Georgia Authors Discuss Iran, Espionage and National Security Issues

Attention all espionage and national security aficionados:

On Thursday evening, beginning at 7 pm at the Buckhead (Atlanta) Barnes & Noble, Emory University professor of political science and history, Dr. Harvey Klehr will discuss his new co-authored book, Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America. The book examines the journals of former KGB officer Alexander Vassiliev, and details the heretofore unknown extent of the KGB's operations in the United States. The book, and the discussion, will likely prove far more interesting than even the best Cold War fiction.

What: Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America by Harvey Klehr

Where: Barnes & Noble Buckhead (Atlanta)

When: 7 pm, Thursday, June 25

Other Georgia authors you may wish to check out:

If you have an interest in intelligence and intelligence agencies, University of Georgia professor of political science Loch Johnson is one of the leading intelligence scholars in the country. In January of 2001, at a book signing for his then new book, Bombs, Bugs, Drugs and Thugs: Intelligence and America's Quest for Security, Dr. Johnson discussed his fear of a possible "non-conventional attack against the US by a terrorist group or other non-state actor" as one of the gravest threats facing America. Nine months later, Dr. Johnson was in great demand by media organizations seeking expert analysis concerning that very tragic reality.

Loch Johnson is the author or co-author of nearly a dozen books on intelligence and national security topics, including the Handbook for Intelligence Studies (June 09) and Fateful Decisions: Inside the National Security Council (with Ambassador Karl Inderfurth; Nov 03).

If you have been following events in Iran, you may wish to examine the books of Georgia author and Middle East expert Sandra Mackey. In particular, her book The Iranians: Persia, Islam, and the Soul of a Nation (Apl 98) is certainly relevant to current events. Her other books include Reckoning: Iraq and the Legacy of Saddam Hussein (first published in May 02, then revised in March 03) and Mirror of the Arab World: Lebanon in Conflict (Feb 08).

If you have been following the Swine Flu pandemic, Georgia author and former Atlanta Journal Constitution health reporter Maryn McKenna's 2004 book, Beating Back the Devil: On the Front Lines with the Disease Detectives of the Epidemic Intelligence Service is a darkly fascinating and disturbing look at the work of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) headquartered in Atlanta. McKenna was given unprecedented access to the elite units of the CDC who serve as America's (and often, the world's) front-line warriors against Ebola, SARS, bio-terrorism and flu pandemics.

The recent and horrific shooting at the National Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. brings to mind Georgia author Daniel Levitas' 2002 (revised in 2004) book, The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right. Levitas regularly consults with law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, on issues relating to domestic terrorism.

For good, solid WWII-Cold War fiction, try University of Georgia faculty member, screen writer, and former CIA officer Howard Berk's novel, Nikolai's War (08). Some of Berk's other writing credits include many of the scripts for the original 'Mission Impossible' and 'Columbo' TV series.

On a related, though non-literary, side note, I was recently pleased to discover that the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education is continuing a program that I started there back in 2005. This year's Secret Agent Summer Camp (formerly, Spy Camp) sounds pretty cool. Below is a link to an Athens Banner Herald article about the program when we were first getting it off the ground.

http://onlineathens.com/stories/100305/fea_20051003007.shtml

RMR

The Immigrant Experience--Judy and Takis Iakovou Book Signing

After years of meticulous research, Judy and Takis Iakovou's historical mystery novel, Bitter Tide, finally hit the shelves this week. The Athens' area couple are perhaps best known for their previous Nick and Julia Lambros mystery series, which includes So Dear to Wicked Men and There Lies a Hidden Scorpion. They are also known for Taki's Greek cooking, and are the former owners of the Silver Screen restaurant in Crawford, Georgia.

A nice crowd turned out this past week for their reading and signing over in Athens, GA. The new novel revolves largely around Ellis Island, and early 1900s New York City. The Library Journal has already given the book a hearty thumbs up.

