The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 04, 1981, Page Page 9, Image 9
W. Bucl
writes i
his urn.
!
present sardonic wit. No one
not even himself. Bolgin (
bourgeois fanatic." But Bucl
the conversations between
Dulles.
"You'd think Ike had in\
remember he only grudging
said he doubted he'd ever pe
so he's absolutely hooked on
"You mean he prefers ther
"Oh come off it, Dean. Ike
army by specializing in milit
"That's true. He sped
ignorance."
The conversations betweei
worth the price of the boo
more. He presents the issut
thp rnlri war in r>n intor?i
manner. And even though
servative, his prose is never
Buckley's vocabulary is fc
dictionary is helpful.
W * k SbH^^R
I *
iJHBj
W. Buc
A'de^v
BY CHRIS HANDAL
A drought devastates the
Soviet grain crop. Mass
starvation is predicted by
Soviet experts. The threat of
it triggering a revolt is very
I'PJll Th<> ufnrv (>/>i111\ hfl frr?rr?
- . m ??\/ uvvrt J \yV/U!V4 WC 1 * VIII
the front pages of toady's
newspapers, but it's not. It is
the basis for Frederick
Forsyth's "The Devil's
Alternative."
This spy novel is a study of
contemporary Soviet-American
relationships and a
lesson in practical politics.
The Americans seeks to
exploit the Soviet weakness
by demanding sweeping
iley Jr. with,
lsual ;
air and i
I
Lmor :
; HANDAL
chieve Ihe freshness and
^els. Other writers, however,
ch succeeding book. William
atter.
i essayist, Buckley made his
iction a few years ago with
ollowed that with "Stained
I for best paperback mystery,
uckley's best novel to date. j
two other books, is set in the
deals with an attempt by the
le Soviets to launch the first
plans to kidnap two Russian
mation.
;iven to the dashing former
Oakes. With the help of
l to put their plan into action.
Is complicated by his archo
has manipulated a group of :
s inio Deneving uaKes nas
>o hindering Oakes is his
him to quit his job with the
ery plot twist. The result is a
s writing is best described as
i is little excess description to
r
i>f the book is Buckley's ever ^
is safe from Buckley's barbs,
describes him as a "young
(ley's best humor is saved for
Dean Acheson and Allen
rented the U-2 himself. You 1
*ly allowed us to produce it, ^
rmit us to use it. He's got now
the U-2 reports."
n to Zane Grey"
didn't become general of the
ary ignorance." i
alized in other forms of
n Acheson and Dulles is alone
k. Buckley, however, offers
>s and ideals that dominated
;ting and thought-provoking
Buckley is an avowed condidactic.
But be forewarned,
irmidable and the use of a .
?3 rVi} i t
:k/oy Jr. 1
???????? * r
ril' of a
concessions in exchange for l
grain. co
Yet there are forces at w
work the Americans do not st(
Lrnrwi; ulxuil nnH pnnnnt Ihi
control. The ailing an
Soviet Premier is in the fol
midst of a power struggle in<
with individuals who would th<
like to see a military strike thi
against Western Europe. To ]
complicate matters, a band th<
of Ukranian freedom an
fighters are about to launch mi
an act ofvterrorism to bring rei
their cause worldwide at- lei
tention. This act, however, to
could precipitate the in m<
vasion of P^urope and quite coi
possibly a nuclear holocaust, lez
style, fl
fine Iuj
BY CHRIS
Some writers never a?
originality of their early no>
are able to improve with ea
F. Buckley, Jr. is one of the 1;
Long a political writer ant
venture into the realm of f
"Saving the Queen." He f
Glass," which won an award
i? r? r*
miiu a v/ii r nai is uy iar Dl
The novel, like Buckley's
cold war era of the 1950s. It
CIA to win the race with th
satellite. To do this, the CIA
scientists who have the infori
THE ASSIGNMENT IS g
Yale graduate Blackford
Masterspy Rufus, they begii
Oakes' mission, however, i
rival, KGB agent Bolgin, wh
Hungarian freedom fighter
betrayed their cause. Ah
girlfriend, Sally, who wants
CIA.
j Buckley deftly handles ev
well-crafted story. Buckley
"bare-bones plotting." Then
muddle the prose.
Perhaps the best feature <
Lidd;
BY TOM COYNE
G. Gordon Liddy calls
'Will" a book of both public
ssues and personal convictions.
In reality, the book
s an autobiography of a man
ordering on the brink of
genius and insanity.
Liday said he wrote the
300k because of a debt he
)wed to history. The book
m
?5* m
- T'- m?^
- ' Sj
G. Gordo
3penc
goes d
By DAVI
I like trashy paperbacks as
peek at my bookshelves an
Nathaniel West, you're apt to
Steve Krantz's "Laurel Canyo
- dare I say it? -- no less tha
Hollander's infamous "Happ
there is a limit even to the gai
or five hours with, and Scott Si
the twilight zone.
To begin with, the book is wr
i form of writing I abhor excej
Secondly, none of its charactei
vhat each of them does is unco
Hell, even the sex is unbeliev
n layer upon layer of love, lo
commend Spencer for his choi<
-pad a novol in whirh pvorv
lever before encountered a 3
?ndless.
IN A NUT shell, which is th
3elongs, "Endless Love" is t
\xelrod and his never-endin
30ssible way, shape and form,
vhose parents think David ;
cooler.
