Len Deighton Books

In a wonderfully written book of short stories, Len Deighton looks at wars from a different angle. There is no heroics, no hero braving enemy fire and single handedly thwarting the oppositions plans. This book is about the real truth. About soldiers in despair, fearing their lives everytime they go out. It is about how wars change people. Wars are about danger and death, and not about medals and awards. For every single person receiving a bravery award, countless unknown soldiers have laid down their lives. A lovely book. Read it and be transported into the battlefield. On guard!

This is by far the worst book I have ever read. It is dull, boring, and you don't even have a clue as to what is going on until about the 20th chapter (and it only has 22 chapters).

After GAME, SET & MATCH Deighton ups the pace with a much shorter book. Deighton reveals a little more about his characters while our hero becomes increasingly baffled. A terrific hook for the rest of the series

The start of the 2nd Trilogy, following on from 'Game, Set and Match'. This story starts with the problem of missing funds (1/2 million pounds). Bernard, ever the gopher and trouble-shooter (or is it just that he get's things done) is sent to Washington to find out what Jim Prettyman can tell London about the missing funds. Jim's not talking. First, he refuses to tell Bernard anything and then, just hours later, is apparently murdered.

We're off. On another Deighton intrigue, this one resolving itself in California. Along the way, Gloria (Bernard's girlfiend) introduces him to Dodo, a Hungarian ex-spook that used to work for the West. He seems to know things - about the money's use, about what's going on in the service, about Bernard's father's intelligence work in WWII. All of this has implications for the plot - perhaps the most convoluted and satisfying of the series.

Bernard's trip to California reveals surprises, by way of persons, thought gone, but whose appearance here helps explain the disappearance of the money and what it is being used for.

This book flows along nicely but never actually goes anywhere. The book simply ends with no action, and no questions answered. It left me very very annoyed.

The action follows that of London Match, and I don't think it's giving anything away to say that it ends with a cliffhanger forcing you to read Spy Line, the next in the series.
Samson the wearied but enthusiastic British spy who is the hero of this series, is a rerun of Palmer of the much earlier Ipcress File. Many of the same situations recur. Even the bumbling fellow passenger on the plane is a rerun. The plot, as in all the others, hinges on which British spy will turn out to be a mole working for the Russians. Much of the action takes place in a divided Berlin. This was published in 1988 so the end of the Cold War was about to out-date it in a way, but it's still great entertainment.
One group of Deighton fans regards this series as a falling off from his earlier stories. They are more conventional in a way, but this partly refects that Deighton and Carre were being imitated, rather than that Deighton was yielding to fashion.

Bernard does nothing but mope about Fiona the whole time, but in the end it looks like Bernared won't be her victum anymore.

Bernard is off to Poland in this latest 8 0f 9 in the series, a must read

The Cold War espionage genre may seem a little dated. There are other concerns and fears on many of our minds now. But for reasons I'll get to below, this novel series is a stand-out from that era, and still well worth reading.

_Hope_ was actually written after the fall of the Berlin Wall, but the plot takes place a few years before it. In this book Bernard Samson takes an assignment to communist Poland seeking his missing brother-in-law, who may be digging up secrets neither side wants revealed. The book plot is interesting enough, but also there are several series-length plot lines that continued to engross me: can Bernard and his wife Fiona rebuild their marriage and their family? What really happened to Bernard's father? Was Bernard's sister-in-law really killed by the side of that East Berlin highway?

I just recently re-read the entire Bernard Samson series (of which this is the eighth out of nine novels). It is one of the best novel series I have ever read, and certainly one of the best espionage genre series ever. There are so many things to like about this series - the in-depth characterizations; the pithy observational asides about people and cultures; the references to multiple languages and their subtleties; the gritty European settings; the hidden plot developments and character motivations that the narrator either can't or won't see; etc.

The author claims that each of these books can be read on their own, and perhaps they could be. But I agree with other reviewers here: you can get a lot more enjoyment out of it if you start at the beginning with _Berlin Game_ (or even better yet - start with the WWII prequel: _Winter_).

The Samson series may not be for everybody. It lacks the larger than life setting of a James Bond whopper and it doesn't have all the background of LeCarre's Smiley tales.
But these are good, realistic reads. Hope is no different and one of the best in the Samson series in my opinion.
Deighton deals with some interesting, complex problems that were facing the spy services at the time and still are. Such as what's the truth, what will happen in this changing world and how far is too far to go in situations.
What I think he does very well is describing Bernard Samson's fear. Several passages in the book show what fear does to a man in extreme situations. You can almost feel Samson's frayed nerves.
He's human and with all the drawbacks that brings a man. To some, humanity foilables may not be interesting fodder for novels. If you want to know the super agent is always going to bed the girl and blow up the volcano HQ then maybe Samson and other books like it isn't your bag ... baby.
If you want a little touch of realism with your tea then grab all the Samson books plus Deighton's novel Winter, which is a prequel.
I agree with others who said these things should be read in order (Winter, Berlin Game, Mexico Set, London Match, Spy Hook, Spy Line, Spy Sinker, Faith, Hope and lastly Charity), but if you were to grab Hope out of sequence it wouldn't be that big a deal. Deighton gives the right level of background.
This is a good book. Pick it up.