For a bit more detail about the book, see the article that appeared in this week's Athens Banner Herald at the link below:

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/060909/liv_448892860.shtml

The photo is from this week's signing. That's author Terry Kay in the one shot. He is a tremendous supporter of Georgia authors and their work.

Congratulations Judy and Takis!

Also suggested, if you are interested in immigrant stories (& Georgia):

Outcasts United by Warren St. John. This new title features the story of a group of immigrant/refugee kids in metro Atlanta who form a very successful soccer team. The book has been receiving a great deal of press lately, and a movie deal is in the works.

RMR

The Siege by Ismail Kadare

First published in Albania in 1970, then in France in 1994, The Siege by Albanian author Ismail Kadare has finally made it to bookstores in the U.S. It is just out from Cannongate Press. It is extraordinary.

The book won the first Man Booker International Prize in 2005, and Kadare has repeatedly been seen as a candidate for a Nobel Prize in literature. And he is from Albania.

Set in medieval Albania during Ottoman rule, The Siege tells the story of an Ottoman army trying to take an Albanian citadel. If historical fiction, fine writing, epic battles, and universal themes interest you, this book is worth a look.

This book is brutal, sensual in places, and rich.

The photos at top are of Rozafa Citadel in Shkoder, Albania. They show the castle at a distance, then looking over the ramparts toward the city of Shkoder, then the interior of the fortress. The photos were shot back in 1994.

Recommended:

The General of the Dead Army and Broken April, both by Ismail Kadare.

Andersonville by McKinley Kantor

Broken April was the last book that I ever purchased from Oxford Bookstore in Atlanta. On my way to Albania to teach.

RMM

A Harem of 50-Year-Old Hotties

My dad (Pop, we call him) is getting remarried tomorrow. The harem of 50-year-old hotties living at his house had to move out to make room for his new bride.

Pop is marrying a wonderful lady. It's quite a story, too. Both he and my late mother, as well as his new wife-to-be and her late husband, all new each other as teenagers. They grew up together. My mom passed away over three years ago, now. Miss Nancy, Pop's fiance, lost her husband five years ago.

Friendship led to companionship and, well, what can one say? Senior Citizens these days!

So, tomorrow, with two whole lives already under their collective belt, Pop and Nancy are getting married. A month ago, my father (age 69) more or less asked me for my permission to get married. In a round about way, so did Miss Nancy. Pop's very old school, and Nancy is the picture of grace.

We never quite know what to expect next, do we? I'm already trying to absorb my own child's finishing kindergarten this week (she is a READER!).

Unbeknown to my spouse (and soon to be first grader daughter), Gone With the Wind Barbie and her sisters are about to move in with us. Pop has been making room at home for his new bride. One of the items moving out has been my late mother's rather substantial collection of heirloom Barbie dolls. Barbie just turned 50 years old, you may recall from the media coverage. This collection was one of my mom's quirky passions. The collecting really took off after the birth of my daughter. Call it her legacy.

Quirky as it was, it was still heartfelt. And that's what matters. And I've never curated a Barbie museum. It ought to be interesting.

Best of Luck to Pop and Nancy.

Recommended reading:

Anything about family.

RMR

On the Road

It is certainly nice to be home after being on the road for work for nearly a month. Two weeks in Chicago, then two weeks commuting daily between metro Atlanta and Milledgeville, Georgia.

While in Chicago, I had the opportunity to meet author Neil Shubin at a discussion and signing for his book Your Inner Fish. I'm hoping the book will give me some insights on the matter of my own inner fish, as well as to some of those less evolved.

Chicago is a tremendous city, especially for eating. I also had the chance to see the famous Loyola University basketball court, and Soldier Field. The Field Museum is simply not to be missed. Indiana Jones would melt in that place.

