A New U.S. Spy To Root For In The Natanz Directive

Retired Air Force Lt. General Thomas McInerney offers a good review of Wayne Simmons and Mark Graham's new spy thriller The Natanz Directive in the Washington Times. 

Ian Fleming gave us James Bond. Robert Ludlum gave us Jason Bourne. Now authors Wayne Simmons and Mark Graham give us a novel with an unapologetically pro-American master of espionage, Jake Conlan. Not since Tom Clancy created Jack Ryan has a U.S. audience had such a compelling spy to root for.

Conlan, a veteran clandestine operative, is called back to duty to take on one of America’s most sensitive missions: penetrating the Iranian nuclear program. Well over the hill, he finds himself a bit creakier, perhaps a step slower, but not a whit less sharp. He bounces around Europe, reconnecting with lapsed contacts, always with a flair for the dramatic entrance — whether transiting the Atlantic aboard an SR-71 spy plane or entering Iran through a risky high-altitude low-opening (HALO) jump.

Besides an NSA-modified iPhone, Conlan doesn’t have fancy gadgets. What the plot lacks in gee-whiz contraptions, it makes up for in the accuracy of portraying how U.S. spies operate. Here the book relies on Mr. Simmons' three decades as a clandestine operative. The scenes depicting Conlan recruiting and meeting sources — some of whose motivations and allegiances are dubious at best — provide fascinating insights into CIA tradecraft.

... Mr. Obama would do well to read “The Natanz Directive,” not only because it would be welcome, entertaining reading on his next trip to Hawaii, but also because he’d learn a thing or two from Jake Conlan on how to handle this very dangerous enemy of the Free World. Jake got it right. The book is a spellbinder throughout.

You can read the rest of the review via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/30/sobering-truths-about-iran/