"Russian Roulette" by Giles Milton (2015)

When you watch films such as “The Four Feathers”, or “The Bengal Lancers” and “Gunga Din” you may be tempted to dismiss them as mere dramatizations of history, but you would be shortsighted to do so. Those films actually portray the British struggle to maintain control over India during the last days of the Raj in a fairly accurate way.

In his latest book, “Russian Roulette”, author Giles Milton takes us back to the days of the First World War and the Russian Revolution to illustrate the way in which Lenin’s Bolsheviks were prevented from exporting the Revolution to India by way of Afghanistan, Turkestan, and also how the British developed the Secret Intelligence Service; commonly referred to as MI6.

Reading this book is almost like watching one of those old movies I mentioned earlier; only better. When the Russian people finally had enough of the war; which was decimating the working class; they revolted. The Revolution is always considered to have occurred in November of 1917 when the Bolsheviks finally got to kill Tsar Nicholas and his family, but the truth is that it was brewing for some time.

Aside from the obvious problem of having Russia leave the war against Germany was the security of the large stores of ammunition stored within Russian borders. The concern was twofold; should the Germans acquire it then the tide of the war in the area would be turned. On the other hand, should the Bolsheviks get ahold of it then we risked losing Russia to internal strife. To deal with the political problems this engendered the British created an espionage network which spawned what some have termed “the Great Game”; a game which continues today in the same areas as it began, between the same powers that began it.

When the war ended the British efforts to stop the spread of Bolshevism didn’t end; if only for the fact that Lenin was actively pursuing a foothold in India to topple the British Raj. To that end, Amir Amannullah; the ruler of Afghanistan at the time; issued a jihad directing a Holy War against British India in 1919. 

But as determined as the Russians might have been to expand their reach into India, the British were equally determined to oppose that expansion. To that end they chose to use some 50,000 shells of a toxic gas known as “the M-Device.” This was a nechloroarsine, which caused instant death in some; and violent illness in others. Churchill declared it to be more humane than explosives. Of those 55,00 shells, 47,282 remained unused and were dumped in about 240 feet of water in the White Sea, where they remain until this very day. Ninety years later Britain would be chief among those nations condemning Saddam Hussein for gassing the Kurds in Northern Iraq.

The book is filled with the characters you would expect to meet in films like “The Man Who Would Be King”. Some of these men were professional adventurers; some were men with political bents; others were just “doing their bit”; but all of their stories reflect, if not surpass, the antics of all the stars in those movies I mentioned earlier. Several have left manuscripts; published and unpublished; which the author has used to create a wonderfully accurate picture of a time and place which has not changed much since the time these events occur.

The names of men such as Mansfield Cumming; Arthur Ransome; Robert Bruce Lockhart; Sidney Reilly and George Hill may be lost in the greater annals of history, the rocky plains and mountainous areas of Afghanistan are still the same. And the “Great Game” still continues on its useful; and sometimes incomprehensible; course. This book will aid you in navigating that history.

"The Green Prince" - A Docudrama (2014)

In this film of the memoir by Mosab Hassan Yousef, the Palestinian son of Palestinian cleric  Sheikh Hassan Yousef ; who turned informant for Israel; screen writer Nadav Schirman brings to life one of the most unusual stories to come out of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

 Mosab Hassan Yousef and his Israeli handler Gonen Ben Yitzhak  both portray themselves in this documentary; as does the elder Sheikh Hassan Yousef. The film chronicles the struggle of the son to understand the father’s position on the dual question of a Palestinian State and Israel’s survival.

When the Intifada began Sheikh Hassan Yousef was a fierce proponent for Hamas, at the time an unknown entity in the “game” between the Israeli Shin Bet and the Palestinians. As a matter of fact that is how both Mosab Hassan Yousef and Gonen Ben Yitzhak characterize the espionage that takes place between the two powers; as a “game.”

When the younger Yousef is confronted by his father’s imprisonment he is approached by the Israeli’s to become an agent for them. His task is to infiltrate Hamas. To do this he is arrested and sent to the prison where his father is being held with other members of the group. This provides him with a “cover” as he attempts to gain entry to Hamas. There he witnesses the brutal treatment of the other Palestinians by the Hamas members; including Kangaroo courts and executions.

Seeing this violence as extortion the young man slowly begins to change his mind about the conflict and the righteousness of the “cause.” He witnesses his father’s own helplessness to stop the madness and decides to become an agent.

Ultimately he faces the supreme test when the opportunity to kill off the top leaders of Hamas and decides he cannot do it. It is only after he sees that these are the men responsible for all of the suicide bombings which lead up to 9-11 does he decide to act.

This film is a rare look at the Shin Bet and the way in which they operate. Both the spy and the spymaster present a compelling piece of the larger mosaic which is the Middle East.

"Dark Invasion" by Howard Blum (2014)

If you believe; as I do; that the only thing new is the history you don’t know, then this book will astound you. It’s like reading today’s newspaper; underscoring the fact that precious little has really changed in the last 100 years since these events occurred.  

