Stained Glass: A Blackford Oakes Mystery by William F. Buckley Jr.

Stained Glass: A Blackford Oakes Mystery Reviews

• 
  Erin

  William F. Buckley Jr. is hailed as one of the top conservative writers of the 20th century. He even wrote some of Reagan’s speeches. I've been wanting to read one of his novels for some time, and picked this up at an estate sale for $1 (First edition, too!). This is the first book I've read by him, and frankly I am disappointed with Stained Glass. I expected this to be a first-rate espionage thriller, along the lines of Bourne Identity or James Bond. Instead this ended up being everything I hate in a book!
  
  I couldn’t care less for the main character, Blackford Oakes. While he is smart and good looking, he is a hypocrite and a mindless drone. I disapprove of the supporting American CIA and negotiating background characters. They are sleazy, spineless, and will do anything in the name of "peace". I loathe the ending. It counters everything America supposedly stands for. The only redeeming aspect of Stained Glass is Axel Wintergrin, and the plot of rebuilding a ruined chapel, St. Anselms.
  
  To play devil’s advocate, it should be stated this is the second book in a series, of which I was unaware when I began reading. Perhaps if I had read the first book, I wouldn’t dislike Blackford as much. That being said, I’ll flush out more below why I don’t like him.
  
  SPOILERS – You’ve been warned
  
  In case you are wondering why this book is called Stained Glass, it’s actually the method of how Axel Wintergrin is murdered. He sits down to examine the various shades of stained glass for the chapel, and the apparatus to view the glass is rigged to electrocute him. This irritates me, firstly because they kill the best character is this book and secondly, they take the one source of joy in the book, the rebuilding of a destroyed Medieval chapel, and twist it to nefarious purposes. It is inconceivable to me.
  
  Axel Wintergrin is the only redeeming character in Stained Glass. He is reasonable, accountable, honest, and is a perfect foil to Hitler. While Wintergrin is seeking to become chancellor of Germany, it’s not to unite and imperialize Europe-he merely wants to reestablish the Germany state under one leadership and start a new path for Germany in the modern world.
  
  The fact that America bends to USSR’s blackmail is unfathomable to me. Axel is correct in assuming the USSR is all bark and no bite, yet the CIA yields at the slightest challenge. What the actual fuck?! And then to keep claiming that this guy Rufus is the brightest mind who has prevented countless disasters, thinks assassinating Axel is the correct course of action? I don’t believe Rufus is intelligent at all.
  
  Additionally, it bothers me on a personal level that Blackford can have an American girlfriend yet feel it's okay to sleep with other women. For a man supposedly tortured between his morals and his love of America, he has zero qualms about cheating.
• 
  Arthur

  I'm not usually a reader of spy or suspense type works, so I came across this with low expectations.
  It's the only book in the series I've read. So I don't know offhand if I missed anything by not reading the preceding.
  For me it got interesting in the last quarter of the book, but the slow build up was tedious for my taste.
• 
  Jacob Aitken

  Buckley, William F. Stained Glass.
  
  Probably more than any other novel, this best illustrates the type of ethics the CIA will use to maintain “security.” From that it is tempting to read the CIA as the hitman for global liberalism. That’s certainly true on one level, but the dilemma that Blackford Oakes faces is a real one. The focus point of the story is the heroic and charismatic German noble, Count Axel Wintegrin. Germany is divided between West and East, the latter living under Soviet terror (made possible by the Allies some five years earlier). Wintegrin is a rising politician who campaigns on the promise of unifying Germany by liberating East German from Communist slavery.
  
  Of course, every human being should rally to such a cause. NATO, however, is reluctant to support Wintegrin, as they fear such a move would trigger World War III. Wintegrin, however, has anticipated and countered every objection to his plan. He is the only one in the West with the backbone to stand up to the Soviet dragon.
  
  Oakes is torn between his desire to help his new friend (and thus liberate millions of people from slavery) and obeying his masters in the CIA. What will Oakes do? The CIA makes it very clear that if Wintegrin starts WWIII, millions would die. The alternative is to dispose of Count Wintegrin and save millions of lives, although leaving millions under socialist slavery. What will Oakes do?
  
  Following upon the heels of the events in Saving the Queen, Stained Glass takes us from the countryside of Merry Olde England (albeit in the 1940s) to post-war Germany. The beauty of the German language and its culture (exorcised from Hitlerism) is apparent in this novel and pulls the reader in.
  
