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paperback $14.95
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More reviews by Richard Garrett
Readers may purchase reviewed books from Paddyfield.com, Asia's online bookseller.North American readers may prefer to buy US editions from Powells.com.
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Spies in the Garden: A Novel of War and Espionage by Bob Bergin
SPIES IN THE GARDEN: A NOVEL OF WAR AND ESPIONAGE is set during the Japanese invasion of Burma and China, centred on the activities of the American Volunteer Group or the Flying Tigers. Although there is of course a fictional hero, Harry Ross, the American spy who never seems to put a foot wrong and always comes up with the goods when needed, the AVG commander Claire Lee Chennault, the "Old Man", is the real hero of the book.
BOB BERGIN is a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer and an enthusiastic promoter of the Flying Tigers. He has thoroughly researched their activities in Burma and China and has been fortunate to have talked with many of the survivors. His description of the pilots and their activities is the real interest in this book, which starts in November 1941 with Harry witnessing their initial training, much of it disastrous. They improve as the book progresses into a force feared by the Japanese and, in the eyes of the author, far superior to the British RAF.
The story begins in Rangoon where, apart from making contact with the AVG, our hero also meets up with father and daughter Louie and Lucy. Louie is in charge of the trade that supplied luxury goods to the Chinese Nationalist leaders. He is in touch with Chiang Kai-shek and also at home with westerners having spent time abroad. Likewise his daughter is a sophisticate and beautiful to boot, although Harry is discrete enough not to make a pass at her even though they become friends. This relationship soon bears fruit as when the Japanese start bombing the docks they are in a position to bribe the workers to come back and handle the vital war supplies lying in the warehouses.
This is the first in a string of almost incredible coups. Harry always seems to land on his feet for no apparent good reason. He is the one to be seduced by another of the beautiful women that is part of Louie's entourage. Sue is Thai, although she is enough Chinese to pass as one if needed, and she is soon sent off to Thailand to report on the situation there. She manages this without apparent effort and Harry can supply the AVG with the needed information to launch a raid on a Japanese air base.
Burma of course fell to the Japanese and Harry like the AVG moved to Kunming. There, through Louie, Harry is introduced to Tai Li, the head of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics -- Chiang Kai-shek's spymaster. Again, almost unbelievably, Tai Li likes him and cooperates to provide vital intelligence on what the Japanese next move will be. He does this for his own reasons but attributes press reports to Harry's cover as a journalist. This also results in Tai Li giving Harry a Shanghai girl as a reward. She becomes his next agent and moves back to Shanghai where she is soon sharing her favours with Japanese Colonels. Her pillow talk is reported back via Tai Li and Harry is the pride of the soon to be christened OSS.
By this time, July 1942, the AVG is coming to an end. The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour and the Americans are now officially in the war and there is no need for a volunteer group. Chennault is made a Brigadier General but he has to work under Vinegar Joe Stilwell. There are differences between them and between the different arms of the Intelligence Services. Much of this seems beyond Harry's comprehension but his controller Doyle is there to guide him and warn him about getting involved with politics. We are however left to speculate what happens next as the book ends with the demise of the Flying Tigers in July 1942. There is a final two-page "What Became of Them?" section that supposedly wraps up the loose ends, but the end is rather abrupt.
Bergin no doubt knows his history, but he tells it with the bias of an American in love with the AVG. Chenault can do no wrong, whereas the British and even Stilwell are all stereotyped as incompetent. The likes of Louie and Tai Li are portrayed sympathetically and little is made of the corruption and brutality which were the reality of the times. Although Harry's Thai girl turns out to be a Communist, the Nationalists are the decent Chinese and all others are looked upon as evil. Paradoxically, in yet another incredible episode, Harry meets Chou En-lai at a restaurant and is impressed by his humanity.
SPIES IN THE GARDEN: A NOVEL OF WAR AND ESPIONAGE is a good tale of war and espionage, but there is little suspense and the fictional characters don't come to life. If you are interested in the history of the Flying Tigers buy the book, but don't expect a balanced story.
Richard Garrett
31/01/2010
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Richard Garrett is a HK-based civil engineer, writer, historian and collector of antique firearms. He is a member of the Arms and Armour Society and the Society for Army Historical Research and an Honorary Research Fellow of the Centre of Asian Studies at the Hong Kong University.
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