Word: days
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...great tradition, Smiley's People begins with minor violence. An obsolete agent has been shot. His terminal message is broadcast to Smiley, onetime head of the Circus-the British Secret Service. But détente is now the order of the day, and the Circus is anxious to bury both the victim and his story. Ordinarily, the ultimate company man might agree. But behind homicide Smiley detects the ruthless spirit of Karla, his longtime adversary in Moscow. Publicly accepting the injunction of superiors, Smiley decides to do a little freelance investigation. On the scent from London to Germany...
...other spy novel these might be fatal lapses. But Le Carre is not any other spy novelist. Throughout, he is aware not only of the moral squalor that can attend espionage - but also of Auden's ironic observation: "We are left alone with our day, and the tune is short and/ History to the defeated/ May say Alas but cannot help or pardon...
...Memories of Another Day, Robbins...
...day back in 1961, young Jim Gabler came home from high school in Hawkins, Texas, and told his parents that he was bothered by his history textbook. When his father, Mel, read the book, Our Nation's Story, he was more than bothered; he was outraged. In a chapter on the U.S. Constitution, the book puffed up the powers of the Federal Government but minimized states' rights. Recalls Gabler: "It was teaching that Washington has complete dictatorial power...
Though neither Mel, 64, nor his wife Norma, 56, was a college graduate (Mel worked as a clerk for Exxon, Norma as wife and mother), they began that day to pursue new careers-part-time at first, then full-time-as readers and harsh critics of textbooks. Says Norma: "I believe that this is what God would want...