Recommended reading:

From Lucy to Language by Donald Johanson (with photography by Georgia photographer, for National Geographic staff photography, Hominid expert, and former dairyman David Brill)

Summer for the Gods by Georgia author and Pulitzer Prize winner Edward Larson

Comets by David Levy (the Mr. Rogers of astronomy)

After Chicago, it was back to Atlanta, then on the road each day to Milledgeville (home to Georgia's antebellum capitol, the State mental health facility, and Flannery O'Conner). Oddly enough, I got the email from work that I'd be going to Milledgeville on O'Conner's birthday. Several days later, friends from my former bookstore in Athens, GA let me know that they had just hosted Brad Gooch for a reading and signing of his new book, Flannery-A Life of Flannery O'Conner. The book was, I believe, well reviewed in the New York Times. I recommend it, too.

Recommended:

Gooch's book and any works by O'Conner.

Glad to be home. Hope to have time to read a little.

Oh, also, I finished Ray Bergman's Freshwater Bass while in Chicago (while not working or eating). If you like old fishing books, I highly recommend it.

I'm finally up on Facebook (another distraction from reading). Our daughter, age six, just lost her first tooth, and was invited to read at new kindergartner orientation at her elementary school. And our four year-old Star Wars nerd is kicking my butt at Star Wars Legos Wii.

Good luck everybody.

RMR

Another Recall--Obama Administration Targets Peeps

This from yesterday's New York Times:

Following a spate of recent food recalls, the Obama administration announced in a surprise news conference that it was now targeting Peeps, the gooey, brightly colored candy-thing that is popular around the Easter holidays. Like fruitcake, the so-called treat is often given, but seldom actually consumed.

In a news conference last week, acting Secretary of Health and Human Services, Charles E. Johnson, announced that Peeps was now a target of an aggressive recall event. Surrounded by officials from the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, Johnson stated that, "The time has come!"

When questioned by reporters, Johnson stated that there had been no complaints by consumers of any potentially health-threatening contaminants in Peeps, or that there were any legal or scientific data showing that Peeps represent a threat to the general public.

"I just think that they're nasty and I want them gone," stated the Secretary.

Further questioning by reporters revealed that Johnson had several bad experiences with Peeps as a child. Apparently, on at least one occasion, several larger children had forced the then younger Johnson to eat several packages of the easily recognizable glowing yellow Peep chicks against his will.

"I got sick as a dog," recalled Secretary Johnson. "And I have made one of the goals of my career to reach a position that would allow me to take the steps that I am taking today."

When reporters asked Johnson what would become of the massive national stockpiles of Peeps (according to the Congressional Technology Office, Peeps have a life-span of approximately 250 years), Johnson was adamant.

"I don't care what happens to the nasty things. As far as I am concerned, we can use them to bomb suspected terrorist targets overseas. Bury them in Yuca Mountain. We can launch them into space, for all I care."

There is some precedent for the Secretary's last comment. A spring 1999 space shuttle mission was nearly scrubbed when astronauts discovered that NASA dietary staff had included Peeps among the items on the in-flight menu. The crew was, however, able to jettison the offending treats, and continue the mission.

The press conference was cut short when one member of the media inquired of Secretary Johnson if, since his earlier negative experiences with Peeps, he had ever tried to eat one. Shuddering noticeably, Secretary Johnson stated that there would be no more questions. He then excused himself from the room, stating that he felt queasy.

Okay. So the above story DID NOT appear in yesterday's New York Times. I made it up. Just wishful thinking on my part. The grocery stores are all ready for Easter, and Peeps are everywhere. And it's making me ill. Just a personal thing.

RMR

J. D. Salinger to Appear at the Georgia Center for the Book

In what can only be considered a major literary coup, the Georgia Center for the Book will present J. D. Salinger tonight on stage in the Decatur Library Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public, and begins at 7:15 pm.

Salinger will be joined on stage by Thomas Pynchon, Cormac McCarthy and Phillip Roth. What an extraordinary and rare occasion it will be!

Author J. D. Salinger is best known for his iconic coming of age classic, The Catcher in the Rye. He is also--like Pynchon, McCarthy and Roth--known as a somewhat reclusive character in real life.

For more information, visit the Georgia Center for the Book's website at right.

What an incredible opportunity for Georgia's bibliophiles.

RMR