The Spike (1980)
Encyclopedia
The Spike is a 1980
spy thriller novel
by Arnaud de Borchgrave
and Robert Moss
(New York: Crown Publishers, 1980). Drawing on de Borchgrave's experience as a jet-setting Newsweek
journalist and conservative Washington insider, it tells the story of a radical '60s journalist, Bob Hockney, who stumbles upon a Soviet plot for global supremacy by 1985. When he tries to expose the web of blackmail, sex and espionage, he's hamstrung by his editors' liberal media bias
.
In the news world, to "spike" a story means to cancel its publication. De Borchgrave and Moss envision a scenario in which the KGB
exploits the attitudes of the unsuspecting Western media, which was allegedly more interested in unmasking CIA agents than stopping the Soviets, threatening to thwart Hockney's big scoop.
The best-selling book was marketed not only as a spy thriller but an expose of real-life Washington. Time
called the book a roman a clef
for its fictionalized versions of real people and organizations, including Zbigniew Brzezinski
and the radical left-wing magazine Ramparts
.
In a 1980 interview with the New York Times, de Borchgrave mentions that he came up with the idea for a novel after he and his wife had to hide in the English countryside, after anonymous threats were made in response to a Newsweek
article he wrote that named some of the terrorists behind the 1972 Munich massacre.
The authors' 1983 follow-up, Monimbo, envisioned Miami race rioters as the pawns of Nicaraguan and Cuban communists.
1980 in literature
The year 1980 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Marguerite Yourcenar becomes the first woman to be elected to the Académie française....
spy thriller novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Arnaud de Borchgrave
Arnaud de Borchgrave
Arnaud de Borchgrave is an American journalist who specializes in international politics.Born in Belgium to Audrey Dorothy Louise Townshend, daughter of Major General Sir Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend, and Belgian count Baudouin de Borchgrave d’Altena , head of Belgium's military intelligence...
and Robert Moss
Robert Moss
Robert Moss, born in Melbourne in 1946, is an Australian historian, journalist and author and the creator of Active Dreaming, an original method for working with dreams and imagination.-Early life and education:...
(New York: Crown Publishers, 1980). Drawing on de Borchgrave's experience as a jet-setting Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
journalist and conservative Washington insider, it tells the story of a radical '60s journalist, Bob Hockney, who stumbles upon a Soviet plot for global supremacy by 1985. When he tries to expose the web of blackmail, sex and espionage, he's hamstrung by his editors' liberal media bias
Media bias
Media bias refers to the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of events and stories that are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening the standards of journalism, rather than the...
.
In the news world, to "spike" a story means to cancel its publication. De Borchgrave and Moss envision a scenario in which the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
exploits the attitudes of the unsuspecting Western media, which was allegedly more interested in unmasking CIA agents than stopping the Soviets, threatening to thwart Hockney's big scoop.
The best-selling book was marketed not only as a spy thriller but an expose of real-life Washington. Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
called the book a roman a clef
Roman à clef
Roman à clef or roman à clé , French for "novel with a key", is a phrase used to describe a novel about real life, overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship between the nonfiction and the fiction...
for its fictionalized versions of real people and organizations, including Zbigniew Brzezinski
Zbigniew Brzezinski
Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski is a Polish American political scientist, geostrategist, and statesman who served as United States National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981....
and the radical left-wing magazine Ramparts
Ramparts (magazine)
Ramparts was an American political and literary magazine, published from 1962 through 1975.-History:Founded by Edward M. Keating as a Catholic literary quarterly, the magazine became closely associated with the New Left after executive editor Warren Hinckle hired Robert Scheer as managing editor...
.
In a 1980 interview with the New York Times, de Borchgrave mentions that he came up with the idea for a novel after he and his wife had to hide in the English countryside, after anonymous threats were made in response to a Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
article he wrote that named some of the terrorists behind the 1972 Munich massacre.
The authors' 1983 follow-up, Monimbo, envisioned Miami race rioters as the pawns of Nicaraguan and Cuban communists.