First of all, thanks Bill for reminding me where I read
extended comments by Chandler on Phillips. It was driving me
batty because I couldn't remember where I had seen it. The
original blurb used on the Gall books was from personal
correspondence between Chandler and Phillips. It's covered in
the Nevins interview. Crider may remember more details.
And, Juri, my "his" did refer to Phillips, as he wrote THE
DEADLY MERMAIDS. It is better than average but not Phillips'
best. I do not recall when he died and am far removed at
present from normal references. I'm sure someone can supply
that.
As for Charles McCarry, all that I have read by him has been
at a very high level. Try his TEARS OF AUTUMN. He was a
speech writer for the US Secretary of Labor in the mid-50s
who resigned when he sold a story to the then well-paying
Saturday Evening Post. The Secretary invited him to a going
away lunch in his private dining room and introduced him to
the other guest Allen Dulles, then head of the CIA. He ended
up being both a writer and a deep-background type for the
agency. He was for a long time senior writer for National
Geographic and is considered a top ghost for political
memoirs.
The story that always amused me was that his first book was a
bio of Ralph Nader, written when McCarry was still with the
CIA. Can you imagine how paranoid Nader must have gotten when
he learned that little detail?
Richard Moore
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