Hunt was a writer before he was a spy, but there's no mention here of his many novels under his own name or as David St. John, Robert Dietrich, and Gordon Davis. Thanks to Richard Heft for the link.
Watergate figure E. Howard Hunt dies - Yahoo! News: "MIAMI - E. Howard Hunt, who helped organize the Watergate break-in, leading to the greatest scandal in American political history and the downfall of
Richard Nixon's presidency, died Tuesday. He was 88.
Hunt died after a lengthy bout with pneumonia, according to his son, Austin Hunt.
The elder Hunt was many things: World War II soldier,
CIA officer, organizer of both a Guatemalan coup and the botched Bay of Pigs invasion, and author of more than 80 books, many from the spy-tale genre.
Yet the bulk of his notoriety came from the one thing he always insisted he wasn't — a Watergate burglar. He often said he preferred the term 'Watergate conspirator.'
'I will always be called a Watergate burglar, even though I was never in the damn place,' Hunt told The Miami Herald in 1997. 'But it happened. Now I have to make the best of it.'"
8 comments:
I really enjoyed the Robert Dietrich and Gordon Davis books I've read. Haven't tried the David St. John novels yet. Sad to say, the later books by Hunt that were published under his name weren't as good as that old PBO stuff.
I've never read any of the later stuff. I particularly liked I Came to Kill, one of the Gordon Davis books.
Long time ago I ran across a 1947 (?) Esquire in which they talked about the five most promising young writers in America--Norman Mailer, Gore Vidal, Truman Capote, (can't recall the fourth), and E. Howard Hunt! For a time there he was a lit guy. But he musta fell from grace pretty quickly because he was publishing pb originals in 1951. Maybe even sooner.
I regret the day when I saw one of his early, literary novels in a used book store - and didn't buy it! (Or, then again, I may have bought it, but just don't remember it.) I've read only his Robert Dietrich books and they were pretty much okay. (For some reason, they were published as by John Baxter in Finland.)
I only recently discovered Hunt's books. I really enjoy the Steve Bentley series.
My father would have enjoyed the comments. He loved writing above all.
Thanks for the comment David. I hope you took a look at the cover slideshow of your dad's books.
To David Hunt, please accept my sympathies on the loss of your father He was a fantastic author whose books I truly enjoyed over the years. Politics aside, I always felt the government screwed him but like a true patriot he took his lumps and went on. Sorry if I offend anyone with my political opinion. I for one am looking forward to his memoir that is coming out in March.....Chris
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