Let me start by saying that this whole series is best suited to be read in order. I picked one up here and there and in doing so mixed the order up. What that meant is that I had to do a little extra thinking at times and on some books the light bulbs went off for some of my earlier questions. I also think these books are best suited to someone that is looking for a real characters driven spy story and not a action packed James Bond shoot em up. Deighton is a writer, therefore he spends time getting to know the characters, their personalities - what they are thinking, not just when they are reloading their gun. This being said I did think this book could have used a bit more action to punch it up, get the pace up a notch or two. Overall it is a good, solid book that gives you a decent amount of entertainment.

Every so often, unscrupulous pacifists and their kin, bent on protecting some totalitarian government (North Vietnam) or murderous dictatorship (Saddam's Iraq), will play upon popular ignorance about the nature of war. Well-intentioned people can be turned against a necessary and good war by those who place a one-sided emphasis on the confusion, folly, and horror that are a feature of all wars.

Len Deighton's book is a good counter to that manipulation. It subtitle's itself, "An Objective Look at World War II," and for the most part that's true. Americans might like to believe that we had the best tanks in World War II. Anyone who reads Deighton will discover that, if you had to fight in a tank-to-tank encounter, you'd be better off in a Russian T-34 than in a Sherman. In similar fashion, he demolishes any illusions readers might have that Allied strategy was always as wise as we might hope or that Axis strategy was always as foolish as Hitler sometimes made it.

G. K. Chesterton warned of the dangers of this sort of ignorance. Noting that we need to stretch "our imagination to the scale of the war," avoiding the twin evils of exultation and depression, he added, "To be elated when a village is captured in the morning, and cast down again in the afternoon -- this is not to follow the course of a war. It is simply to be ignorant of the very nature of a war." Both the defenders and critics of the Iraqi war would do well to heed his advice.

Although no war as complex as WWII can be covered in a single book, this book will stretch your imagination, allowing you view war realistically for what it is and without being deceived by the distortions of either jingoists or pacifists.

--Michael W. Perry, editor of Chesterton on War and Peace: Battling the Ideas and Movements that Led to Nazism and World War II

I think this book is a excellent book because it talks more of the British than the US. I have noticed in many, many books about World War II, that they mention, in passing of the British. I don't think it's right to heap the credit on the Americans and just put a dusting of credit on the British. Therefore, that's why this book is a excellent book.

The subtitle of this book ("An objective view of world war 2") is perhaps a bit misleading. First of all, Len Deighton seems too close to the subject to be truly objective. Secondly, the book does not cover the whole of WW2.
Deighton's claim as regards the latter is that the war was essentially decided and the outcome inevitable at the moment the US entered into the fray. So he stops his description of the war in December 1941. Theoretically his view is (I think) correct. However, as a result we get a book that concentrates perhaps too much on the confrontation between the UK and Germany at the expense of the other nations involved.
Having said that, the book is a marvellous read. Deighton has a solid grasp on his subject, and his writing is second to none. This is not a dry reference tome; it is a page turner. Whilst I agree that Deighton at times contradicts himself and is not always accurate, I would recommend the book to anyone seeking an easy to read and well-informed (if not definitive) overview of the first two-and-a-half years of WW2 from a British perspective.

A Close Reading Reveals a Book of Unfulfilled Expectations, Errors, and Confusion.

I have reviewed the first edition published by Harper Collins in 1993. This edition was published in one volume.