Terrorism, espionage, germ warfare, piracy; in short; anything which you can find in today’s paper can be found in this book which recounts the events of the 2 years preceding America’s entry into World War One. Germany’s undeclared war on the United States mirrors everything which the Islamic terrorist of the 21^st Century would like to accomplish.

If you lose track of some of the aliases and names while reading this book, don’t worry, author Howard Blum pulls everything together in an ending which rivals the best that Hollywood has to offer in the way of fiction. The big difference, of course, is that this story is true.

With the same wide ranging and highly charged style which marked his earlier book “American Lightning”, Mr. Blum introduces the reader to an astounding cast of characters; comprised of diplomats, Professors, stevedores, watchmakers and even J.P. Morgan; the American financer who once bailed out the country with cash during a recession. There are policemen, detectives and politicians; some good, some bad; but all part of the plot to keep American munitions out of the war against Germany by whatever means necessary.

The bombings were simple enough; compared to the planned anthrax and horse plaque attacks which were planned by German diplomats, along with scores of German seaman who found themselves stuck in a foreign neutral port for the duration of the war.

The story also involves a Harvard college professor named Muenter, who killed his wife and left his children, taking on a new identity in New Mexico.  He remarried under the assumed name of Frank Holt and began a new academic career in foreign languages. He was soon at the top of his profession. He also became an important component to the larger story.

At the same time, Detective Tom Tunney; in New York City; is on the trail of the mysterious bomber who has been successfully sabotaging the American war effort.  At the direction of the Police Commissioner he is able to tap phone lines, use force, and whatever else may be necessary to stop the sinking of ships by explosion after the ships have been at sea for several days.

During the summer of 1915 there were scores of ships sunk as a result. The devices ranged from a small “cigar” bomb; which was a small lead container divided in half by a small sheet of copper. Chemicals were added to each side that ate the copper sheet away. When the chemicals combined they produced a white hot flame. Planted among cargo they were devastating.

The German ships which were interred in the harbor on both sides of the river made for ideal recruitment for the network needed to plant the explosive devices on the American ships. And with the help of German diplomats and shipping executives, the operation was well funded and there was serious money to be made for the bored German seamen. One ship, interred at Hoboken, was actually converted into a bomb factory, with every member of the crew taking part in some way. Irish stevedores; with no love for England; were also a reliable source of operatives.

There were also plans to blow up various landmarks around the country. One of the first successes Detective Tunney enjoyed was the arrest of the men who planned to blow up St. Patrick’s Cathedral. That effort was foiled by two detectives dressed as scrub-women, who watched the bomber plant the bomb before tackling him.

Detective Tunney successfully infiltrates the Brescia Circle; a group of radical immigrants; and before too long finds himself involved with the German Abteilung IIIB spy network headed by Heinrich Albert, who was also the Commercial Attaché to the German Embassy here in the United States. From this lofty position he was able to recruit and co-ordinate not only the ship bombings, but also the germ warfare program. There is even a plan to restore Mexico’s exiled President Huerta to power in exchange for his help in de-stabilizing the Mexican border. His reward was to be the restoration of Texas and New Mexico to his country.

The germ warfare was designed to sicken the horses which the United States was supplying to all of the nations at war; with the exception of Germany. This is the same thing that caused Japan to form the Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, which led to the Second World War. Sanctions don’t work well without force to back it up. This is a lesson which should be heeded by our own politicians today. There is no teacher as adept as knowing history.

Paul Koenig was the German shipping magnate who ruled the waterfront in New York and New Jersey. He was loaded with cash but when his nephew didn’t show up for work one day due to an illness, he was docked $2.52 for the day. Infuriated at his Uncle he would become part of the events which unraveled the madness.

It was the same with Heinrich Albert. He was too cheap to spring for a $1.75 taxi ride; opting for the elevated train instead. He fell asleep on the train and left his briefcase; which held documents summarizing all of the sabotage that had been done up to that point; and also gave insights into what was still being planned.

But of all the characters in this story, none is more fascinating than Frank Holt, the former Professor Muenter. After killing his wife with arsenic and leaving the children with his in-laws, he sets out to reinvent himself. With his love for the fatherland and his talent for languages, he is looking for a way to serve the cause. In a 48 hour period during the July 4^th weekend in 1915 he not only successfully plants an explosive in the Capitol; he then heads to Long Island and the home of J.P. Morgan.

Once there he intends to speak with him; he wants Mr. Morgan to stop financing the Allied war effort; but he brings along 6 sticks of dynamite and a revolver just in case JP needs persuading.  He is beaten and captured by the servants after shooting Mr. Morgan. Morgan survives, but Frank Holt only lives for a few more days in the town jail, where he is either killed by 2 gunshots to the head, or he jumped from the top bar of the cell door, dashing his skull.

