Show Me A Hero

by Ted Allbeury

Based on a true story, the exciting tale of Andrei Aarons chronicles the adventures of a quiet bookseller who spies for the Russians for forty years and simultaneously serves as an advisor to six American presidents. 20,000 first printing.

522 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

1917 - 2005. Also wrote under the pseudonyms Richard Butler and Patrick Kelly.

Ted Allbeury was a lieutenant-colonel in the Intelligence Corps during World War II, and later a successful executive in the fields of marketing, advertising and radio. He began his writing career in the early 1970s and became well known for his espionage novels, but also published one highly-praised general novel, THE CHOICE, and a short story collection, OTHER KINDS OF TREASON. His novels have been published in twenty-three languages, including Russian. He died on 4th December 2005.


See also: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2006/j...
and
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/t...

Reviews

[Alan McCord · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled about rating this book at three or four stars. I am enjoying Allbeury's books, but this was a less satisfying read. The premise is- as several of the characters themselves state - fantastic: Aarons, an unlikely Russian intelligence agent acting as an honest broker of insights to both Washington and the Kremlin to avoid war, working with at least at least three US presidents along the way. Aarons very slowly grows disenchanted with the USSR but in the end emigrates to Israel rather than remain in the United States.

The book moves at a snail's pace, starting in 1913 and ending in 1991. Along the way, Allbeury recites a number of history lessons to set the context for Aarons' development. Later in the book, some of these history lessons turn into Forrest Gump scenes, with Aarons playing central roles without adequate explanation of why he was chosen to participate. The last 25 years moves by in a flash.

Allbeury makes some eye-rolling mistakes that should have been caught by good editing. For example, he discusses the types of computers used by the Nascent national Security Agency in the early 1950s: the IBM 360 (first marketed in 1964) and the CRAY-1 (first marketed in 1975). He also refers to Harry Truman as "the man from Kansas."

I give the book three stars because the audacious and overarching plot is somewhat detached from the biographical narrative. I would trade some of the history lessons for more insights into how Aarons became accepted by multiple US presidents while continuing to run a large intelligence network with the knowledge of his US handlers. A flawed but interesting book.

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an ex-intelligence officer with the British SOE and the author of about 50 works of espionage fiction, Ted Allbeury was an expert in Cold War politics and spy craft. In “Show Me A Hero,” he presents a sweeping view of 20th Century history, from the Russian Revolution through the George H.W. Bush years with intricate detail of relevant motion pictures, hotels and restaurants.

The saga revolves around Andrei Aarons, a Russian Jew who is imbued with the dream of communism from an early age. He is a naive and selfless idealist who is tasked with gathering intelligence on American soil for the Soviet Union. Despite being a spy, Aarons is used a resource by U.S. Presidents to get a true picture of the attitudes of the power brokers within the Communist Party. This became very useful during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He is helped by Bill Malloy, a lawyer from a middle-class background who spent WWII as an American intelligence officer in Vichy France. Very slowly (too slowly in my view), Aarons becomes disenchanted with the Party apparatchiks and their power-hungry greed and corruption.

I might have given this book a higher rating if it were not that Aarons is a rather morose hero who cannot see the true picture of communism until the very end.

[Jak60 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Show Me A Hero can be read as a memoir or it can be seen as the tale of life-long journey that will turn a committed communist idealist into a doubtful one first, then disillusioned and ultimately a defector, though an atypical one.
This is a historical fiction, Andrei Aarons' personal story is deeply interwoven with the development of the historical background, from the early 1900’s to the 1980’s, and the book takes us through all his life.
The book has a slow start, there’s quite a lot background set up in the first third of the book and the story proceeds rather slowly without much happening; after that the story picks up a little, but overall I cannot say this was a page turner...

[Rick Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice glimpses into Cold War spy ops from the top down. One of the best character studies in all of literature.

This story does, as nearly all good dramatic novels do, require readers to suspend disbelief on a few things that are not realistic. However, it is otherwise a superb literary work.

[Leo Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding twist on real events

Ted manages to steer us just to the right side of the crest comprised of reality and fiction. An elegant balancing act.

[Nigel Pinkus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Memoir rather than thriller, this tired overly long and ultimately disappointing novel was Allbeury's 34th effort would only attract hard espionage fans or lovers of Allbeury's books. Being both both an Allbeury fan and a fan of espionage fiction, this reader was indeed, ultimately disappointed. It wasn't because of its' length (because it's one of Allbeury's longest ever books which drew this persons interest), but more of its slow tempo and its' predictable ending. In most of his other books you never really know if the hero or the main people in the story will survive or die by the end of the story. Some die on the very last page that leave you in tears, but this story never generated such suspense and seem to drift a lot under its' own steam. Yes, disappointing.

In the story proper, we get to meet Harry S. Truman, the outbreak of the Korean War and the eventual retirement of General MacArthur. We then get to meet Dwight D. Eisenhower. Khrushchev becomes Russian President and John F. Kennedy wins a close hard fought race against Nixon. During Kennedy's reign we read about the Bay of Pigs fiasco, the Cuban Missile Crisis and Kennedy's dilemma of being the 'Ruler of the Free World' comparing with his inability to deal with racial discrimination in his own country. We also get to meet President George Bush Senior at the end of the story as well. This reader enjoyed Allbeury's dry, witty and intelligent remarks against communism and why people had a misinformed image of General MacArthur but, given the scale of the story Allbeury failed terribly to hold it together. If you want a much better account of twentieth century American history, then read Ken Follett's, "Edge of Eternity". That was a much better account and a thoroughly riveting read. 'Show Me a Hero' was a slow wander down memory lane by once a great writer who seems to have lost his way. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, so have many other authors have fallen by the wayside because they couldn't find how to reinvent themselves. So, it seems, Ted Allbeury did too.

