Dark Heart Brings Fiction to Life

One of my all-time favorite movies is Hopscotch. Walter Matthau plays a seasoned CIA operative, that, well, I'll just quote IMDB:

tired of his incompetent colleagues retires and dares them to stop him from publishing an embarrassing book of memoirs

Actually, more like quits because he's not going to accept a desk job, which was a blatant attempt at driving him from the field, again, courtesy of the incompetent boss of covert ops. As the years pass, I love this movie more and more . . . but I digress.

Today, I pick up the newspaper to read: Sources: U.S. seeks all copies of memoir. Apparently one Anthony Shaffer has written a tell-all book, Operation Dark Heart. The book was cleared by Army Reserve, but Defense Intelligence has objected. Oops, too late, the book is already printed.

No problem, the Pentagon offered to buy up the entire 10,000 book first run. (OK, the BBC link is gratuitous; but love to see the "Defence Department").

Sort of like when the CIA operatives go to visit Miles Kendig's publisher in England and threaten to do evil things -- like burn down the warehouse -- to prevent that book's release. Ah, Myerson; I've known you well.

All said, the bumbling efforts of the Pentagon to get and destroy the book are going to make it the most sought after download of the fall season.

If the DIA wasn't being so ham-fisted about it, you'd almost wonder if it wasn't a publicity stunt to get attention for the book.

" . . . this is Eleanor Roooooosevelt. Joe Cutter is tied to a chair in his rooooom . . . "