Question to the ending
The ending confused me. Was Dante's book pubished or not?
shareNo. For obvious reasons, it couldn't be. However, by the British knowing the defunct state of Soviet military capability, and the Soviets knowing that the Brits knew, Dante's purpose was accomplished. Therefore, it was as if the book had been published.
Let's get dangerous!
I visited Russia in 1992. It was Severodvinsk, home of the USSR's atomic submarine building. In our American group was a former US Naval officer. We were given a tour of one of their ships. The ex-Naval officer commented on what terrible condition the ship was in and wouldn't pass ANY inspection if it were on the US side. Back in 1992, it gave credence to the defunct state of the Soviet military.
shareDante talks about the 'men in gray suits', meaning the secret service, of course, and he warns Barley (Connery) that they will come for him, too (as they apparently came for Dante's father). In a way, they do. In the book, Barley is subjected to a gruelling 'vetting' session by the Americans, before they agree to broker this excursion into the USSR, with a 'shopping list' of questions.
Anyway, the Americans (and British) can't be sure whether Dante's manuscript was a genuine evaluation of the decrepit state of Soviet military equipment, and the Russians can't really be sure whether this 'shopping list' of questions, for which the Americans want answers, is genuine either. Although it appears that Barley has pulled the rug from under a disappointed Russell Sheridan (Roy Scheider), Sheridan can strike back by floating the idea that the questions were bogus. In the end, how does anyone know for sure? That's the ending.
Meantime, one man is dead, and Barley decides that none of this is worth dying for; so, he sells out the Americans, and rescues Katya's family, counting on the reliability of the KGB to keep their word, once when a deal is cut.
So, Barley gets a positive outcome for real people, trading virtually worthless data to those 'men in gray suits' who chase fiction.
hope this helps. it was a brilliant book.
:-) canuckteach (--:
Not sure about that. Even if the governments know, the public do not know and cannot vote based on this information. So the spooks who want the job security of the Cold War can keep things going.
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