BOOKS OF THE TIMES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01350R000200740018-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 20, 2004
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: January 12, 1968
• Content Type: NSPR

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Butter, Bury- `:tg and Burning Tree
By Ii,:.": :-REMONT-SMITH
VANISIIED. By Fletcher Knebcl. 407 pages, lknt- the stock manipulations of a strange com-
bieday.$5.95. puter complex? Or was he a defector to
ER
pot-smoking pop sculptress. She lives Moscow
The~Preside t is' mum, the F.B.I. is mum,
-" in Washington and, when not out on but the clamor for answers to these questions
some late "date," shares an apartment with grows louder as the disappearances of two
.tile Presidential press secretary's stenogra- famous scientists are also revealed, and then
pher and girl friend. Butter used to work that of a freelance news reporter, and fi-'?
for the Central Intelligence Agency and, in nally of an intelligence agent investigating,
fact, still does, though no one is supposed against White House orders, some mysteri-
to know. Her cur- A ous doings off the coast of Brazil. Rumors
rent mission? To of treason, or something close to it, start
spy on the' Presi- spreading, and a budding McCarthyite 'poli-
dent of the United = tician asks damning questions of the Presi-
States. Why? Well, s dent on national television. Meanwhile, a
Soviet sub 'is spotted in the South Atlantic,,
that's the story
of "Vanished," a huge hydrogen-test bomb is' detonated
Fletcher Knebel's over China, which seems to startle the
latest fictional es- President, and the opposition party, smelling
capade into Wash- s k s . scandal and victory, begins to tighten cer-
ington politics. Mr. , .: tain strings.
Knebel,
is of ? Tightening Strings
course
course, the author
of several best-
sellers, including
"Seven Days in
May, " (written
with Charles W.
Bailey) and "Night
at Camp David."
He has his ups
One string is around the President's neck;
another around the C.I.A; director's. But the
string that hurts most is that around the
press secretary, who narrates most of the
~e - A,?;a...:.:: story. Even his eventual undoing of Butter
nicx Goltrrs ? does not ease the pressure; Only the
Fletcher Kriebel startling revelations at the end can do that-
and downs. "Vanished" is definitely an up-
a political suspense novel that really has
some suspense. If the characters are not
fully rounded, they at least appear in bas-
relief. If the plot is not entirely convincing
under later scrutiny,. it does hold together
while one is reading. If English prose style
is not enhanced by the novel, neither is it
slaughtered.
Pleasing entertainment
All of which is a lot more than can be
said of most novels of the type. "Vanished,"
in short, is pleasing entertainment. It is not
a book that demands much; nor does it of-
fend. The background detailing, especially,
of interagency competitiveness, seems au=
thentic enough. The story holds one's atten- tions, are swept up in the excitement of a
has some dead or muddling spots.
Besides intrigue, there is wit, warmth, and',
a nice, antidepressant twist at the end. How-
ever, it does seem pertinent to note that
I read it between Kleenexes, as it were,
while sparring with some stubborn bug. Not
an ideal condition for pure or sneezeless
judgment, perhaps, but occasionally of use:;.,
good books for sick friends are hard to
come by, and here, is one. ' ... people. In a crisp, lively style, Mr. Schechter
But back to Butter. Butter's mission is to reports on Govs. George. Romney, Ronald
report to C.I.A. Director Arthur Ingram Reagan and Rockefeller, former Vice Pre.,*
whatever she can find out about the follow- dent Richard M. Nixon and Senator Charles
ing mysterious occurrences. First; what does H. Percy, moat actively considered for the
the President know about the disappearance Republican nomination; and President John-
of his close friend and White House con- son, Vice President Hubert Humphrey and
fidante, Stephen Greer, from the No. 4 green Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York,'
of Burning Tree golf course? Second, why who dominate the Democratic scene. Con-
has the President specifically excluded the spicuously missing from the list are Sena-
C.I.A. from investigating the Greer case, tor Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, who is
even when matters . of national security. opposing President Johnson, in the primaries
seem to be involved? on the peace issue, and ? ex-Gov. George
For the Greer case, and the peculiar se- ..Wallace of Alabama, so far undeclared.
crecy surrounding it, has set Washington on Yet, omissions aside, this is a useful,
? its ear. Was Greer kidnapped? Was he a even-handed, not uncritical treatment, and
homosexual about to be blackmailed or ex- carries introductions by both the Republican
posed-and thus endangering the President's and Democratic national chairmen.
reA~Ftj~'~!e eig a ntsi~2OefAerZ/f~2 CIA-RDP88-01350 Q$;kbaW4GQ:18-4
and these I will leave to the reader to dis-
cover and maybe ponder,
For the resolution does raise questions--
about man's will for peace, about elitism
and its effects, about competitive profes-
sionalism and its limitations, about the price
of security and secrecy and how democratic
a democracy can be these days, and about
ends and means. Still, the story is the main,
thing; speaking for myself, I enjoyed it.
End Papers
COUNTDOWN '68: Profiles for the Presidency.
By William Schechter. 227 pages. Fleet.
$4.95. .
Every four years millions of Americans,
half of whom normally ignore interim elec-
Presidential campaign and quickly become
partisan "experts" on the candidates and
the issues.
For those ,who would like to have their
expertise well founded, William Schechter, a
former newspaperman, has written a book
that deals knowledgeably with some of the
likely contenders for the Presidency, their
position on current issues, their records and
basic philosophy and what they are like as
"!
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