"Blood Tears and Folly" by Len Deighton is a book, with a limited scope. This book is not a one volume history of World War II such as the one by Martin Gillbert. In fact the subtitle to "Blood, Tears, and Folly", "An Objective Look at World War II," is misleading. Many of the most important battles of the war, such as Stalingrad and Kursk are merely mentioned in passing, and others, Midway for example, as far as I can tell, are not mentioned at all. We also get critiques of men who no role whatsoever in World War II, for example on pp 126-30 Deighton dourly describes General Douglas Haig as a man not to be deterred by failure, or even to learn from it. General Haig commanded the British Expeditionary Force in World War I and died in 1928. I guess Deighton gives his take on General Haig as background to World War II. After all the British, and Churchill were against landing troops in France because of the thought of the casualties suffered in the First World War. There are differences in his treatment of personalities in this book and Deighton's previously published books. In a previous book, "Fighter" he described General Jodl as a "yes-man." In this book you read that Jodl was "intelligent and independent" and "in no way a lackey." (p. 437) but later on page 465 we read that all those present at a meeting between Hitler and General Guderian nodded in agreement at every sentence that Hitler uttered. Among those present was General Jodl. Deighton had it right the first time. There are out right errors as well. The map of "the Air Battlefield" on page 375 has "Lee Mallory" for "Leigh-Mallory." There are errors in the index, for example General Blumentritt is listed in the index as being mentioned on page 492, where in fact the passage appears one page earlier. Deighton goes into a great deal of detail in the areas of the war he does cover. Mostly he chronicles the early battles of World War II, from the early blitzkriegs in Poland and France, the battle of the Atlantic, and the Battle of Britain and Barbarosa. Sometimes he gives too much detail. I found that Deighton some times will give more than one explanation for an historical event. For example Hitler's decision to attack the Soviet Union is given two different explanations. On page 437 we read that Hitler "felt ridiculous and like most men, he found ridicule an unendurable burden. Hitler detested Marxists and he was determined that they should again be his enemy." On page 494 we read "But despite all of the Nazi talk of "Living Space" in the East, the German armies invaded the Soviet Union only because Hitler and his SS men wanted to murder the Jews and the Bolsheviks."

Nowhere near the quality of Game Set Match. Earlier Deighton seemed to be better. Then he got commercial.

Although the novel doesn't come right and say it, this has all the markings of a "Harry Palmer" novel. A nameless British agent criss crosses the globe in an effort to aid a defecting Russian scientist. Nothing is as it seems and our protagonist must sort it all out.

This terse, fast-moving cold-war spy yarn has to do with a pair of counterspies careening around the world (the Sahara, Washington, Paris, Florida) trying to coopt a Russian engineer in order to get at a Russian installation capable of intercepting satellite intelligence transmissions. The main characters are a CIA operative, Major Mann, and the story's narrator, a nameless British agent. The plot twists are entertaining enough, but as in all of this author's better books, the real fun is in overhearing the conversations and the wry observations that reveal the characters and situations in which the coolly competent protagonists operate. Much of the pleasure in a Deighton novel lies in coming upon the author's clever turns of phrase -- as in a scene where our two agents are in the posh Florida home of a communist agent grilling the wife regarding her knowledge of his activities. She tries to maintain a facade of innocent southern gentility, but as her story is being picked apart item by item, she fiddles with her purse, which our narrator observes is "made from a couple of yards of the Bayeaux tapestry."

A very nice book, probably not as good as his nine Bernard Samson novels, but still a nice read. It has the usual globetrotting spy aspects and is done in a way that only Len Deighton could pull off. If you are a fan of deightons this is sure to please.

A good book but difficult to follow at times,I wanted light recreational reading but this seemed almost like a textbook at times,worth reading but not his best.

On the whole, I am a fan of most of Len Deighton's later works particularly all nine of the Bernard Samson Novels. I think that reading one of an author's early novels after having read, and enjoyed, much of his later work, leaves you ripe for a little disappointment. That was my reaction here. He just hadn't completely found his "voice" in this novel which was originally published in 1966, well before those nine Bernard Samson novels I mentioned earlier (Copyright dates 1984 through 1996).

I found the plot unnecessarily complex. It starts with an anonymous spy, residing in Paris, who receives a bundle of documents from a courier with the instructions to deliver them to a man he knows as Datt. But he is not do just deliver them at a convenient time or place. This would be too easy. He is to keep them until Datt gets them from him in his (Datt's) own time and by whatever method Datt decides on. Datt's method involves kidnapping him, injecting him with "truth serum." and having the documents stolen from his room while he is so detained. An interesting delivery, indeed!

This is the beginning of the the United States deliberate revelation of certain Nuclear Weaponry information, or perhaps well disguised misinformation, to representatives of the Chinese Communist government.

During the course of __AN EXPENSIVE PLACE TO DIE__, there are kidnappings, murders, scenes in a high end brothel that caters to diplomats, where dossiers on these diplomats are developed, and where films are made of them in compromising positions. There are surprises, double-crosses, and unexpected revelations around every corner before we finallly sort out the good(?) guys from the bad (also ?) guys.

If you like Len Deighton's later novels, this is a good book to read from the standpoint of seeing how much he developed as a spy novelist through the years, and it certainly contains the seeds of many of the themes he developed in his later novels.

In the words of a current movie critic, "I give it a moderate thumbs up."

