The Company: A Novel of the CIA (Hardcover)

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Review
'The American le Carre' New York Times; 'If Robert Littell didn't invent the American Spy novel, he should have' Tom Clancy

This mammoth novel of spying and intrigue opens in 1978 with the murder of Albino Luciani, better known as Pope John Paul I, and then moves back to 1950 to introduce the main characters through whose eyes readers will view the Cold War. Among them is Jack McAuliffe, a CIA rookie when we first meet him, stationed in divided Berlin and learning his trade from the brilliant, if unconventional, Harvey Torriti, alias The Sorcerer. Back home in the USA, counterintelligence guru Jim Angleton will live to regret his close friendship with MI6 agent Kim Philby, as the British spy betrays his confidence again and again. The Soviet view is represented in part by 'Eugene Dodgson', an American-educated Russian who operates successfully on behalf of the Communist cause in his enemy's own backyard. Robert Littell's mammoth novel spans the 50 years of the Cold War, a period so long that by the final third of the story the agents' children are themselves engaged in Company work. Sensibly, the author highlights only those operations that directly involve the main characters, even if this means that world-shaking events such as the assassination of JFK and the Vietnam War are mentioned only in passing. Even allowing for the significant near-omissions, Littell manages to pack the novel with incident, keeping his characters neck-deep in intrigue. As well as Berlin, the broad canvas includes Hungary at the time of the doomed uprising against Communism in 1956, the disastrous attempt by Cuban exiles to land at the Bay of Pigs to overthrow Castro in 1961, and even the CIA's confused handling of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The connecting thread is the patient planning of a Soviet operation known as Kholstomer, designed to destabilize the USA without firing a shot, and the CIA's attempts to uncover the threat from within. Littell populates his narrative with characters who operate with a skewed sense of morality and a total commitment to their respective causes, yet still manages to make these dangerous obsessives sympathetic. It is interesting to note just how many of the operations end in failure or frustration, and still more fascinating to see that the problems that occur are sometimes engineered by people connected with the project in order to throw the opposition off balance, even at the expense of friendly agents' lives. Loyalties are severely tested by a combination of paranoia and hard intelligence, and even best friends suspect each other of working against the interests of the cause. Littell has produced a vast yet perfectly balanced novel that thanks to the author's considerable story-telling skills - not to mention the CIA's frantic activity over the period covered - is never less than enthralling. Real people mix with fictional characters in a world where nobody can be trusted, and where their games put all of our lives at risk. (Kirkus UK)

Economist Friday 16th August 2002
There are few good books about the CIA. . . Mr Littell has aimed magnificently high

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25 Reviews 5 star:  (12) 4 star:  (5) 3 star:  (7) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.1 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   16 of 17 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars The Company - Outstanding, 29 April 2003 By  "culturedchris" - See all my reviews This review is from: The Company: A Novel of the CIA (Paperback) The size of this book, 1283 pages to be exact, is at first daunting. However, I was addicted after the first page. The plot is so complex, dramatic and exciting that I didnt want it to end. The fictious plot uses various historical cold war events and personalities in such a clever manner that I felt as if I were reading an actual account of the CIA. Littel is so clever at having centered his four main characters around momentous events in Cold war history, that you end up thinking if he himself is/were a CIA agent and this is his autobiography. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys edge-of-your-seat cold war thrillers. I have read many cold war novels and none of them compare to this book. This is the book that everyone is talking about, and don't be put off by its size, its worth savouring every page!!!!!!!!! Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   7 of 7 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Walk the distance, it is worth it, 13 Sep 2004 By  Thomas Koetzsch (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    This review is from: The Company (Hardcover) "The Company" has been out for a while, but I have only just come round to reading it. I found it hard to put down, once I read the first 50 pages or so. But then I had to because the book's length makes it difficult to read it in one go. As with all historical novels you always wonder how close they are based on reality. Characters like Jim Angleton and the Sorcerer/Harvey Torriti (presumably Bill Harvey) should be straight out of reality. On the other hand, you wouldn't mind it to be pure fiction after you discover that one of rising stars in the CIA was discovered to be working for the other side - thirty years after he was hired. Generally, the book doesn't follow history too closely, but what does one expect. It is a novel. Besides, if Robert Littell had included all the battlegrounds between the CIA and the KGB, this book would come in several volumes. I don't have any favorite episodes. I loved the whole book. It is great that there are some good spy novels coming out of America. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   5 of 5 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book Ever (OK maybe not the best ever but mighty good), 15 Feb 2007 By  Carlan14 "Carlan14" (UK) - See all my reviews This review is from: The Company: A Novel of the CIA (Paperback) Brilliant from start to finish. Forget about writing styles, terminology, cliches, for pure entertainment value I haven't read one to beat it. Makes you feel like your 10 years old reading about the bad Russians. Some brill characters and very exciting stories. Well worth a read. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 25 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 3.0 out of 5 stars Spy Saga Sags This is a sanitized fictionalized "history" of the CIA in which the Americans and Israelis are the "good" guys and the Russians, Cubans, Arabs etc. are the "bad" guys. Read more Published 2 months ago by John Fitzpatrick 4.0 out of 5 stars The American le Carré Just about the only criticism I had of this book is that its 1200+ pages are contained in one volume, making it diffficult to read and hold. Read more Published 3 months ago by Enthusiastic 5.0 out of 5 stars The Company - Fiction served on a layer of fact makes for a thrilling read The Company is easily one of the very best novels I have ever read. It follows the careers of several recruits to the newly-formed CIA from their first days in... Read more Published 20 months ago by Mr. R. I. Moir 4.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece in espionage writing Everything about The Company is on a massive scale. The story spans almost 50 years in the history of the CIA; global history and politics of the time are the backdrop to the... Read more Published 23 months ago by Jl Adcock 5.0 out of 5 stars If you liked 'The Good Shepherd' then read this. People have likened 'The Good Shepherd to 'The Godfather'. I would do the same for this book. It is a great saga. In spite of the length, I was sorry to finish it. Read more Published on 8 Jul 2007 by Secret Squirrel 3.0 out of 5 stars Gripping story masks slightly cliched writing style I greatly enjoyed this book - it was genuinely one of those hard to put down, staying up till 2am page turners. Read more Published on 9 Nov 2006 by AndyL 5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best I found the movement of the plot very well-maintained, and the characters engaging. This is not a book for philosphers or thinkers. This is, simply put, a fun read. Read more Published on 22 Sep 2006 by TM 5.0 out of 5 stars Introduction to History by fiction Great book if you know little about the CIA and want to follow its development from creation till pre-9/11 events. Read more Published on 24 Mar 2006 3.0 out of 5 stars Cracking story, clunky writing. The Company is the first, and so far only, spy/espionage novel I have read, and overall it was enjoyable. Read more Published on 12 Nov 2005 by M. Denton 3.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining but it's all been done before Littell tells a lightly-fictionalised tale of the history of the CIA, in much the same way that Norman Mailer did in "Harlot's Ghost" although covering a rather broader spell of... Read more Published on 20 Feb 2004 by Peter Fenelon Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 25 customer reviews...

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