A Look over My Shoulder begins with President Nixon’s attempt to embroil the Central Intelligence Agency, of which Richard Helms was then the director, in the Watergate cover-up. Helms then recalls his education in Switzerland and Germany and at Williams College; his early career as a foreign correspondent in Berlin, during which he once lunched with Hitler; and his return to newspaper work in the United States. Helms served on the German desk at OSS headquarters in London; subsequently, he was assigned to Allen Dulles’s Berlin office in postwar Germany. On his return to Washington, Helms assumed responsibility for the OSS carryover operations in Germany, Austria, and Eastern Europe. He remained in this post until the Central Intelligence Agency was formed in 1947. At CIA, Helms served in many positions, ultimately becoming the organization’s director from 1966 to 1973. He was appointed ambassador to Iran later that year and retired from government service in January 1977. It was often thought that Richard Helms, who served longer in the Central Intelligence Agency than anyone else, would never tell his story, but here it is–revealing, news-making, and with candid assessments of the controversies and triumphs of a remarkable career.
Born Gerhard Fabian in Stuttgart, Germany on 11th January 1934, Garry's early years of life were spent travelling between countries to avoid persecution by the Nazis. In 1935 his family moved to Bodenback, Czechoslovakia, to avoid the ramifications of the Nuremberg Laws. With news of Germany's annexation of Czechoslovakia, Garry and his mother travelled to Trenchin in Slovakia, then to Brno in Moravia to meet his father, then finally travelled to Prague by the end of 1938. Life in Prague was difficult for his family and they were forced to live under false documents. A steady income was generated by Garry's father's 'illegal' employment as a chauffeur, and the sale of his mother's hand-made items. During this time, Garry did not attend school but received private tuition. Life was difficult, however worse was to come. In November 1942, Garry and his family were deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto, established a year earlier in order to house those considered 'undesirables' by the Nazi regime. There the Fabian family were confronted with filthy living quarters, disease infested conditions and a diet that resulted in malnutrition. Garry endured, in succession, the measles, chicken pox and whooping cough. Initially Garry wandered the camp aimlessly, but was later put to work in the tailoring shop. In time, he came to understand the culture that had developed in the camp and even gained an invaluable education provided by an elderly teacher. In May 1945, the ghetto was liberated by the Russian Army. Out of 15,000 children that entered the ghetto only 150 survived, including Garry. His parents also survived. Although luck played a large part in their survival, Garry's father was in charge of the medical supply store and was classified as 'essential'. After liberation, Garry and his family emigrated to Australia in 1947. Garry attended school and later obtained a junior technical certificate that provided him with an electrical apprenticeship for five years until 1955. In 1956, Garry enlisted in the Australian Navy for a compulsory six months. In 1958 he became engaged to Evelyn Schlesinger and took over his father's business, as his father had died that year. Over the years Garry has held many jobs whilst supporting his wife and two daughters. Fabian's autobiography details life in the Theresienstadt ghetto and his 'new life' in Australia post-war. Garry's description of a child's life in the ghetto opens an unknown world to the reader. Fabian's responsibilities and actions as an 8-11 year old in the ghetto are poignant and revealing, demonstrating how a child's life was shaped by the Nazi regime. Written in a clear and direct style, and in chronological order, this narrative presents an important account of a life deeply affected by the Holocaust, but not defeated by it.
The informal story of the science fiction book field in the 1930's, 40's, and 50's then almost totally the providence of the amateur specialist publisher, set against the background and life of an early science fiction fan and writer. Fantasy Press, Gnome, Shasta, Prime, Grant, FPCI, Arkham House -- those were the kingpins of science fiction publishing three or four decades ago. From its details emerges a picture of a handful of men who accomplished things as fantastic in their own way as the fiction they published. With a 16-page photo supplement, index, and checklist of published books.
In late October 1939, Robert Graves wrote to Alan Hodge: “I have begun a new book, about English.” Graves and Hodge had recently completed a social history of the between-wars period called The Long Week-End. Now they embarked on this new project, “a handbook for writers of English Prose,” to be called The Reader Over Your Shoulder. The world was in total upheaval. Graves had already fled Majorca three years earlier at the start of the Spanish Civil War. As they labored over their new writing project, Graves and Hodge witnessed the fall of France and the evacuation of Allied forces at Dunkirk. In early September 1940 began the bombing of London by the German Luftwaffe, a concentrated effort to destroy the resolve of the English people. Graves’s and Hodge’s idea was simple enough: at a time when their whole world was falling apart, the survival of English prose sentences, of writing that was clear, concise, intelligible, had become paramount if hope were going to survive the onslaught. They came up with forty-one principles for writing, the majority devoted to clarity, the remainder to grace of expression. They studied the prose of a wide range of noted authors and leaders, finding much room for improvement. Quoting grammarian and bestselling author Patricia T. O’Conner from her new introduction, “With a new war to be won, the kingdom couldn’t afford careless, sloppy English. Good communication was critical.” The book they would write would turn out to be one of the most erudite, and at the same time one of the most spontaneous and inspired, ever to take on the challenge of writing well. O’Conner in her introduction describes The Reader Over Your Shoulder as nothing less than “the best book on writing ever published.” The present edition restores, for the first time in three-quarters of a century, the original, 1943, text, which in subsequent printings and editions had been shortened by over 150 pages, including much of the heart of the book.