There is so much more to recount about this book, but it really needs to be read to be enjoyed thoroughly. I think it is to safe to say; from the Black Tom Explosion to the Zimmerman Telegram; that Mr. Blum has covered it all.  He has a style which makes you wish he had been your history teacher in high school. He writes with a sense of urgency which is easily felt by the reader. As Detective Tunney races against the clock to avoid one disaster after another, you can almost hear the clock ticking. Or, is that a bomb? 

"Red" with Morgan Freeman, Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and Mary-Louise Parker

Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich are all former CIA contract agents. They are retired. In the 1980's they were involved in some of the secret killings in Guatemala. Their commander at the time was the man who is now Vice President and running for the office of President. With so much of his past to hide, he orders the former agents to be killed. But he doesn't count on the friends that these men had made over the years.

Frank, played by Bruce Willis, is assaulted by a SWAT team in his own home. Only his former training allows him to escape. Now he has to find out why he is being targeted. To do that he must reassemble his old team. Quickly contacting his old friend Joe, played by Morgan Freeman, who is in a nursing home, the two begin the search to find out who is targeting them, and why.

Frank has fallen in love, over the phone, with a CIA operator, played perfectly by Mary-Louise Parker, who works out of the Kansas City office of the company. They plan to retire somewhere together. But, when all the mayhem begins, she is not so sure she wants to pursue the relationship. So, Frank does the only thing he can do, he duct tapes her and loads her into his car while trying to explain the circumstances in which he has found himself trapped. She is, to say the least, skeptical. But, still, she does admit that it's a pretty exciting first date.

Frank takes her out to the desert where another old comrade lives in seclusion. Marvin, played by John Malkovich, lives underground, literally. He is paranoid from years of CIA experiments with LSD, but is still as sharp as they come. The trio then hook up with Helen Mirren, who plays a former assassin, and her Soviet lover, whom she was once forced to kill in order to prove her loyalty to the "company." She shot him 3 times in the chest and left him for dead. When he recovers, he realizes that she truly loves him, or else she would have shot him in the head, just to be sure.

Just how this group takes down the Vice President and all of his security forces cannot be adequately described her without doing an injustice to this witty and fast paced script. Although this type of film is not my usual fare, it kept me entertained from the opening scene until the last.

This is a serious spoof of both the espionage that we, as nations, actually engage in, as well as a satire of the action movies that come of these real life exploits. With an action packed and witty script, this movie delivers. Add in some fantastic cameos by Ernest Borgnine and Richard Dreyfuss and you have a very entertaining film.

"America at Night" by Larry J. Kolb

This is a very interesting, and disturbing book. It confirms all that most of us already know about our government. It is way out of control. It has been reduced to a series of organizations that do nothing but fight over their allotted share of tax dollars, and then in turn, these same organizations, after stealing from you and I, go on to lie, cheat and steal from one another to accumulate even more power for themselves. They then suck in even more money from private, business and banking sources, thus cementing their own interests in place.

If Larry Kolb is to be believed, and I see no reason to doubt his story, then your tax money was used as "seed" to institute a vast scheme to cheat John Kerry of victory in the 2004 Presidential Election. This scheme was organized by the same team that brought you the "October Surprise" in 1980,the result of which was that the hostages at our Embassy in Tehran were held for an extra 4 months, on the eve of their diplomatically arranged release. This ensured that Presidential Nominee Ronald Reagan would defeat President Carter in that year's election, and underscores my point that our government is way out of control, and has been for some time. For their co-operation Iran received millions in arms and military hardware to fight the Iraqi's. This was the spark that would later cause Saadam Hussein to invade Kuwait.

Back to the election of 2004 and John Kerry;

With very detailed notes and a skillful sense of writing, Mr. Kolb takes us through the paces concerning one Robert Sensi and his partner Robert Mitchell. Along the way we encounter Muhammad Ali, the Bush family, and a slew of International business men with far reaching and vastly different connections who all have one thing in common, the desire to see Predident Bush re-elected. Together they concoct a scheme to smear Senator John Kerry. The fact that this scheme was unnecessary, and that Kerry lost of his own accord, makes the whole thing seem even more ridiculous. It smacks of the same thinking that went into the Watergate Burglary at the DNC in Washington. A crime was committed and the real motives were obscured. There never was a need to burglarize the DNC for information, Nixon was a sure thing that year.

Mr. Kolb, a former CIA operative, who blew his own cover with his last book, "Overworld", tells, in this carefully written narrative, of his first realization that something was not quite right concerning an individual named Robert Sensi, former Chairman of a now defunct business organization. With his first book just completed the last thing he wants to do is to become involved in another CIA project. But as he lays out the files and pieces it all together he unravels one of the most far reaching, and ultimately useless plans ever devised to sway an election.

The plan was simple enough on it's face; just link Kerry to contributions from an organization that has business ties with Iran and Afghanistan. But when Mr. Kolb recognizes that certain names and individual corporations are involved in a scheme to throw the election, he acts to thwart that plan.

This is a very engaging book and a good read, maybe too good. What I mean by that is, once you start to see conspiracies in one place, you start to see them everywhere. So my question would be this; while this story was going on, what was happening that really mattered?