The year is 1961; the setting, Havana. CIA super-secret agent Blackford Oakes has been sent there on a mission, only to find himself in the eye of an international political hurricane.
President Kennedy has selected Oakes to meet with Che Guevara inside Castro’s Cuba as part of Operation Alligator, a daring plan to bring about an era of détente in East-West relations. The communists, however, have another agenda in mind: a double cross with terrifying consequences.
Soon, Oakes is trapped in Cuba, and the heat is on. Warming the climate greatly is the sultry beauty Catalina. The weather forecast: betrayal, power politics, and sudden death.
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"William F Buckley's favorite spy, Blackford Oakes, meets up with Che Guevara. Put away your Che teeshirt for this one - WFB is unsentimental about Guevara. As always, Buckley weaves history (here, the Cuban Missile Crisis) into his spy novels." — Jim (4 out of 5 stars)
"William F Buckley's favorite spy, Blackford Oakes, meets up with Che Guevara. Put away your Che teeshirt for this one - WFB is unsentimental about Guevara. As always, Buckley weaves history (here, the Cuban Missile Crisis) into his spy novels."
“Actual events are made as urgent and terrifying as they were in the bad old days.”
“Buckley brings us face -to-face with the possibilities lurking behind our real headlines.”
“Narrator Geoffrey Blaisdell has a sophisticated style. His wry, and often dry, performance is engaging and keeps the listener glued to the story, which takes Oakes from the boardroom to the brig—and a date with a Cuban firing squad.”
“Buckley’s most successful attempt to shade his fanciful thriller-comedy into more serious matter of love, loyalty, and honor.”
" So far, the only book in Buckley's "Blackford Oakes" series that I've read. It's a clever spy story concerning secret U.S.-Cuba diplomacy. Recommended to fans of Frederick Forsythe, John Le Carre, etc. "
" A lil slow to start but good in the end. "
" It's time for Oakes to retire. "
William F. Buckley Jr. (1925–2008)—a syndicated columnist, author, editor, television host, and adventurer—was the founder of National Review and the host of the Emmy Award–winning Firing Line, the longest-running public affairs program in television history with a single host. Buckley was the award-winning author of many bestsellers, starting with God and Man at Yale.
Geoffrey Blaisdell is a professional actor who has appeared on and off Broadway, in Broadway national tours, and in regional theater.
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