The Increment

This book is a thrilling novel to read and will keep you up until you finish it. The story is well constructed, suspenseful, and informative about secret operations of spy groups concerned. I read it twice because it was so good initially. That is really a fine comment on the readability of this novel. I highly recommend it. A great, well written mystery form.

There are two sorts of "spy thrillers"--shot em up ones filled with bare knuckled action and more thoughtful, reflective stories that give you a sense of perhaps the realities--good and bad of intelligence work. This book fits more of the second genre than the first. This is a literate book in the best of ways. The writing is top-notch. You get the sense of the adventures involved in intelligence work but also the humdrum, even boring aspects that fill an average day. You'll see the risks, both politically and personally, of intelligence operatives and operations. You'll be challenged by all sorts of assumptions. Don't misunderstand, its a great read. Once you start you'll get intrigued by the characters, you'll want to know more about the settings, you'll wonder just how much is real and how much is fiction. It's a great book--hard to put down. Buy it!

David Ignatius is one of my favorite writers. I read him in the Washington Post, and I read all of his fiction. His novels just keep getting better and better. I found it difficult to put down THE INCREMENT, but I did, because I didn't want it to end. Ignatius knows what he's talking about. He pulls you into the action and won't let you go until the last page. I think he must also be a very nice person. I emailed him about a mistransliteration of an Arabic word in the text, and he emailed me right back, telling me that yes, that was a mistake that no one caught, and that he hoped it would be corrected in the next edition.

David Ignatius has written a contemporary novel which deals with sensitive subjects and secret activities which could threaten the peace and stability of the world. A young Iranian scientist who has been working on Iran's first nuclear bomb has had internal conflicts and misgivings about his role in this secret affair. In other words a moral dilemmea has driven him to the point of taking risky actions which he justifies by recalling the words of his father who talked to him about truth, justice and fairness. He recalled the poets and writers of the past who so very poignantly expressed a yearning for these ideals He is doubly anxious because the act he is about to commit labels him an enemy of his country, one who has betrayed his homeland. He chose to contact the CIA via the internet and leave just enough information about Iran's secret activities, assay numbers for uranium enrichment, that would leave no doubt his information was to be taken seriously. These numbers along with Iran's political actions would validate just what a real threat this scientific work posed to the world at large ... Harry Pappas the new Chief of the Iranian Operations Division immediately realized the importance of this communication and the serious consequences if it should be real. Once this vital information was validated, he needed to maintain contact, to keep the lines of communication open. He needed to infiltrate Iran's scientific community and neutralize Iran's uranium enrichment program. He had to keep this scientist safe and possibly offer him asylum once the whole affair was over. Harry Pappas was an ace CIA operative with highly developed skills who was totally committed to his country. However, he sufferred some doubts about how the USA handled world affairs after his son died in Iraq in 2004. His son was a completely loyal red, white and blue volunteer soldier who believed in the values of fighting for democracy and those values for which the USA as a whole stood. Harry was hesitant but knew his agency could not act alone on this information. He knew he needed back up and along with solid proof of its validity. He notified Arthur Fox head of the Counter-Proliferation Division. Although he and Fox had their disagreements over the years, this was a time to set aside differences and work on the same team. While both agreed the White House needed to be briefed - caution was the key word. They had to protect the country and the world from the possibility of a trigger happy General or the Pentagon from causing World War III. First and foremost they needed to know the identity of their source and the reliability and his data ... The author does an outstanding job of weaving together a complex plot along with fascinating subplots which involves the British intelligence agency. The US and Brits work together to enter Iraq in an effort to destroy the nuclear program of the Iranians. Harry is a bit uncomfortable with the fact that one of the key figures in the