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caroparr's review against another edition
3.0
The worlds of journalism and spying intersect in intriguing ways here and the journalism stuff is even more relevant now, twenty years on. I liked this much better than his newest one - meatier plot, better characterization - but don't think I'll continue.
tbr_the_unconquered's review against another edition
4.0
A day before my finishing of this book, the wife of a prominent political figure in India was found dead in a hotel room in Delhi. There were a few days of controversy before this death wherein allegations and counter allegations between the husband and the wife made headlines in the news. Be that as it may, the death of this lady sent the media into a frenzy. I do not think even the police would have completed their primary evaluations of the case and yet the news channels seem to have arrived at conclusions all by themselves. The way we behave, react and think have been altered beyond recognition by the hold that popular news media has over us. A good twenty years ago, India had only one television channel and a few newspapers but the story now is an entirely different one. It was entirely coincidental that I was reading this novel when the flood of 'flash news' began screaming out loud across the channels. Without giving the man himself a breathing space to mourn his departed wife, the fourth estate began thundering its verdicts to the mere mortals of India.The summary of this novel bears similarities to this situation for it tells of the extent to which a journalist will go for a good story, the boundaries he will jump over, the relationships he is willing to break and also the dangers that he is willing to invite.
The timeline is the mid 90's, wherein news papers were beginning that steady decline into mediocrity being replaced slowly by electronic news. The story centres around Eric Truell who is a blue eyed wonder boy of a reporter for the respectable New York Mirror. Chance encounters and that unbridled hunger for a story brings him close to the CIA and a loose cannon of an operative who leaks the most juiciest of stories to him. Riding on the wings of these, Eric becomes a super star overnight which destroys lives and careers of others in the process and also wins him powerful enemies. The initial celebrity clamour dies down to be replaced with self doubt, a desire to be morally right and later with abject terror at the power of his enemies. What he also realises with time is that you don't go to bed with the CIA with the agency also not wanting a few favours from you. The action moves from Paris, Washington, Beijing and to Montreal and the feeling of fear at the reach of the antagonists mounts with the chapters.
When you read a book by someone who knows what he/she is writing about, it can make a world of a difference to your enjoyment level. In case of this book, David Ignatius knows what he is writing about for he himself was a journalist and a foreign correspondent at varied times in his career. The plot is fast paced and there aren't any gun trotting intelligence operatives in here. there are no fast paced car chases, gun battles or steamy sex scenes. In its place is the monster of corporate corruption and human fallibility in the face of the temptation of money and power. The protagonist Eric was a smooth operator and one who was unapologetic about his mistakes which cost many a person dearly. Being told from Eric's POV, the reasons and excuses he offers himself for these mistakes showed me how he as a human being grew up through these pages.
The timeline is the mid 90's, wherein news papers were beginning that steady decline into mediocrity being replaced slowly by electronic news. The story centres around Eric Truell who is a blue eyed wonder boy of a reporter for the respectable New York Mirror. Chance encounters and that unbridled hunger for a story brings him close to the CIA and a loose cannon of an operative who leaks the most juiciest of stories to him. Riding on the wings of these, Eric becomes a super star overnight which destroys lives and careers of others in the process and also wins him powerful enemies. The initial celebrity clamour dies down to be replaced with self doubt, a desire to be morally right and later with abject terror at the power of his enemies. What he also realises with time is that you don't go to bed with the CIA with the agency also not wanting a few favours from you. The action moves from Paris, Washington, Beijing and to Montreal and the feeling of fear at the reach of the antagonists mounts with the chapters.
When you read a book by someone who knows what he/she is writing about, it can make a world of a difference to your enjoyment level. In case of this book, David Ignatius knows what he is writing about for he himself was a journalist and a foreign correspondent at varied times in his career. The plot is fast paced and there aren't any gun trotting intelligence operatives in here. there are no fast paced car chases, gun battles or steamy sex scenes. In its place is the monster of corporate corruption and human fallibility in the face of the temptation of money and power. The protagonist Eric was a smooth operator and one who was unapologetic about his mistakes which cost many a person dearly. Being told from Eric's POV, the reasons and excuses he offers himself for these mistakes showed me how he as a human being grew up through these pages.
lbw's review
3.0
I don't usually read this sort of thriller, but Fareed Zakaria recommended one of David Ignatius' other books, "The Increment." That book was checked out from the library but this one was available so I thought I'd give it a try.
It seemed a little longer than it needed to be, but although I kind of wanted it to end, I also wanted to see what was going to happen and so, kept reading. I don't love Ignatius' writing style, but what he writes feels true-to-life. I felt like I learned something about the world of newspaper reporters. I'm eager to try "The Increment" next.
It seemed a little longer than it needed to be, but although I kind of wanted it to end, I also wanted to see what was going to happen and so, kept reading. I don't love Ignatius' writing style, but what he writes feels true-to-life. I felt like I learned something about the world of newspaper reporters. I'm eager to try "The Increment" next.
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