I actually had checked this book out of our local library when we found out my wife was pregnant. The advice is so dated and bad (mind you, it was first published in the 1970s) that it can only be treated as bad humor as opposed to information. It advises you to take your wife out for one last alcoholic fling when you find out she's pregnant, offers advice that is no longer relevant for the birth, and really bad cooking advice. It does not reflect any current knowledge and could give a guy a very wrong idea about what to expect. May it go out of print!

This whole series is the best I know of. I started purchasing them in the 70s for my children...who are now soon to be parents. Buy them, put them on the coffee table and leave them there for years! From generation to generation, the charming truth of our bodies, minds and spirits.

The author has tried to cover too much ground, with the usual result that much of it is skimmed. You may be able to glean a few good points, but don't put all your hopes in this being your sole source of information, it just can't do it. Not only is it generally flighty but also occasionally ill-informed; "giving a pregnant woman champagne". If it had been a clear-cut comedy book I could respect that, but the chuckles are weak and a few are not even funny being disrespectful to women. I have been a bit harsh perhaps in reviewing this book, if this is not the only book/class/etc the expectant father learns from it is ok as a mild humor book. Hopefully it will prompt the purchase of a more accurate and informative book.

I bought this book for my husband shortly after we learned I was pregnant. I read it first and thought it was perfectly short and direct for the first-time and somewhat-frightened busy father-to-be. My husband didn't read it until after our baby boy was born. At which point, enraptured by our son,he read it from front to cover and tried out all the recipes included during my first couple of weeks home. The recipes are simple, but really, really delicious. He still refers to it for certain dishes. My bet is that he will read it again, but at the beginning of my next pregnancy -- not the end of it!

At one point in the narrative the author recommends that you read some of your wife's pregnancy books to get an idea what's going on. That is the best advice this book has to offer. Read another book.

I found most of what was advised here to be dated and not all that useful given the changing roles in modern America. Most men do not need to read hints on how to make canned soup and the recipe for "Tuna Chowder" made my wife's stomach churn when I read it out loud. The entire chapter on what to do while in the waiting room seems superfluous in contemporary society where the husband accompanies his wife during the delivery.

There are some good words of wisdom peppered through the 1950s mentality though. Let your wife know you love her and that she's attractive. Get involved with the process right from the start and... and.....

Sorry. That's about all I could glean from this thing. I just saved you ten bucks.

I read this book right after a Tom Clancy novel, and well, it's hard to compete with the master, Tom Clancy. I would probably have enjoyed this more if I had read it first. The plot just wasn't near as exciting as the the Clancy book, and I think that did play a part in my opinion of this book. All in all though, it was a good book and well written

I am quite a fan of Lenny's work, but this was a Barry of the highest order. It goes nowhere, slowly, without a climax. The characters are interesting, but don't do much. Too many unanswered questions. Must say that I really like John Curl.

If you want Deighton go Winter

Len Deighton is 3 different writers. His first books (1962-82) are directionless, pointless, storyless, boring.

His Bernard Samson books are good.

After that (mamist, city of gold) he goes into his second childhood with simpleton, stupid, unbelievable plots and characters.

Not recommended

Comparing Len Deighton to Tom Clancy works only in that both authors choose from time to time to operate in the shadow world of espoinage. In a Clancy novel there is never any doubt who wears the white hat; it is this distinction that separates Deighton from Clancy. A generation back the comparison between Deighton and Clancy would have been Graham Greene and Ian Fleming. Which you choose says more about the types of novels you read than which story you preferred.

MAMista is a story written by an author quite comfortable examining the moral ambiguities presented, with good detail to his fictional surroundings, direct in his presentation, and very agile in his story-telling abilities. The characters always come alive with the story, including some minor ones you'd rather not have done so. The only complaint; in setting the mood so well, Deighton can go on a bit more than necessary. This is a minor flaw in an otherwise graceful novel.

This is a fairly old book and it does not hold up well to the passage of time. I would suggest you move one to another book unless the particular plot is something you are really interested in or you want to cover all of the authors work. I would say that the book is as well written as most of his other work, but that characters and plot do not get as much development as his later efforts.

... and this time heads for deep waters. This was written around the same time as "The Ipcress File". It is well written with enough twists and turns to keep you reading to the end. Sometimes it flounders about but nonetheless keeps its head abover water. "The Ipcress File" and "Funeral in Berlin" have more more depth and character development but "Horse Under Water" holds its own.

The spy with no name became "Harry Palmer" in the films which starred Michael Caine. This novel was next in line to be filmed but apparently the dissappointing box office of Ken Russell's "The Billion Dollar Brain" -- an eccentric but entertaining version of the book -- led to the demise of the film series. To bad. "Horse Under Water" has the makings of a fine drama.

this wasnt one of Deightons best books, a little of of date and not worth the read.