Free Republic

LONDON — John le Carré, whose exquisitely nuanced, intricately plotted Cold War thrillers elevated the spy novel to high art by presenting both Western and Soviet spies as morally compromised cogs in a rotten system full of treachery, betrayal and personal tragedy, died on Saturday in Cornwall, England. He was 89.

The BBC is adapting John le Carre's novel The Night Manager for a new six-part series. The book, published in 1993, is about a former British soldier who ends up going undercover as part of a sting against a black market weapons dealer. Hugh Laurie and Tom Hiddleston are set to star, according to the Hollywood Reporter, but the BBC said that was just speculation. US networks are also looking to pick up the series, the magazine reported.

It's still spy author vs. spy. Famed espionage writer John Le Carré remains no fan of James Bond, the martini-loving super spy created by Ian Fleming. "I dislike Bond. I'm not sure that Bond is a spy," the "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" author said in 1966, during a BBC interview that will be re-broadcast next week. Today, the 78-year-old Le Carré told the Radio Times that while he may have been harsh 40 years ago, he's still not sure Bond is much of a spy. "At the root of Bond there was something neo-fascistic and totally materialist," said Le Carré,...

LONDON — British espionage writer John Le Carre said he was tempted to defect to the Soviet Union when he worked for British intelligence agency MI6, according to an interview published Sunday. In an interview with The Sunday Times, the 76-year-old novelist was quoted as saying he was curious about what was on the other side of the Iron Curtain. "I wasn't tempted ideologically," he was quoted as saying. "But when you spy intensively and you get closer and closer to the border ... it seems such a small step to jump ... and you know, find out the rest."...

If you were thinking of seeing "The Constant Gardener," when it arrives in theaters, next week, save your money. That is, unless you are into movies where the murderous, evil White man and the big bad pharmaceutical companies they run are the reason for all poverty, illness, despair, and death in Africa. That's the Cliff's Notes version of this celluloid piece of crap: Western White Man, Evil; Innocent African Black Man, Angelic. The stupid, liberal, noblesse oblige crowd who attended the screening just loved it. I guess they enjoy being spanked. No coincidence that far-left, biased organizations like OxFam and...

Son of The English Patient: Boring "Constant Gardener" is Dreadful, Far-Left, White Guilt Drivel By Debbie Schlussel If you were thinking of seeing "Constant Gardener," when it arrives in theaters, next week, save your money. That is, unless you are into movies where the murderous, evil White man and the big bad pharmaceutical companies they run are the reason for all poverty, illness, despair, and death in Africa. That's the Cliff's Notes version of this celluloid piece of crap: Western White Man, Evil; Innocent African Black Man, Angelic. The stupid, liberal, noblesse oblige crowd who attended the screening just loved...

Even if last week's outrageous, anti-American slurs by Nelson Mandela, former South African president and honorary Canadian citizen, might be excused by the frailties of his advancing years -- he is 84 and suffering failing health -- they should not be politely ignored. Anti-war agitators have already used Mr. Mandela's iconic stature to bolster their feeble case against an invasion of Iraq. London's leftist Daily Mirror, for instance, called Mr. Mandela "the most admired statesman in the world," and insisted his remarks had "demolished the stand taken by [U.S. President] George W. Bush and [British Prime Minister] Tony Blair, and...

It’s no secret that I believe the War on Terror is essential, for us and for the future of Western Civilization.It’s also no secret that the standard “intellectual” position on the war is virulent opposition – at least to the campaign in Iraq. There are sensible reasons to have opposed the Iraq campaign from the start, and sensible reasons to regret it now. Unfortunately, I hear almost none of the sensible reasons. Instead, I hear the kind of vitriol spewed in – sadly – John le Carré’s latest novel, Absolute Friends. It’s a moving story of how a disaffected young...

America has entered one of its periods of historical madness, but this is the worst I can remember: worse than McCarthyism, worse than the Bay of Pigs and in the long term potentially more disastrous than the Vietnam War. The reaction to 9/11 is beyond anything Osama bin Laden could have hoped for in his nastiest dreams. As in McCarthy times, the freedoms that have made America the envy of the world are being systematically eroded. The combination of compliant US media and vested corporate interests is once more ensuring that a debate that should be ringing out in every...