Into the Mirror

Good story. Shame it was written so badly:
The newspaper and television reports of Robert Hanssen -- the FBI agent who spied for the Soviets in a frightening breach of national security -- were fascinating. But this book by Lawrence Schiller is silly. Schiller has borrowed heavily from Norman Mailer's screenplay. And this is what spoils it. In a screenplay, you have to invent dialogue for the characters, and you can get away with invented dialogue if people know it is based on a true story. But in a book that is supposed to be factual, such as this one, invented dialogue becomes a barrier to credibility if it is used frequently in private situations. In The Author's Note at the front of the book, readers are told that neither Hanssen nor his wife could be interviewed for the book because of a plea-bargain agreement they made with the Justice Department. So how the blazes can the author give Hanssen's conversations with himself in his bathroom, private conversations with his wife, and even how Hanssen's dog behaved when Hanssen took it for a walk? Every few pages of this book talk about things that happened in private -- in Hanssen's office, at his home, in the park. Hanssen is quoted in all these places, even though the author wasn't there, and neither was anyone else who was interviewed for the book. I found this distracting and very unbelievable. Even worse was the author's obsession with sex -- even making up details of what Hanssen allegedly thought and did when no one but Hanssen could possibly know these things. I rated this book as two stars because I didn't find any spelling mistakes or typographical errors. But as for the believability of the dialogue and private incidents, it doesn't even rate one star.

I really know what to make of this book.:
Certainly Robert P. Hanssen was a difficult man to understand but the main problem that I have with this book it is impossible to determine whether you are reading real facts or fiction. After reading the book, I am not sure whether it was the excitement or the money that was the major cause. Anyway I was hoping for a study of what Robert P. Hanssen gave away. The effect on security etc. There is little of this.

Infotainment.:
The Robert Hanssen story is extemely bizarre and that's putting it mildly. Two contradictions stand out. First of all he was a religious zealot who dabbled in amateur pornography. Secondly he was a raging anti-Communist who used his position with the FBI to reveal critically important state secrets to the Soviet Union. Whether or not his hyper-religiosity and/or his adolescent attitude toward sex had anything to do with his treasonous acts may never be determined. One comes away from reading Master Spy by David Schiller believing that Hanssen initially betrayed his country for the money and later for the adrenaline rush associated with risking everything. This book is a "novelization" of Robert Hanssen's life. A number of liberties are taken with the truth. Many of the conversations that take place have been made up to reflect what certain individuals might have said. A number of important events are either given short shrift or omitted completely. Some of the supporting characters are not real people, rather they are composites assembled from actual Hanssen acquaintances. In short, Master Spy or Into the Mirror as the hardcover edition was originally titled is essentially a work of fiction based on the notorious Bob Hanssen case. When viewed as a reality based work of fiction, this book works reasonably well. The story is an interesting one, that point cannot be argued. The narrative flows relatively smoothly and gives the reader significant insight into the inner lives of Bob and Bonnie Hanssen and to a certain extent that of Bob's long time friend, Jack. It's a compelling tale, competently told. However, because it is a novelization, rather than a meticulously researched case study, Master Spy can only be a starting point for those readers wanting to know the factual underpinnings of this unique and highly disturbing episode in FBI history. I have only one major bone to pick with this book. Most of the dialogue Schiller puts in the mouths of his characters is not authentic sounding. Too much of it consists of formalized sentences that do not reflect the way people really talk to each other.

Excellent choice of overall theme:
Every page of this book is surprising and thought provoking. You gotta' read it. Lawrence Schiller's outstanding and concise writing is greatly aided by his research collaboration with Norman Mailer. They found a theme despite the fact that the deepest motivations of Robert P. Hanssen's behavior while turning himself into the spy who created the greatest breach of security in U.S. history--remain buried within himself. Critics of the movie of this book, cry out for a better peek into Hanssen's psyche, but it is unattainable. The book's theme had to be what it is, describe the observable conflict between Hanssen's psychosexual,religious, and political views, match them to chronological events, then put it all in such a way as to invite readers to pick up from there. I guessed that the doors to the Opus Dei group, to which Hanssen and his family were devoted, were barred to Schiller and Mailer. The most that could be written about it was written. (Opus Dei is also a subject of "Godfather III"). Schiller captures Hanssen's Moscow handlers, themselves conflicted between operating procedure and the collapse of the Soviet Union. The book left me thinking and imagining what Hanssen still keeps a secret, or maybe doesn't understand himself.

A novelisation for mass consumption:
This is simply not a serious piece of work. It tries to be non-fiction while writing it within the style of fiction. It reminded me of those books that come out with a film saying "Based on the screenplay of the film." The Bureau and the Mole by David Vise was far better and revealed the same information.