• 
  Adrienne

  I’m old enough to remember a divided Germany and, very dimly, the Berlin Wall. But today’s world is rather different, so it is always interesting to read a book written during those decades of a divided Germany and a worldwide struggle between East and West. Stained Glass by William F. Buckley is one such story entrenched in the Cold War. It is full of secret agents, political intrigue and people talking to each other in code. I would compare it to a James Bond movie, except I’ve never seen a James Bond movie. So I’ll say instead that it is almost what I’ve always expected a James Bond movie to be, only with an American secret agent, and a larger vocabulary (I had to use a dictionary twice to figure out a word, when I don’t usually look up new words while reading, but rely on the context to give me the meaning).
  
  
  Blackford Oakes is an American secret agent, and he is sent to West Germany to shadow Count Axel Wintergren, a German who is running for the chancellorship and whose platform consists of one plank: unification of East and West Germany. Because Wintergren threatens violence to achieve his aims, the goverments in Washington and Moscow get nervous. Moscow accuses Washington of supporting Wintergren, while Oakes’ superiors in Washington are worried that Wintergren will start a third world war, not 10 years after the conclusion of the second. When Moscow discovers Oakes, it raises a host of questions: is there a Russian agent in Wintergren’s entourage? Will that agent try to kill Wintergren? And can Wintergren win the election?
  
  Stained Glass was an interesting book and a radical departure from what I usually read. Maybe I’ll give another spy-thriller a try. Maybe I’ll even try a James Bond novel…
• 
  Kurt Geisel

  Of the Oakes stories, I've found this to be one of the "heaviest" in terms of agonizing over the protagonist's dilemma. It is also one of the more deliberately-staged alternate realities or "what if" scenarios, in which a much more compelling movement for German reunification is inserted into the post-war West German federal elections (a more plausible opponent to Adenauer). Still, it is fun, with relief coming in occasional laugh-out-loud moments of WFB's signature devilish humor. As always with Oakes, it is also fun to play "what is real and what is fiction", something that WFB took delightfully beyond today's restraints of "Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead...".
  
  Perhaps the most artful part of this novel is detailed description of the restoration of St. Anselm's chapel, a 14th century gothic church on the estate of Count Axel Wintergrin. Wintergrin is the subject of Oakes' mission and the reconstruction, consistent with American aid offered to post-war Germany, is his cover. Yet a fair portion of the novel is devoted to describing the careful and well-executed pursuit of restoring the chapel to its former beauty. The project becomes Oakes' true passion as well as his only escape from the grim turns his official objective takes.
• 
  Bert van der Vaart

  There is lots to like about this book--set in early post WWII West Germany, WF Buckley's Yalie CIA agent, Blackford Oakes is sent as an engineer to a Westerwald aristocrat who wants to restore his family's ancient chapel, down to the exquisite shade of blue of the stained glass windows. Oakes is a smart enough Yalie who studied "some" engineering and had some quick training also in London as a cover before his assignment to the German count, Axel Wintergrin. Besides sparing no expense to restore his family's chapel (his family's own apparently limitless money is supplemented by US government cultural funds), the Count is also leading a movement to reunite Germany, based on his shrewd calculations that the USSR would not invade the West due to Russia's weakened state post WWII.
  
  Wintergrin is the perfect post WWII German. He served in Norway's underground resistance against Hitler Germany, only returning to Germany after the end of WWII. After the War, Wintergrin calls his fellow citizens in Germany to unite and call Russia's bluff. He is brilliant and his speeches and anticipation of the normal sliming tactics of politics are one of the highlights of the book. Stalin is clearly aiming to assassinate Wintergrin, but if it gets out he did it, there could be popular outrage with--we are told-- the people or at least with the military. Stalin demands concerted action with its Cold War enemy--the USA. The "fix" is in--if the two powers cannot find a way to rig the elections and have Wintergrin lose the election, they will have to assassinate Wintergrin.
  
  Buckley writes, from time to time brilliantly and from time to time like an esoteric Crossword afficionado-- hunting for obscure and recondite words. But amidst the silliness of Blackford Oakes--a wannabee Sean Connery--Buckley focuses on the all too real situation where the USA participates in the assassination of a leader who is probably completely right in his calculus of the probabilities that Russia would not intervene militarily if West Germany in 1953 proceeded to push for a genuine fair election to reunite. However, we see the USA agree with Stalin that the risk of further bloodshed however unlikely is not worth it.
  
