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Sébastien Girard darkpulse_motion — I was happy to get to read this book because it was for research for a chapter about famous spies I got to ghostwrite for a book my uncle is working on. I would never have read it otherwise and, due to my general ignorance about history in general, probably would have died never having even known who Pham Xuan An was. I don't think An is really all that "famous" in actuality, but this is only because, as far as spies go, he was pretty discreet. He was spying for the communists/North Vietnam during the Vietnam War but working with the Americans/anti-communists. He was trained as an American journalist, even managing to earn himself a free trip to California at one point to study journalism at an American university. He loved the United States and wished no harm on it, but he was also a fierce Vietnamese nationalist who fervently believed the liberation of Vietnam was the best possible outcome and was willing to fight for it. An was a very good journalist and an even better schmoozer. He earned the friendship and trust of some of the top American journalists and military personnel working in Vietnam during the war, which as you can probably imagine, gave him access to a lot of pretty important information. He reported it all to his Communist superiors and a lot of it was not only important but, some have argued, essential to the Northern army outlasting the American occupation and, kind of, though many have tried to spin it differently, winning the war. Anyway, An was a cool, colorful, interesting dude and while this book does pay him homage and demonstrate why his life was interesting and important, it doesn't do much more than that. Author Berman kind of fawns over An, mostly staying away from tough questions such as, well, as charming and friendly towards Americans as this guy was, he also enacted espionage that helped kill tens of thousands of US soldiers. I mean, Berman kind of asked An such questions, in his many interviews with him before he died in 2006, but he seems to get brushed off pretty easily. In the end, Perfect Spy provides a decent summary of An's life without much in the way of editorial. Berman's prose is simple and clear and instructional. His book also provides a basic understanding of the conflict and how things went over there—something I have embarrassing little knowledge about, so I was happy to receive that. But there are better, more probing books about An and his fascinating life, such Thomas Bass' The Spy Who Loved Us, which I also read for research and enjoyed much more as a gripping read/book than Berman's rather dry account.

Taxim Activity taxim — I found this book an incredible read. The rhyme, meter and pace were terrific. The story is fun, the characters are great. It rolls from page to page bringing the reader along for an intense and delightful ride. Yes, it's about the elves overthrowing the evil Santa Yes, it's tad dark for a christmas story Yes, it's great fun to read!! I look forward to reading it again, really... it makes my heart race!