Charles McCarry (June 14, 1930 – February 26, 2019) was an American writer, primarily of spy fiction, and a former undercover operative for the Central Intelligence Agency whom The Wall Street Journal described in 2013 as "the dean of American spy writers"; The New Republic magazine calls him "poet laureate of the CIA"; and Otto Penzler says he has produced some "poetic masterpieces".
Afterwards, in the 1950s, serving as a speechwriter in the early Administration of President Dwight D.
Eisenhower; a typical McCarry item was the 1953 Labor Day Proclamation, which read, in part, "Free American labor has won for itself the enjoyment of a standard of living unmatched in history.
In real life, the wife of one of Diem's murdered brothers attracted media attention for predicting the JFK assassination ("Anything that happens in Vietnam will find its equivalent in the United States"), and later telling reporters that JFK had got what he deserved. McCarry was a top aide to Henry Cabot Lodge, traveling with him as chief speechwriter in 1960, for example, when Lodge was the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate.
Shelley's Heart)--and one that could qualify as science fiction (Ark). McCarry is compared to le Carré, but le Carré never seems to be compared to McCarry. McCarry's fiction started to be published in the 1970s after he had left the CIA; publication of le Carré's work began in the early 1960s, while he still worked for British intelligence. Both seem to abhor torture (le Carré: "The tortured are a class apart.
The Book of Spies, includes excerpt from The Tears of Autumn. Otto Penzler, ed.: Agents of Treachery, includes "The End of the Sting." The 50 Greatest Mysteries of All Time, includes "The Hand of Carlos" ===Short stories (fiction)=== "The Saint Who Said No," Saturday Evening Post, December 9, 1961 "The Hand of Carlos," Armchair Detective "The End of the String" ===Magazine articles (non-fiction)=== "A ...
These judgments are based on the work of Robert Snyder. In 2007, novelist and former presidential speechwriter Patrick Andersson wrote that "a new generation of American spy novelists soon began [in the 1970s] to produce a body of work that has surpassed that of current British writers.
Such use of journalism as a CIA cover story was one of the practices that attracted much attention in the 1970s; see, for example, the Church Committee. ==Technological and other predictions in McCarry's fiction== Computer algorithms that analyses media content and specify—with accuracy—when a physical war between two countries will break out.
Shelley's Heart)--and one that could qualify as science fiction (Ark). McCarry is compared to le Carré, but le Carré never seems to be compared to McCarry. McCarry's fiction started to be published in the 1970s after he had left the CIA; publication of le Carré's work began in the early 1960s, while he still worked for British intelligence. Both seem to abhor torture (le Carré: "The tortured are a class apart.
Week on the Road With Ralph Nader," Life magazine, January 21, 1972 ===Published poems=== Note: The fictional Paul Christopher had several books of poetry published before he joined the CIA; ==References== ==Further reading== Snyder, Robert Lance.
The Better Angels, 1979. Terrorist suicide bombers appear in Better Angels (1979); the New York Times first reported this form of terrorism in 1983, when describing the Lebanese civil war. Suicide terrorists use fully loaded passenger planes as weapons in Better Angels—which did not occur in real life until September 11, 2001. Suicide bombers begin to blow themselves up at American iconic sites like the Alamo.
Stories include: In March 1981, shortly after taking office, Ronald Reagan was shot; Secretary of State Haig appeared in the White House press room and announced, "I am in charge here!" From the Field: A Collection of Writings from National Geographic (1997, editor) ===Collections that include McCarry's work=== Harlan Coben, ed.
The Better Angels, 1979. Terrorist suicide bombers appear in Better Angels (1979); the New York Times first reported this form of terrorism in 1983, when describing the Lebanese civil war. Suicide terrorists use fully loaded passenger planes as weapons in Better Angels—which did not occur in real life until September 11, 2001. Suicide bombers begin to blow themselves up at American iconic sites like the Alamo.
Rereading The Tears of Autumn, one critic called it "a perfect spy novel." ===Regrets=== McCarry said in 1995, "If I had to do it over again, I would have written novels about a pediatrician, anonymously." Why? Because he thinks of himself as a novelist, not a writer of spy fiction.
The Better Angels, 1979. Terrorist suicide bombers appear in Better Angels (1979); the New York Times first reported this form of terrorism in 1983, when describing the Lebanese civil war. Suicide terrorists use fully loaded passenger planes as weapons in Better Angels—which did not occur in real life until September 11, 2001. Suicide bombers begin to blow themselves up at American iconic sites like the Alamo.
Christopher, the spy whom many first met in McCarry's bestseller The Tears of Autumn, is now an opaque older man and an ascetic survivor of a Chinese prison camp."--Sam Allis, "McCarry's thriller 'Old Boys' is a trip past believable," Boston Globe, July 26, 2004. ==McCarry and literary criticism== McCarry's most recent work has been cited for its "postmodern skepticism" and "epistemic aporia" – "literary reconstruction that profess to unmask" state-sponsored secrecy.
Capitol soon follow,. On June 10, 2004, the Wall Street Journal published a review entitled, "He Has Seen The Future: It's in His Work; Charles McCarry's novels keep coming true.
O'Rourke, "No Country for Old Men," The Weekly Standard,September 13, 2004. Unlike le Carré's work, which focuses on the Cold War and post-Cold War time periods, McCarry explores pre-independence America (Bride of the Wilderness) and has several works set in the near future (e.g.
But since no one can claim to have read every America espionage novel ever written, let’s just say that The Tears of Autumn is a perfect spy novel, and that its hero, Paul Christopher, should by all rights be known the world over as the thinking man’s James Bond — and woman’s too."—Brendan Bernard, "The Great American Spy Novel," March 31, 2005', LA Weekly "Old Boys is a large yarn that will make yummy reading between long looks at Nantucket Sound this summer.
These judgments are based on the work of Robert Snyder. In 2007, novelist and former presidential speechwriter Patrick Andersson wrote that "a new generation of American spy novelists soon began [in the 1970s] to produce a body of work that has surpassed that of current British writers.
The Best American Mystery Stories: 2011, includes "The End of the String." Alan Furst, ed.
Charles McCarry (June 14, 1930 – February 26, 2019) was an American writer, primarily of spy fiction, and a former undercover operative for the Central Intelligence Agency whom The Wall Street Journal described in 2013 as "the dean of American spy writers"; The New Republic magazine calls him "poet laureate of the CIA"; and Otto Penzler says he has produced some "poetic masterpieces".
"Charles McCarry's Recursive Late Fiction." Clues: A Journal of Detection 36.2 (Fall 2018): 71–81. Snyder, Robert Lance.
Charles McCarry (June 14, 1930 – February 26, 2019) was an American writer, primarily of spy fiction, and a former undercover operative for the Central Intelligence Agency whom The Wall Street Journal described in 2013 as "the dean of American spy writers"; The New Republic magazine calls him "poet laureate of the CIA"; and Otto Penzler says he has produced some "poetic masterpieces".
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