Product Description

As the Soviet Union presses into Afghanistan, Harvard historian Anna Barnes joins a top-secret CIA project whose goal is to destabilize the edges of the Soviet Union. Reprint. NYT. PW.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #871462 in Books
• Published on: 1993-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback

From Publishers Weekly
The tottering Soviet empire and a U.S. whose global power is unraveling provide the context for this superb spy thriller, a two-week PW bestseller and BOMC selection in cloth.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA-- A spy novel in which readers are introduced to the ruthless world of international intrigue through novice CIA agent Anna Barnes. The time is 1979 and the U. S. appears to be losing the upper hand to the Soviet Union. The Shah of Iran has just fled, and in the U. S. Embassy Americans are being held hostage. The stability of the Middle East is wavering. In Latin America, the U. S. backed dictator of Nicaragua has sought refuge in the United States, and a treaty has just been signed with Panama to turn over control of the Panama Canal by the year 2000. The good old boys of the CIA are being called to task for this unsettling state of affairs by watchdog Congressional committees. The novel is fast paced, accurate, and suspenseful; the characters are memorable. Ignatius draws upon his experience as the foreign editor of the Washington Post to create a story that is so realistic that it is difficult to believe it is fiction. First-rate. --Dolores M. Steinhauer, Thomas Jefferson Sci-Tech, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
A CIA plot to spread disinformation among Soviet southern republics is the brainchild of aging CIA operative Edward Stone, who neglects to inform his superiors of his plans. Stone recruits bored CIA Istanbul bureau chief Alan Taylor and fledgling CIA agent Anna Barnes, and the three of them set off to stir up the Uzbeks, Azerbaijanis, and Armenians. Ultimately, the CIA discovers Stone's adventure and scrubs the operation, leaving Taylor and Barnes to fend for themselves. At no time does this come across as a serious spy thriller. The main characters, Taylor and Barnes, are not very appealing, and the plot suggests little in the way of intrigue and excitement. If author Ignatius intended to write a hair-raising, action-packed spy thriller, he has missed the mark. His Agents of Innocence (LJ 9/15/87) was a success; Siro is not. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/90.
- Brian Alley, Sangamon State Univ. Lib., Springfield, Ill.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.