"The Spy Who Came In From the Cold" with Richard Burton and Claire Bloom (1962)

I am a big fan of the Cold War. It had all the necessary elements for a good spy story on a daily basis. And they were true.

Growing up during the some of the hottest times in the Cold War was kind of exciting. The Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, the Berlin Wall. All of these real life dramas made interesting fodder for the writers of spy novels and the stories they spun. "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" is one of my all time favorites.

John LeCarre takes a man, a broken and tired man, Alec Leamus, and turns him into a political anti-hero. Here is a man who has been engaged in espionage against the Russians for a decade or more, who knows all the ropes, and yet finds himself caught in a web he inadvertently helps to create.

The book and the movie are almost identical. It is helpful to have read the book first, but not necessary. Alec Leamus is asked by MI5 to leave the agency on the pretext of not having gained promotion due to his drinking. Richard Burton plays the part in the movie and his own public struggles with alcoholism make this role very believable.

As he skids down the path of his affliction he takes a job as a research librarian, filing books in a private collection. There he meets a woman named Liz, played in the movie by Claire Bloom, with whom he forms an instant connection. Two lonely people trapped in their own gray and dreary lives. The film is in black and white. It is an accurate depiction of England at that time, still reeling from the ravages of World War Two. Rationing didn't formally end until 1965. Both the novel and the movie capture this aspect with perfection.

When Alec defects to the Russian side for a price, at the direction of his superiors, a chain of events ensues that brings sharply into focus both the differences and the similarities of what we call Freedom and the other side calls Communism. Both sides have agendas. Both sides resort to unthinkable means in order to obtain their respective goals.

Caught in a struggle between a principled Communist Party member who tries Leamus for espionage, and a ruthless ex-Nazi who may be a British double agent, Leamus finds himself in the grips of a plot that will either reinforce his beliefs or tear them apart, revealing them as the other side of the same coin.

The book is riveting, as is the movie. Richard Burton gives one of his finest performances as the troubled spy. And Claire Bloom is exceptional as a woman torn between her beliefs and the reality with which she finds herself confronted.

Stark and intense writing give the book the feel of the gray and colorless world of Communism in Eastern Europe at the time. Stark and intense direction by Martin Pitt transfer these elements to the screen with perfection.

Missiles In Cuba - 1962

Most historians agree that the Cuban Missile Crisis, which pitted the Soviet Union against the United States during the coldest days of the Cold War, began on October 16^th, and lasted 12 days, until the cessation of the American Quarantine of Cuba on October 28^th, 1962. While this is true of the time of actual confrontation, Soviet ships had been photographed with missile parts, headed for Cuba, as early as September 25^th of that same year. I was just 8 years old, but the events of that period will live with me forever.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was really a test by the Soviets, to ascertain our resolve in keeping West Berlin from falling into their hands, which would have happened had we invaded Cuba; not just for the missiles; even to oust Fidel Castro, as in the failed Bay of Pigs affair in 1961. The Soviet point of view was that if we had our Monroe Doctrine as authority to invade; or even blockade; Cuba, then they had the same authority to act in their own self-interest in their hemisphere. In effect, we were being baited.

The Generals, and the Chiefs of Staff, were all eager to invade. What they didn’t know then, but has been divulged since, is that the Soviets already had tactical nuclear weapons in Cuba. These weapons, which were portable, would have enabled the Cubans to wipe out any full scale invasion by the United States at the time. It was only the resolve of President Kennedy which kept us from providing the air cover that had been promised by his predecessor, and of which the new President had not been informed. Had he given the go-ahead on the Bay of Pigs, the Soviets would have used that as a pretext to invade West Berlin.  The same held true for the Cuban Missile Crisis. Once again, the Joint Chiefs wanted to go in. They either did not understand, or seemingly care about, the results which would have been precipitated by such action.

From the 15th of October until the 28th, the world seemingly stood still, as we all awaited the outcome of the unfolding events. There was no “hot line” or “red phone” between Moscow and Washington yet. That would only come about after the crisis was over, in an attempt to keep this type of thing from ever going so far again.

President Kennedy, along with his brother Robert, took a full week to assess the situation as if it were a chess game. They analyzed each and every move possible, along with the outcomes these moves would provoke. In the end they settled on the Quarantine, announcing it on the evening of October 22^nd. From then on the whole world waited; and watched. The photo above is of one of our Neptune aircraft buzzing a Soviet cargo ship en route to Cuba during the Missile Crisis.

In school we had daily “fallout” drills, sitting in the hallways, covering our heads with books. The expected attack never came, and some say that the events of both the Bay of Pigs, and the Cuban Missile Crisis were factors in the assassination of the president the following year. We will probably never know of there is any truth in that.

Although the compromise reached between the two super powers did end the immediate crisis, it later seemed a bit funny to me that we had accepted a deal in which about 8 non-operational missiles in Cuba were swapped for the withdrawal of the 600 operational Jupiter missiles which we had in Turkey, along the Soviet border. While it is true that those missiles were being replaced with longer range ones based in Western Europe, the swap was so lop-sided that the full details of the deal were withheld from the American people for some time. We were told merely that we had “won”, and that a new phone line was being installed between Moscow and Washington which would allow the leaders of the two countries to have quicker, and more direct, contact with one another.

Next Monday will mark 50 years since the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was going to use a portion of President Kennedy’s speech here today, but I have decided instead to post the entire 18 minute speech on the anniversary of the date on which the President delivered it. I still remember watching it with my parents at home in Brooklyn. It is one of the most vivid memories of my childhood, which is saying a lot, considering that my childhood encompassed several assassinations; including that of President Kennedy himself; and massive civil disobedience over both the War in Vietnam, as well as Civil Rights here at home. It was quite a time.

"Daring Young Men" by Richard Reeves

The Berlin Airlift was one of the most heroic and campassionate undertakings in the history of mankind. If you are unfamiliar with this great episode, then this book is a wonderful place to start. Mr. Reeves has, as usual, bought history to life in this tale of the chess game that took place between the United States and Russia in the summer of 1948.

Russia was essentially blockading Berlin in an effort to gain control of it. The Allies, led by the United States, were equally determined to keep at least half of Germany free and democratic. The story of what made the airlift necessary in the first place is carefully examined here.

The currency crisis, which came about when the German Reichsmark was replaced by the new currency, caused people to panic buy whatever was left on the shelves, whether it was edible or not wasn't the point. The fact that the money would be worthless made buying garbage an attractive proposal.

All of our seasoned combat troops had already been sent home, replaced by inexperienced 19 year olds who did not really want to be there. And the Russians knew this. They were counting on it. Truman was even advised by his Generals to abandon Berlin. His reply was a terse, "We are staying in Berlin. Period."

The resultant airlift had to feed 3 million people per day a diet of at least 1700 calories a day. How we did it is fascinating. Why we did it is inspiring today when we still have millions of peolple starving in portions of the world, even as we pay farmers to not grow food. Truman said something else that has always stuck with me, "The only thing new is the history you don't know." I wish the leaders of today's world would read this book.