Marco Polo, If You Can

A Blackford Oakes Mystery

By: William F. Buckley Jr.

Narrated by: Geoffrey Blaisdell

When a shadowy Russian mole threatens to undermine the free world's defenses by infiltrating President Eisenhower's National Security Counsel, CIA super-secret agent Blackford Oakes is called in to unmask the imposter.

Oakes turns the tables on the Communists by piloting a U-2 spy plane on a Gary Powers-style one-way mission behind the Iron Curtain. Sentenced to death and trapped in the depths of the Lubyanka prison, Oakes may have turned his last trick. Or has he?

Master of espionage fiction and National Book Award-winner, William F. Buckley Jr. brings us another in his series of best-selling novels starring the intrepid C.I.A. agent Blackford Oakes. Set in the Cold War years of the 1950s and '60s, this politically sophisticated series takes readers behind the scenes of the major political crises of the time.

Take another thrill ride with Blackford Oakes.©1982 William F. Buckley Jr. (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Mixes politics, humor, suspense, and ingenious espionage capers in an enjoyable blend." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Cuts closer to the bone than Le Carré has ever cut." ( New Republic)

Fun, if you don't think about it

I usually enjoy Buckley's Blackford Oakes books and usually have no trouble suspending my disbelief. But the U2 flight made no sense at all other than to add excitement, which, truth to tell, it did not.

This was certainly my least favorite of all the Blackford Oakes books I have read. The U2 flight was central to the story so it just didn't work for me.