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One-Eyed Mack #3
The Sooner Spy
A commencement speech involves One-eyed Mack, Oklahoma's lieutenant governor, with a young man searching for Soviet spies in order to join the CIA, as well as with the CIA itself, Rotarians, evangelists, grease pirates, and old friend C, director of the OBI
328 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
26 people want to read
About the author
Jim Lehrer
43 books39 followersJames Charles Lehrer was an American journalist and the news anchor for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS, known for his role as a frequent debate moderator during elections. Lehrer was an author of non-fiction and fiction, drawing from his experiences and interests in history and politics.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 26, 2017
Book 3 is another hilarious adventure with Mack and his buddies - top of the ridiculist but a fun read. This was written in 1990 but the Russian angle fits right in with today's news, as do his barbs at gun control and the NRA!! Loved the Gordon MacRae references - when I was in high school we put
on Oklahoma - I was watching a rehearsal on day after school and in strolled Mr MacRae, he went right up on the stage and sang a medley with our leading lady - what a thrill for her and me, too!! Fond memories I thought I'd forgotten!
on Oklahoma - I was watching a rehearsal on day after school and in strolled Mr MacRae, he went right up on the stage and sang a medley with our leading lady - what a thrill for her and me, too!! Fond memories I thought I'd forgotten!
August 22, 2011
Here is my review from the San Francisco Chronicle in April 1990:
As half of the MacNeil-Lehrer news team, Jim Lehrer is quietly impressive without ever being flashy. As a novelist, he's just as deliberate -- and the approach works.
Lehrer's 1988 first novel, ''Kick the Can,'' was a coming-of-age novel that had charm and sweetness, but not quite enough of either to make up for some major problems. What, for example, were readers to make of a young narrator, self-described as the One-Eyed Mack, who tells everyone he wants to be a pirate? Two books later, Mack has grown into a more established character, and the pleasing result is that his strange, unlikely adventures are believable.
Mack, now lieutenant governor of Oklahoma, remains the likable presence we expect the kind-voiced Lehrer to introduce us to. A loving father and husband, Mack also has a passion for bus signs that leads him to commit a small indiscretion. He steals an antique red ''Thunderbird Aerocoach'' sign from the attic of someone who refuses to surrender it.
''A car stopped outside,'' Lehrer writes. ''I froze. No. It must have been across the street. What would I tell a policeman or anybody else who walked in? Hello, I am the lieutenant governor of Oklahoma. I am in the process of burglarizing this place for an old bus depot sign . . .''
MAKING SPEECHES
Mack does not have much to do as lieutenant governor, other than give talks before civic groups. After a commencement speech to the graduating seniors at Oklahoma Southeastern State College, an enthusiastic young man professes to be swept away by Mack's speech: ''To search for a safe place is to search for an end to a rainbow that you will hate once you find it. Take charge of your own life . . .''
The young man -- whom Mack assumes is a Choctaw Indian -- tells Mack that that's just what he wants to do, but the CIA, which he wants to join, won't let him because of his dark skin. If the distinguished lieutenant governor could help him impress the CIA, the young man says, he's sure they'll sign him up. All he has to do is help him find a Russian spy somewhere in Oklahoma.
SPIES AND BUS SIGNS
Give Lehrer credit for making the ensuing plot twists believable and highly diverting. Details are beside the point, but rest assured that the stolen bus sign figures in there somewhere, that at least one Russian spy does eventually show up and that Mack has to do some serious scrambling.
He ends up having to seek advice from Brother Walt, pastor of the First Church of the Holy Road, a genuine hero from ''Kick the Can.'' After rescuing Walt from a TV studio, where he was about to succumb to the allure of TV evangelism, Mack hears what he knows he will hear, a simple message about how sometimes you just have to take risks (sound familiar?). From there everything falls into place.
The tone is aggressively unpretentious, but winningly so. Lehrer has written a book that is ideal for a long flight.
Lehrer writes these books as a kind of break from the rigors of the news, and this one is certainly fun.
As half of the MacNeil-Lehrer news team, Jim Lehrer is quietly impressive without ever being flashy. As a novelist, he's just as deliberate -- and the approach works.
Lehrer's 1988 first novel, ''Kick the Can,'' was a coming-of-age novel that had charm and sweetness, but not quite enough of either to make up for some major problems. What, for example, were readers to make of a young narrator, self-described as the One-Eyed Mack, who tells everyone he wants to be a pirate? Two books later, Mack has grown into a more established character, and the pleasing result is that his strange, unlikely adventures are believable.
Mack, now lieutenant governor of Oklahoma, remains the likable presence we expect the kind-voiced Lehrer to introduce us to. A loving father and husband, Mack also has a passion for bus signs that leads him to commit a small indiscretion. He steals an antique red ''Thunderbird Aerocoach'' sign from the attic of someone who refuses to surrender it.
''A car stopped outside,'' Lehrer writes. ''I froze. No. It must have been across the street. What would I tell a policeman or anybody else who walked in? Hello, I am the lieutenant governor of Oklahoma. I am in the process of burglarizing this place for an old bus depot sign . . .''
MAKING SPEECHES
Mack does not have much to do as lieutenant governor, other than give talks before civic groups. After a commencement speech to the graduating seniors at Oklahoma Southeastern State College, an enthusiastic young man professes to be swept away by Mack's speech: ''To search for a safe place is to search for an end to a rainbow that you will hate once you find it. Take charge of your own life . . .''
The young man -- whom Mack assumes is a Choctaw Indian -- tells Mack that that's just what he wants to do, but the CIA, which he wants to join, won't let him because of his dark skin. If the distinguished lieutenant governor could help him impress the CIA, the young man says, he's sure they'll sign him up. All he has to do is help him find a Russian spy somewhere in Oklahoma.
SPIES AND BUS SIGNS
Give Lehrer credit for making the ensuing plot twists believable and highly diverting. Details are beside the point, but rest assured that the stolen bus sign figures in there somewhere, that at least one Russian spy does eventually show up and that Mack has to do some serious scrambling.
He ends up having to seek advice from Brother Walt, pastor of the First Church of the Holy Road, a genuine hero from ''Kick the Can.'' After rescuing Walt from a TV studio, where he was about to succumb to the allure of TV evangelism, Mack hears what he knows he will hear, a simple message about how sometimes you just have to take risks (sound familiar?). From there everything falls into place.
The tone is aggressively unpretentious, but winningly so. Lehrer has written a book that is ideal for a long flight.
Lehrer writes these books as a kind of break from the rigors of the news, and this one is certainly fun.
May 14, 2017
Just for fun: lighthearted mystery with the Lt. Governor of Oklahoma as the unlikely investigator. Seems to relay a lot on coincidence and lucky guesswork as opposed to meticulous investigation. Quirky personalities are supposed to make it humorous, but I'd rather have some good character development.
October 15, 2012
Jim Lehrer brings a special brand of dry wit to his The Sooner Spy. A quick read, it's fun and quirky. Imagine the two main characters, the lieutenant governor of Oklahoma, who has only one eye, and the head of the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation, who has only one ear, teaming up to keep a closely-guarded secret. Seems like their is a Russian defector or spy living in a small town in Oklahoma. Seems like there is a young Choctaw who wants to out him so that he can prove he has the right stuff to become a CIA operative. Seems like the one-eared man doesn't want the one-eyed man poking around. Let's just say, "conflict happens."
August 14, 2016
Entertaining summer read. Mack, the one eyed Lt. Governor of Oklahoma is approached by a young man seeking a Russian spy in the state of Oklahoma.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews