The Black Tulip: A Novel [Hardcover]

Milt Bearden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 26, 1998

Set in the treacherous mountains of Afghanistan and the equally hazardous headquarters of the CIA Operations Directorate in Washington, The Black Tulip is a fast-paced thriller, based on real events, by the legendary spy who masterminded the plot to arm Afghan freedom fighters in their holy war against the Soviets. A longtime veteran of the CIA, Bearden knows the tricks of the trade, the price of honor, the bonds of blood, and the enduring lure of retribution.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The craft of espionage, and the political clout needed to keep afloat in the game, are bared in ex-agent Bearden's promising debut, a valentine to late CIA director Bill Casey set in the late 1980s during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Hounded by eager mole-hunter Graham Middleton, Russian-born American agent Alexander Fannin opts out of the Agency, but Casey enlists him to freelance as his cat's paw in Afghanistan, supplying the mujahideen and planning sorties against the Russians. Capture of a Russian general's son pits Fannin against his KGB counterpart Anatoly Klimenko?coincidentally a cousin, who decides to defect and helps Fannin speed Russia's exit from Afghanistan barely a tense step ahead of a KGB official with a grudge against Klimenko. Bearden soft-pedals the horrors of the war and concentrates on the stringpullers from both sides as KGB and CIA field agents dodge each other and their own hierarchies as they maneuver Afghan and Russian pawns to win the game. Deft twists and battle scenes, crisply lucid technical details, hair-trigger tension and strong characters drive the plot, but the too-sparse dialogue slows the read. Still, the mechanics of Cold War espionage have seldom been so tangible. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In this debut, Bearden draws on his experience as the CIA officer in charge of the covert war in Afghanistan to craft a thriller about a former CIA officer in Afghanistan who must hook up with a KGB colonel.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 321 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (May 26, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679447911
• ISBN-13: 978-0679447917
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,794,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A novel of espionage as told by a super-spy., September 16, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Hanover, NH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Black Tulip: A Novel (Hardcover)

First novels are reputed to rely heavily on biographical material. Here is a first novel that could be written only by someone who has first-hand knowledge of the elements of character required for the clandestine operations of the CIA. Milt Bearden has provided a vivid account of life with the Afghan forces battling the Russians. Death and cruelty are commonplace but his reporting is softened by the imagery of his poetic description of the Maidens of Kiev and the subtle irony of the black tulip. The Black Tulip is the name given to the plane that carries the coffins of those killed in battle back to mother Russia. Black refers to death and tulip, the flower of youth. Here is an adventurous account, interlaced with history, of a little-known conflict that played out as the cold-war end game. A page-turning espionage thriller, this novel is more truth than fiction.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshingly Intelligent and Realistic for a Thriller, February 8, 2002

By 

"mythbreaker" (Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Black Tulip: A Novel of War in Afghanistan (Paperback)

Unfortunately, much of what passes today as thrillers consist of manical, blood-thirsty super villains; super hero level good guys (PC = persons?); a preponderance of far-out technical devices; and weak, unrealistic plots. Fortunately, "The Black Tulip" by Milt Bearden is a well-written and well-crafted espionage thriller set during the 1980s in Afghanistan and the Soviet Union at one of the those times when the Cold War was simmering a bit. The main characters are not deep, but they are interesting. Unlike the super hero/villain to which readers are constantly subjected in other works, the characters in this book are portrayed as competent professionals with foibles. The depiction of tradecraft and the inner workings of the intelligence community are fairly realistic. The plot keeps the reader's interest, moves along at a good pace, and plugs in well with the events of the period. While coincidence plays a role, unlike most thrillers these days, the plot is plausible and does not depend on wildly ridiculous coincidences and turns of events. The story is not overwhelmed by gadgets, and, instead, depends on human characters to make it all happen. In sum, "The Black Tulip" is a refreshingly intelligent and realistic thriller. I hope that Mr. Bearden's next book will appear in the near future.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read about a Fascinating Subject, December 26, 2002

By 

J. B. Wight (Richmond, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Black Tulip: A Novel of War in Afghanistan (Paperback)

I would remind a previous reviewer, who bemoaned the lack of character development in this novel, that each book has its place and its readers. If you want great literature, go to a different section of the bookstore. Don't ask this adventure/history book to do it all, because no book (or only a rare great one) can do that. Be realistic. This book is outstanding for what it does -- describe in wonderful detail the secret CIA war in Afghanistan. There's outstanding action and lots of interesting characters.

Also unlike a previous reviewer who bemoans how long it took for this novel to reach the shelves, and suggets that it is out of date, I would like to gently suggest that knowing history -- even if it is history of the 1980s--eons ago!--is extremely helpful to my understanding of a critical period in world history, leading up to the collapse of the Soviet Union. That story will never be out of date!

Overall, this is a great read and very informative.