Ted Allbeury wrote a staggering 42 novels and wrote under two other pen names ~ Richard Butler and Patrick Kelly as well. Here are 28 read’s from Allbeury, all rated accordingly:

THE GOOD (Four to Five Stars): ‘The Lantern Network’, ’Shadow of a Doubt’, ’A Wilderness of Mirrors', 'A Time Without Shadows' aka 'The Rules of the Game', 'The Only Good German' aka ‘Mission Berlin’, 'The Dangerous Edge', ‘Palomino Blonde’ aka 'Omega- minus', 'The Lonely Margins', ’The Crossing' aka ‘The Berlin Exchange’, 'Seeds of Treason', 'Other Kinds of Treason', 'Special Forces' aka 'Moscow Quadrille', the feel good, 'The Girl From Addis', 'Pay Any Price' and the rather exceptional, and this person's favourite, 'The Line-Crosser' (published in 1993).

THE AVERAGE (Two or Three Stars): 'Show Me a Hero', 'No Place to Hide' aka ‘Hostage’, ‘The Reckoning’, ’The Twentieth Day of January’ a.k.a. ‘Cold Tactics’, 'The Reaper' aka 'The Stalking Angel' and ‘Deep Purple’. He also wrote, ’The Choice' which is not espionage and this reader thought (even though it was critically acclaimed) not a good one.

THE UGLY (One or two stars): It’s, however, probably best to stay away from: ‘Aid and Comfort’, ‘The Assets' aka “Due Process’, 'The Secret Whispers’, 'The Alpha List', ’Consequences of Fear' aka ‘Smokescreen’ and ’The Spirit of Liberty'.

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is always a question when we are talking about real history and fiction, as we have to know where is the boundary between those two. If you ask me, there is no such problem in this story as the depicted events (the Invasion of France, the Bay Of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis) are well-known by the majority of the average readers.
This book, besides other things, has the huge merit of melting all these events, by following the life of a Russian living in the US and working, at least at the beginning, for the communists. He is not perfect, but he tries to be honest and to serve people before serving countries or doctrines. And, from time to time, we see in his attitude " the hand" of the author, especially when he talks about nations. Just read and see...

PS: That is my second Ted Allbeury book I've read, and he is, without any doubt, on the same page with Jeffrey Archer, Ken Follett or le John le Carre, so if you have the opportunity, read everything you find authored by this gentleman.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thought provoking documentary style novel of the twentieth century - Russian Revolution, both world wars, cold war etc. I've enjoyed a number of Ted Allbeury's books and this is among the best. A very good read.

[Patrick Powell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only came to hear of Ted Allbeury a month or two ago when he died, and there were various obituaries and memoirs of him on the radio. Although he was latterly an author of spy fiction (under his own name and two pen names), he was a man of some achievements.

As a spy fiction writer he knew at least what he was talking about: he served in Army intelligence in World War II and carried on serving in the British security services when the war ended. According to Wikipedia he was even tortured by the Soviets, though whether or not that is the case, I really can’t say. When he retired, he started his own advertising agency and then ran a pirate radio station. Finally, he took to a life of writing fiction, and wrote a considerable number of books.

Show Me A Hero had, apparently, an unusual genesis. Because Allbeury had, like John Le Carre, actually served in MI6, there was thought to be an air of verisimilitude about his work and (according to the various memoirs of him on the radio) it was rather admired by both the British and US security services.

So one day he was contacted by the CIA - I stress I am merely repeating claims made just after he died - who wanted to suggest a story to him. There had been, it seemed, a very successful US-based Soviet spy who for one reason or another eventually found himself advising several US presidents on the thinking of the Kremlin and Soviet leaders. And that story became Allbeury’s novel Show Me A Hero.

Intriguing as its apparent genesis is, it is something of a disappointment. For one thing Allbeury can’t write, or perhaps I should say he doesn’t write particularly well. His style is somewhere between one-dimensional and two-dimensional, flat.

At times it seems to me to be the kind of style which one might come across in Mills & Boon, except that I have never read any Mills & Boon. Perhaps not being of the first or second order as a writer doesn’t really matter if you have a rattling good tale to tell. And perhaps Allbeury does have such tales in his other work, but Show Me A Hero is pretty pedestrian. Sorry, but it is. It is not so much a story but a very long-winded account of - well a successful Soviet spy who for one reason or another finds himself advising US presidents on Kremlin thinking. And that is it.

There is hardly any detail on the business of spying, characterisation is wooden and simplistic, the dialogue is clunky, and despite the assurances of the radio commentators that it is all ‘based on a true story’, the suggestion that not only would a working Soviet agent be asked to advise the US president - though it does make a certain sense in the novel - but that his activities as spy would remain untouched by the FBI or the CIA, who were simply not informed of him and his work is pretty impossible to swallow. And quite apart from that there is simply story, no suspense of any kind.

So there you have it. I cannot speak of any of Allbeury’s other novels, but my advice on this one is simply: I wouldn’t really bother.