Jimmy Burns

269/1-Από τα βιβλία που κυκλοφόρησαν αμέσως μετά το θάνατο του Μαραντόνα . Αν είναι αντικειμενική έστω και το 80% ο Μαραντόνα ήταν ένα κομπλεξικό και αγενές πλάσμα που είχε εκμεταλλευτεί στο έπακρο τις ικανότητες του και τη δημοφιλία το. Όλα όμως κάποτε γυρίζουν μπούμεραγκ. Εγώ πάντως από τα λίγα που διάβασα δε φτάνει ούτε στο δαχτυλάκι του Πελέ.… (mehr)

A son's homage to a father who had lived an important life. Familiar with Spain he was sent there to keep Franco neutral. His deeply felt Catholicism was a factor in the choice made by the Ministry of Information, but also was an aid to his efforts. Kim Philby accused him of being a German Spy in order to keep counter-intelligence off his own scent (stink.)
Jimmy Burns, the filial author, needed a better editor, to keep the story flowing and within confines of a single river. Perhaps intelligence is as the story is written, disjointed, following many twisting paths, but as a story it is confusing. I was lost in many digressions, few of them interesting.… (mehr)

The story of publisher Tom Burns who became the press attache (as well as propagandist and part-time member of the intelligence service) in the British embassy in Madrid during World War 2. His personal history is woven into the history as to why he was chosen (his Catholicism led him to lean toward Franco during the Spanish Civil War which suited the British official policy of keeping Spain out of the war rather than overthrowing the Nationalists and as a publisher he knew or was known by the right people), how he went about his job and how why he was chosen was held against him by some branches of the government as well as MI5 and MI6. The Cambridge spies (Philby most notably) are intertwined in the story and it is oddly funny to read how some in the government thought Burns could be a German spy because of his leanings while reading what Philby was doing at the same time.… (mehr)