I am very glad I did. I found the principal character of Harry August to be engaging and interesting and quite enjoyed all the ancillary characters as well, but it was the plot that really hooked me on this one. Without giving anything away I'll just say that it involves reincarnation, time travel, quantum physics, espionage, world history, revenge, and in its own weird way, love. It is somewhat unfair to pigeonhole the book into the science fiction category, as it is really somewhat more of a cat-and-mouse suspense story, although seeing as the plot spans several decades, repeatedly, it does seem as though sci-fi could be the best fit. No matter where you would categorize though, this is easily my favorite read of the year so far, and quite possibly one of my favorite books of all time. Absolutely brilliant.
  
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ClareR (6101 KP) rated Atomic Love in Books

Mar 10, 2022  
Atomic Love
Atomic Love
Jennie Fields | 2022 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting to enjoy Atomic Love as much as I did. This book does tick a lot of my boxes though: historical fiction, a bit of espionage, a real sense and feeling of the time and place, and a little bit of romance.

I haven’t read much historical fiction set in America in the 1950’s, so it was interesting to see that the women who had worked in important roles during the war, had been moved out to be replaced by the men returning from war - just the same as pretty much everywhere else.

Rosalind’s reasons for not working in Atomic Research are a little different. Her ex-lover, Weaver, had her removed after he wrote a report damning her ability and suitability. So, Rosalind finds herself working on a jewellery counter, doubting her abilities as a scientist. She’s lonely, struggling to make ends meet when two men suddenly turn up in her life: Thomas Weaver (her ex), and an FBI agent called Charlie Szydlo.

Charlie, an ex-Japanese prisoner of war, believes Weaver is spying for the Russians and feeding them important information in their own Atomic research. Charlie asks Rosalind to help him find out for sure if that’s what he’s doing. So against her better judgement, she does.

There’s a lot of tension running through this, both the dangerous and romantic kinds. It’s a great book that would have slipped under my radar if not for The Pigeonhole!