The Story of Henri Tod

The Berlin Wall is going up, and Blackford Oakes tries to do something about it. It's a lot of melodrama, but well written. The best parts of the novel for me are the chapters where President Kennedy tries to figure out what is going on, and gets completely off track. Hilarious. For years it was verb......more

Summary: As East Germany takes steps to stem the emigration of its people to the west through East Berlin in 1961, Blackford Oakes is tasked to find out what their intentions are and how they and Moscow will respond if NATO and the US intervenes. After appearing weak and inexperienced in an initial m......more

It is August 1961. Rumors are swirling that Kruschev is about to partition Berlin. President Kennedy, still smarting from the Bay of Pigs disaster, orders the CIA to find out what Kruschev is up to. Enter Blackford Oakes, super-spy, who travels to Berlin and contacts a group of German dissidents, th......more

William F. Buckley's Cold War spy novels never caused any sleepless nights for John Le Carre or Ian Fleming (much less Gore Vidal), but some were better than others, and this -- along with Stained Glass -- shows the Blackford Oakes series at its best. Oakes is in Berlin to check on rumors that Khrus......more

An excellent Cold War thriller featuring Buckley's hero Blackford Oakes on assignment in Berlin. Packed with action and suspense, I found it hard to put down! Although a fictional story, it is filled with historical details that give the reader an insight into that period. Fiction based on fact. I a......more