Smiley's Circus: A Guide to the Secret World of John Le Carre

From dust jacket notes: "...David Monaghan digs deep into the psychology and motives behind le Carre's work and come up with an authentic analysis of the Circus and its denizens. He traces its history from the end of World War I to the defection of the arch-enemy Karla of the Thirteenth Directorate of Moscow Centre in the late 1970s; he frames the chronology of its major operations and explains its organizational structure and physical set-up; in short, he provides the inside story of this most intricate of espionage networks. In his detailed essay on the Circus Monaghan charts the ups and downs of the key protagonists and the collapse of networks and systems as rival branches of the Secret Service cross, often with intent, their carefully constructed paths. He delineates the hierarchy and shadowy roles of the Scalphunters, Lamplighters and suchlike, decodes the addictive jargon of the Nursery at Sarratt and other esoteric departments, reveals the background to the unmasking of the Circus mole, Bill Haydon. With Who's Who biographical entries on major and minor characters and key locations involved, Monaghan captures the essence of le Carre's masterly characterizations....Want to remind yourself of why the giant outdoor chess game in Berne was an important venue; what significance the Berlin Wall has to circus events; which side could lay claim to Hans Dieter Mundt's loyalty? It's all there from A to Z. The evocative photographs of recognizable locations, whether deceptively innocent or distinctly sinister, recall some of the fraught incidents of plots and sub-plots within the periphery of the Circus, while the maps clarify the locations and routes involved in Circus operations. For the millions of readers familiar with the secret world of Smiley's Circus this Guide will be pure gold, while for the uninitiated it will become compulsive reading, making the acquisition of the Smiley books an immediate priority."