This book begins with the story of a young boy, Rem Vandenberg, who was born in 1937 in the Netherlands just before the onslaught of the Second World War. His youth was a struggle to exist under the German occupation and in combating the depravation of poverty. Added to these hardships was the ongoing personal battle he fought daily in accepting the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church which were heavily imposed on him by the uncompromising adult belief of the time. His authoritarian father loaded with the responsibility of caring for the large family was staunch in upholding his strong principles and instilling them into his children. Of a less serious nature and with a strong desire to be free of the bonds restricting him from freedom of expression and thought Rem was often on the punitive end of the disciple rod, both at school and home. Opposing this oppression was the endless love and compassion of his mother, who through the strength of her faith, was able to engulf the whole family under her mantle of love and bind them together into a caring family unit. At a young age Rem had to begin work to help support the family. What he was expected to do for a few cents per week was beyond the capability of this small undernourished lad. His father insisted on strength of character and allowed him to be pushed to the limit of his endurance. Held by the love of his family but tormented with the urge to be free of restrictions Rem finally took his life in his own hands. At the age of sixteen driven by the spirit of adventure he left home and joined the merchant navy. His first voyage was on a whaling ship to the South Pole which was followed by voyages throughout the world for the next few years. On sailing into his first Australian port his desire to stay in Australia took over. He jumped ship and went inland where he took a job on the railway. After six months as gang worker he was finally picked up by the law and experienced a short jail sentence before being deported back to Holland. His love for Australia was strong and within two years he returned as a legal migrant and still lives in his beloved land today.
For the 50th anniversary of the Watergate break-in: The untold story of President Richard Nixon, CIA Director Richard Helms, and their volatile shared secrets that ended a presidency. Scorpions' Dance by intelligence expert and investigative journalist Jefferson Morley reveals the Watergate scandal in a completely new light: as the culmination of a concealed, deadly power struggle between President Richard Nixon and CIA Director Richard Helms. Nixon and Helms went back decades; both were 1950s Cold Warriors, and both knew secrets about the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba as well as off-the-books American government and CIA plots to remove Fidel Castro and other leaders in Latin America. Both had enough information on each other to ruin their careers. After the Watergate burglary on June 17, 1972, Nixon was desperate to shut down the FBI's investigation. He sought Helms' support and asked that the CIA intervene—knowing that most of the Watergate burglars were retired CIA agents, contractors, or long-term assets with deep knowledge of the Agency's most sensitive secrets. The two now circled each other like scorpions, defending themselves with the threat of lethal attack. The loser would resign his office in disgrace; the winner, however, would face consequences for the secrets he had kept. Rigorously researched and dramatically told, Scorpions' Dance uses long-neglected evidence to reveal a new perspective on one of America's most notorious presidential scandals.
“A fantastic book, one of the very finest accounts of wartime spookery” (The Wall Street Journal)—a spellbinding adventure story of four secret OSS agents who would all later lead the CIA and their daring espionage and sabotage in wartime Europe from the author of the bestselling Wild Bill Donavan. They are the most famous and controversial directors the CIA has ever had—Allen Dulles, Richard Helms, William Colby, and William Casey. Before each of these four men became their country’s top spymaster, they fought in World War II as secret warriors for Wild Bill Donovan’s Office of Strategic Services. Allen Dulles ran the OSS’s most successful spy operation against the Axis. Bill Casey organized dangerous missions to penetrate Nazi Germany. Bill Colby led OSS commando raids behind the lines in occupied France and Norway. Richard Helms mounted risky intelligence programs against the Russians in the ruins of Berlin. Later, they were the most controversial directors the CIA has ever had. Dulles launched the calamitous operation at Cuba’s Bay of Pigs. Helms was convicted of lying to Congress over the CIA’s role in the ousting of President Salvador Allende in Chile. Colby would become a pariah for releasing a report on CIA misdeeds during the 1950s, sixties and early seventies. Casey would nearly bring down the CIA—and Ronald Reagan’s presidency—from a scheme that secretly supplied Nicaragua’s contras with money raked off from the sale of arms to Iran for American hostages in Beirut. Mining thousands of once-secret World War II documents and interviewing scores, Waller has written a worthy successor to Wild Bill Donovan. “Entertaining and richly detailed” (The Washington Post), Disciples is the story of these four dynamic agents and their daring espionage and sabotage in wartime Europe.
Angel Blessings meets half full in this inspiring collection of 40 true stories illustrating the protection, love, and joy guardian angels bring into our lives. This book marries two best-selling trends--angels and heartwarming story collections.
Dax Franklin walked away from his marriage a few years back thinking that it would save Jory Carters’ career, a career he had fostered himself. Years later, when Dax hears that Jory is in a coma, he comes back, realizing he has never stopped loving him. Jory needs rehab, but his manager boyfriend has other plans. Dax is willing to help Jory through his struggle with alcohol and drugs, but it must be Jory’s decision. Is the memory of what they once meant to each other enough to save Jory from himself, or will his status as an international star prove stronger?
