Orchids for Mother

by Aaron Latham

Hardcover in Dust Jacket. Stated First Edition. Published by Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1977. Written by Aaron Latham.

352 pages, Paperback

Published March 28, 1985

Reviews

[Julio The Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

A re-reading of this spy thriller convinced me that the real villain is not James Jesus Angleton, CIA Counterintelligence Chief, nor even the CIA, but Henry Kissinger. The novel name-drops everyone in Washington except Henry, who is tagged only as Secretary of State. Latham blames the legend for deliberately leaving the Israelis unprepared for the 1973 War, and "taking out" Mother for sharing intelligence with the Mossad. ORCHIDS FOR MOTHER is still provocative, even if its conspiratorial view of U.S. intelligence is right-wing wacky. "The mob is run by murdering, thieving, lying, cheating psychopaths. We work for the President of the United States of America.” This could be the motto of ORCHIDS FOR MOTHER, one of the greatest spy novels ever written, and all the more impressive in that Aaron Latham is a freelance writer, not an espionage master a la' Ian Fleming or John Le Carre'. When this novel was originally published in the 1970s many of us recognized it as a roman a clef treating the life and (mis)adventures of James Jesus Angleton, long-time head of CIA counter-intelligence. How did we know? Growing orchids was Angleton's hobby and "Mother" his nickname inside the Agency, for his overlordship of Company business. In fact, Latham calls him "Mother" throughout the book. (Oddly, future CIA boss Richard Helms also cultivated orchids. Was is it with spies and orchids?) Was Angleton an intelligence genius or a paranoid weirdo? Here are some clues. 'Mother" held the belief for decades, contrary to all the facts, that the KGB had planted a mole high up in the CIA and his superiors were either too dumb or complicit to acknowledge the fact. (Perhaps Angleton was still stinging from the "Kim" Philby affair over at MI6.) An even bigger whopper: "Mother" convinced himself that the whole split between the Soviets and the Chinese dating to 1961 was really a clever commie ploy; the two sets of Reds were still working in conjunction. Read ORCHIDS FOR MOTHER and follow him around the world of spies and statesmen, including "a meeting with the world's biggest Jewish mother---Golda Meier."

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went through a James Jesus Angleton phase awhile back, as all must. Latham's book is the best of the many about, or which feature prominently, this very real and very strange man. Is there truth in this book? Was Angleton a genius or a drunken fool? I don't know. Though I lean towards genius.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in high school and it introduced me to the fascinating world of the CIA and non-James Bond spy fiction.

Hilarious sex scenes too. I will have to read it again as an adult to give a better review. Stay tuned.

[Danice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written. I enjoyed the thoughtful use of literary references throughout the book.

[Michael]

Just read the book, it is time well spent.

[Veeral · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how much truth is in this story, but it is still very enjoyable.