Cover of The Quiet American
Read Time: ~3.1 hr

The Quiet American

by Graham Greene (2002)

About this book

One of Graham Greene's best works. The story is set at the time of the French war against the Viet Cong and tells the story of liberal British journalist Thomas Fowler, his mistress Phuong, and their relationship with American idealist Pyle. The latter is an earnest young man indocrinated with geo-political theory and whose attempts to shape the world to American ideals ends in his own personal tragedy and drastically alters the lives of the other two participants. Written before the US involvement in Vietnam this is a strangely prophetic work and seriously encapsulates the British viewpoint towards that conflict. A beautifully written book and highly recommended.

Setting / LocationGlobal
Story EraModern Era
Protagonist / CoreThe Quiet American Lead Character

Readers who enjoyed this also loved

Cover of She smiled sweetly

She smiled sweetly

Mary-Ann Tirone Smith

"When the body of a young, pregnant woman washes ashore on a stretch of barren beach at Boston Harbor, Boston homicide detective Rocky Patel writes to FBI agent Poppy Rice for help in identifying the Jane Doe. But the crime lab comes up empty, and not until a year and a half later does an anonymous tip to the Boston PD reveal the woman to be the wayward daughter of a prominent, Irish-American political family." "Just days before the ID, an Irish-born Boston fire marshal (and old flame) asks Poppy to look into another case. It seems that more than thirty years earlier, a pregnant woman's corpse was discovered on the island of Inishmore. A group of women, led by the fire marshal's mother, secretly buried the body (the church would not have allowed burial in consecrated ground) but saved a lock of the dead girl's hair. The marshal, knowing Poppy is better than he is at cutting through red tape, appeals to her on his mother's behalf. She agrees to set up a DNA test, which soon confirms her gut feeling that the two drownings, while separated by thirty years and an ocean, are somehow linked." "Teaming up with the inimitable Rocky Patel, Poppy sets out in search of truth and justice and instead finds herself ensnared in a web of political deceit, family intrigue, and out-and-out bad guys. As always, she rises to the occasion."--BOOK JACKET.

Cover of The shadow of the Lynx / Victoria Holt

The shadow of the Lynx / Victoria Holt

Victoria Holt

Nora Tamsin was fascinated by the ruthless Charles Herrick, but she discovered that he deserved his name "The Lynx". His love for her was overwhelming and frightening. By the time she realized that his plan for her was part of his obsessive desire for revenge, it seemed too late to escape.

Cover of Storming heaven

Storming heaven

Kyle Mills

Punished for his maverick ways, FBI agent Mark Branson has been exiled from Washington, D.C. in a sleepy Southwest office where he's got one last chance to play by the rules. But that's not going to happen, not when he's on a case that may be too hot even for his unorthodox talents to handle. A local millionaire and his wife are brutally murdered. Jennifer their teenage child and sole heir, is the prime suspect - and she's done missing. Laying everything on the line, Beamon sets all on a trail that takes him from a remote survivalist's cabin in the Utah mountains, through the labyrinth headquarters of a cult-like church, into the shadowy, interlocking boardroom of a powerful high-tech communications empire. Just when he thinks she's close to finding answers, Beamon discovers the killing of Jennifer's parents is far more sinister than even he could have guessed. Now he didn't just looking for a young girl - he's got to stop a bizarre conspiracy that could bring America to it's knees....

Cover of Freedom's sword

Freedom's sword

Gilbert Jonas

"In 1909, "The Call" went out against Jim Crow racism, and American race relations began to change. The violent discrimination that continued in the South spurred a group of concerned white liberals to form the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, an organization that grew to become one of the most powerful social forces in American history. Gilbert Jonas, who worked with the NAACP for more than 50 years, draws upon firsthand experience and extraordinary access to reveal how the organization contributed to the eradication of lynching in the South, the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, and the passage of the 1964 Voting Rights Act. Jonas documents the NAACP's role in landmark events in American history, including the famed 1939 concert by Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial and the historic 1963 march on Washington, led by A. Philip Randolph." "Freedom's Sword also examines the accomplishments of the NAACP's legendary leadership, which included Thurgood Marshall, Charles Hamilton Houston, James Weldon Johnson, and Roy Wilkins."--BOOK JACKET.

The Quiet American by Graham Greene | Literally Just Books