The Kennedy administration has plans to end the reign of Fidel Castro, and CIA operative Blackford Oakes becomes the point man in the secret maneuverings. 8 cassettes.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Arguably, this is the best of the Blackford Oakes series. Since we first met him at a callow 26, in Saving the Queen, Oakes has maturedhe's become more worn around the edges, less abrasive and, as a result, more likable. It is now 1963; Castro and Khrushchev are bickering. With the help of the CIA (Operation Mongoose), President Kennedy is involved in three separate plots to assassinate Castro. The first twopresenting Castro with a toxic wetsuit and supplying his mistress with poison pills (both were actually attempted)fail. The third, providing a disillusioned Castro protege with a rifle (also a real CIA plan) looks the most promising. Oakes is sent to Cuba to help coordinate the uprising that will inevitably follow. Suddenly the CIA discovers that Castro is about to launch a medium-range missile (left from the Cuban missile crisis) at Dallas, Tex., and the president. It's up to Oakes to prevent an escalation of the Cold War. Buckley has abandoned straightforward narration for a series of rapid-fire, cinematic scenes that are sometimes confusing as they jump from Washington, D.C., to Moscow to Havana. On the plus side, this high-flying thriller is grounded in reality, thanks to Dorothy McCartney, research editor of the National Review, whose help Buckley acknowledges. Readers will enjoy the sheer exuberance of this all too plausible caper. Major ad/promo; Troll Book Club Main selection.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
Blackford Oakes plays a relatively quiescent part in this retelling of the Kennedy assassination, which links Oswald to the Castro regime. Learning that the Soviets have secretly left behind a single missile after the U.S. challenge, Castro masterminds a scenario that will see Kennedy dead whether by bullet or ballistic missile. Vital to the story's plot are various documented attempts on Castro's life, one Oakes's assignment, and the love affair between Blacky and Sally Partridge. With a deft ear for the Cuban phrase and respect for technical detail, Buckley has again loosed the fox among the pigeons with satisfying results. Troll Book Club main selection. Barbara Conaty, Library of Congress
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Buckley's "Mongoose, RIP" entertainingly provocative,
By dave vaughn (ashland, new hampshire) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mongoose, RIP (Blackford Oakes Novel) (Paperback)
As someone with little knowledge of the Kennedy years in the white house, given what we now know of the geo-political climate of the time, this book reads like a genuine, behind-the-scenes look into the Kennedy / Castro conflict. With ingenious characters and subplots, Mr Buckley provides the reader with an immensely entertaining, can't put the book down thriller. Blackford Oakes is a much more believable secret agent than that we are served up in any James Bond movie, more along the lines of a Jack Ryan, tenacious in persuing the aim of his mission. The flow of the story is exquisitely smooth and the surprise plot twists are most intriguing. Could these things have actually happened? Seems credible in hindsight...and a great read!
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent 'What If?' Treatment of a Turbulent Time,
By zorba (Bala Cynwyd, Pa USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Mongoose, RIP (Blackford Oakes Novel) (Paperback)
This Blackford Oakes tale is a notch above Buckley's other books about the indomitable CIA agent, providing some rare (for Buckley) suspense and excitement. Usually Buckley's Oakes thrillers aren't exactly thrilling. They are, rather, Cold War period pieces in which real historical figures prance and parade around the global landscape. Oakes always seems to be there as the Cold War ebbs and flows. In this one, however, there is a compelling plot which moves along nicely and somewhere around the middle of the book, the plot takes off (literally) like a rocket. I found it to be a most satisfying read -- more so than his other Oakes novels.
1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The hero scarcely appears,
By A Customer
This review is from: Mongoose, RIP (Blackford Oakes Novel) (Paperback)
Chapter after chapter is devoted to Nikita Khrushchev's point of view, or Fidel Castro's, who are as cardboard as you might expect; thus any emotional "through-line" is lost. Blackford Oakes, the hero, shows up so infrequently -- I'd guess we see him in no more than one out of every six chapters. Which makes for a tedious read. Sorry.
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First Sentence:
RUFUS WAS ALWAYS formally hospitable, but even the few who had experienced his extra-professional hospitality-Blackford Oakes, for all his youth, was conspicuous in that small and irregular company-could never quite be sure which Rufus it was they were now going to be exposed to. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Fidel Castro, Rolando Cubela, United States, Major Kirov, Soviet Union, Mexico City, Attorney General, Ingenio Tamayo, President Kennedy, Che Guevara, Blackford Oakes, Latin American, Wild Bill, Colonel Bilensky, Olga Kirov, Bay of Pigs, Captain Pushkin, Alvaro Nueces, New York, Marla Arguilla, Nikita Sergeyevich, Art Shaeffer, Blanco Rico, Key West, Larry Fillmore New!
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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
RUFUS WAS ALWAYS formally hospitable, but even the few who had experienced his extra-professional hospitality-Blackford Oakes, for all his youth, was conspicuous in that small and irregular company-could never quite be sure which Rufus it was they were now going to be exposed to. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Fidel Castro, Rolando Cubela, United States, Major Kirov, Soviet Union, Mexico City, Attorney General, Ingenio Tamayo, President Kennedy, Che Guevara, Blackford Oakes, Latin American, Wild Bill, Colonel Bilensky, Olga Kirov, Bay of Pigs, Captain Pushkin, Alvaro Nueces, New York, Marla Arguilla, Nikita Sergeyevich, Art Shaeffer, Blanco Rico, Key West, Larry Fillmore New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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