When the elder Butterworths
Chicago home, he sets it on fi
;ee Jade when she runs out
nove halfway across the count
md tracks them down. Wher
urned to lesbianism in his at
lovel institutionalized, you s(
noi*c? for her "experience."
, spy r
IF THE PLOT sounds he
mplicated, it is. Forsyth wi
iaves four or five different
>rylines into the novel and st;
s profusion of characters to
d n stives is hard to ha
low. The book should Oi
:lude a score card to allow fa
5 readers to keep track of in:
s varied cast. re
In the end, Forsyth ties all th
3 loose ends together in
ibiguous climax which th
ay not satisfy some to
aders. The lesson to be he
irned, at least according tit
Forsyth, is that ha
^deration, like love, bi
nquers all and most Soviet nt
iders are interested in a
y def
seems to be more of an attempt
by Liddy to draw
sympathy from the reader
and to explain his actions of
the Watergate era.
As a young boy, Liddy was
meek and frightened. This
fact irritated him to the point
that he became obsessed
with rlofoofinrt im> fnnx "*
.. v<a u^ivuimg, aujr icai ui
adversary that challenged
jMfl
n Liddy
er's 'E
n and
DBAKER
well as the next fellow. Sneak a
d, between Woody Allen and
spot such "randy classics" as
?n," Judy Blume's "Wifey" and
n five installments of Xaviera
?y Hooker" series. But. alas.
"bage I can stand to spend four
veneer's "Endless Love" lies in
ltten in first person narrative,
)t in autobiographies and such,
rs are realistic and most all of
nscionable.
able because Spencer wraps it
ve, love. If nothing else, I can
:e of title, for I've never before
other word was love and I've
189-page book that seemed so
ic only place a book of this ilk
he story of 17-year-old David
g desire to possess in every
16-year-old Jade Butterworth,
and Jade should play things
i deny David entrance to their
re for no other reason than to
side. When the Butterworths
ry, David becomes Sam Spade
i he discovers that Jade has
sence (David spends half the
\ I A. 1 ? - 11 Al
;ej, ne jusi loves ner an me
LOVel r
irmonious relationship A
th the United States.
The truthfulness of the last 1
atement is up to the reader J|
decide, but the book does g
tve a few stylistic errors. M
le particularly irritating'
cet of the book is Forsyth's
sistance on keeping the
ader ignorant of the plan
at will'save the day.' ;
on at least tnree occasions
e plan is almost revealed
readers. Forsyth,
>wever, cuts away each
ne. The first time this
ippens it builds suspense,
it after that if becomes a
usance.
les
him. This included
everything from a massive
shadow cast by the Hindenburg
passing overhead to
the need to surpass all accomplishments
achieved by
his father.
TO CONQUER his phobias
he decided to defy them. To
subdue his fear of storms he
climbed a large tree and
strapped himself to it as the
storm approached, an event
he describes with great pride
and excitement.
He overcame his fear of
rats by taking one his cat
had killed and frying and
eating it.
Although Liddy admits he
made some mistakes and
broke the law, one still
comes away with the feeling
that he is glorifying and
rectifying the true story.
The book captures the
attention of the reader by
arousing their curiosity,
though not in the way Liddy
nlannpH Onp ic f?nnctantlv in
I "
suspense of what macho or
inane escapade he will
become involved in next. He
seriously burns his hand on a
candle trying to show a
young woman torture does
not phase him. Even in
ndless
on an
Thi.s book is, aside from beii
a/d so smugly sexual that my
(hat I didn't read it while flyii
have been handy.
"if nothing
commend Sp>
choice of title,
before read a t
every other w
and I've nev<
countered a 3
that seemed so
Give me Xaviera and he
anytime When Xaviera was
get a la u;n out of it.
FOR THE RECORD. Franc
of this clap-trap and who else 1
Blue Lagoon" infamy, would
she's going, it wouldn't surpri
hard-core films the da> after \
Spencer to write her an X-ra
Karenina," in which Brooke,
throws herself under a trair
jeans.
llf/Dm
TJUWI IJ
RTiir
choosing a wife, his
demented personality appeared:
he was looking for a
woman whn haH thp ricrht
genes and was strong enough
to breed a large family.
The story drags as he
explains the planning and his
motives for the Watergate
break-in. Liddy plays upon
the patriotism of the reader
by explaining everything he
did was for his country and
"national defense." National
defense included the plottted
assassination of political
columnist Jack Anderson.
LIDDY CONSTANTLY
tried to impress everyone
that he was an expert in
every field. He thought his
bosses were always wrong
and went over their heads
trequentiy. He gives the
impression he was respected
for this reason. Liddy was
obviously respected by
colleagues to achieve such
success, but his incessant
boasting tendo to tire an
individual.
This book is not one to read
to pass an afternoon. It is a
book that gives insight to the
backroom workings of the
Nixon White House and the
men involved.
3 Love'
r\ r\in
VX UJL1
ig insulting, so blatantly stupid
biggest regret concerning it is
lg. That way, a barf bag would
else, / can
encer for his
for I've never
novel in which
rord was love
er befnre en
89-page book
>endless."
r trained German Shephard
uisgusung, you couia at least
0 Zeffirelli is making a film out
>ut Brooke Shields, she of "The
agree to star in it? At the rate
se me if Shields moved over to
ler 18th birthday and r^Tui'ed
ted version of Tolsto - Anna
as Anna, leaves an orgv ana
1 while wearing Cilvii ^lein
A