-Miles Copeland

The book “Overworld, , The Life and Times of A Reluctant Spy ” by Larry J. Kolb is a must read. It’s an unapologetic look at one man’s experience with spycraft, and the world of secret liaisons and big money.

It was published in 2004, and I found the hardback at Barnes & Noble in the $7.98 bin. A couple of pages in and I was definitely hooked.

This tells the story of a, well, reluctant spy. The author’s father was an “intelligence officer”, and so the family moved all over the world. The book starts by telling the story from the perspective of a child, eavesdropping on his spy “uncles” and his father from his vantage point on the stairs. Remember the old adage, “Little pitchers have big ears”? Well, this one did, and he tells some interesting stories.

From the cover of the Wall Street Journal, to the back alleys of Beirut, not only a spy, he was also Muhammad Ali’s agent for many years, and one of his closest friends.

The book really delves into the lives of characters like Adnan Khashoggi (Oliver North’s intermediary in the Iran-Contra scandal), Dodi Fayed, Miles Copeland (the father of Stewart Copeland of The Police, Miles Copeland III of IRS Records, and a legendary spymaster), the elder Bush, Imelda Marcos, and others.

The anecdotes read very truly, and it’s not just a memoir of a man’s fascinating career, and his fall in an Indian political scandal, but it also is very credible as a waypoint. One of those stories that a man gets to in his life where he examines his past and plans his future.

Read more about it here: http://www.larryjkolb.com. At a mere $8, it’s a bargain and I give it 2 thumbs up, 4 stars, and an A+.