The Wire (UK HB 1st - INSCRIBED to Geoffrey Howe)

Fearing that the Kremlin and the Polish government have not done enough to curb Solidarity, the KGB need a pretext for a Soviet invasion. Their mole, known as "The Wire", must discredit both Solidarity and the American government. This Cold War thriller was written by an ITN foreign correspondent.

In a brilliant fiction debut, British journalist Gowing portrays bravery, terror and tragedy during the time, in 1981, when martial law was imposed in Poland. Furious with what he considers the inadequately brutal repression of Solidarity, KGB chief Andropov orders the assassination of Gen. Jaruzelskia step that would also help him grab the presidency after the death of gravely ill Brezhnev. But the plan necessitates keeping the Kremlin in the dark, and ensuring that Jaruzelski's elimination looks like the work of the CIA. To pull it off, Andropov activates a KGB "mole" in Solidarity, and the plot unfolds against the desperate fight of Polish activists to withstand torture at the hands of the secret police, and betrayal of informersor "wires"in their midst. Many in this novel, ostensibly loyal to Solidarity, are not what they seem. Their deceptions, along with the studied realism of the narrative, make for bristling suspense and a climax of great irony and power. This provocative thriller should be one of the year's stand-outs.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gowing's first novel is a thriller set in Poland under martial law, 1981. As Brezhnev fails in Moscow, KGB Chairman Yuri Andropov formulates a plot to upstage him, blacken the U.S. image, and rid Poland of General Jaruzelski. Sulecki, a KGB mole in Solidarity, will make the assassination appear to be the work of a CIA-backed Solidarity extremist. Bogdan Miskiewicz, the unsuspecting Solidarity activist, meets Sulecki on an escape to Switzerland and uncovers the plot. Gowing, an award-winning journalist for his coverage of Poland, describes in realistic detail brutal treatment by the Polish SB, Solidarity's resistance spirit, and the paranoia infecting its ranks. Success or failure of the plot depends on who finds Sulecki--KGB, SB, CIA, or Miskiewicz. Recommended for most fiction collections.
- Sandy Glover, Boise P.L., Id.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.