  Oakes is tasked with completing the "exquisite" restoration of Wintergrin's chapel, and then shooting the Count before he likely wins the general election and replaces Adenauer as PM. The Count has out-tricked the newspapers, the CIA and the KGB--both of which agreed to assassinate the count out of fear that the New Germany will rise again. There follows a lot of double crossing and uncertainty, with everyone playing almost everyone off on each other.
  
  Oakes receives his orders to work with the beautiful Russian spy and is conflicted when he is ordered to kill his German friend. Unsurprisingly, Oakes survives and gets the girl--who works for the Russians. As a weak response, Oakes makes a few speeches to the Russian spy defending the US democratic system against the violent gangster state in Russia--after which he makes wild and passionate love to the Russian anyway--being unfaithful in the process to his girlfriend back home--a pretty unattractive aspect of Oakes' character without his apparently losing much sleep over it.
  
  Despite at times turgid or hypersyllabic prose, smug Yalie poses, and some logical flaws, "Stained Glass" is a pretty good "inside the CIA" spy novel, with smugness balanced against some pretty funny exchanges--intended, I think. Some of the diplomatic bluffing and finessing stated positions, etc, is pretty clever, as when Wintergrin is able to explain why Stalin is bluffing about his stated intent to launch an invasion should Axel win, although the Americans seem nonetheless afraid to challenge their DC based experts and their erstwhile allies in the WWII. The German in the book is also correct, which is not always the case in other spy novels.
  
  Oakes ultimately faces a moral dilemma: he has to choose between (1) his CIA bosses, who seem to be treating him right although they make decisions from afar and without the benefit of real time, or (2) his conscience. Though I think Oakes' ego and flippant selfishness are pretty unattractive, one can't help but root for him, all to a happy if ambiguous end. I liked the book, but would say the smugness and at times needlessly verbose language put the book at 3.4 instead of 3.8.
• 
  Bob

  Summary: When a charismatic German who fought against the Nazis in the resistance in Norway campaigns to become Chancellor on a platform to reunite Germany, Soviets and Americans come together to block this, with Blackford Oakes at the center, restoring a family chapel of the candidate.
  
  Count Axel Wintergren participated in the Nazi invasion of Poland, disappearing and turning over Nazi invasion plans to the Poles. For the remainder of the war, he fought with the resistance in Norway, returning to his village and family enclosure after the war. Elections for the Chancellorship in West Germany are coming with Konrad Adenauer the leading candidate. That is until Wintergren. Over the months, he has slowly built a following throughout the country, then announced his candidacy. The country is electrified with this youthful face with a radical idea that captures their hearts: reunite Germany. Outside of Germany no one likes this idea. Not the Soviets whose sphere of influence includes East Germany. Not the Americans who recognize the possibility that World War III could break out with NATO dangerously unprepared and the only deterrent being America’s nuclear arsenal.
  
  Enter Blackford Oakes, whose engineering skills qualify him to restore the St. Anselm chapel on Wintergren’s estate, allowing him to get close to Wintergren, to pass along intelligence, to dissuade…and more? There are two surprises for the Americans. One is that Oakes cover is blown. Chief KBG agent for Europe Boris Bolgin know who he’s working on. The other is that the Soviets have their own agent, Erika Chadinoff, working as Wintergren’s translator. The bug in Oakes’ room at the chateau traces back to her room.
  
  All of this brings the Americans and Soviets into a most unlikely alliance. Wintergren must be stopped. When attempts to torpedo his standings in the polls through apparently compromising personal information fail and backfire, they conclude there is only one option left, to eliminate Wintergren. Both Bolgin and his CIA counterpart look to Oakes to do the deed.
  
  There is just one problem. Oakes has come to respect and admire Wintergren as one of a kind in his generation. Meanwhile, Wintergren’s security man has growing suspicions of Oakes, as does Wintergren’s mother. All this with global thermonuclear conflict hanging in the balance.
  
  Actually, it doesn’t fall to Oakes alone. Erika Chadinoff is in on the alliance. Actually, they had already formed an intimate alliance of sorts, the typical spies in bed trope, despite Blackford’s relationship with Sally back home. It almost felt to me a bit obligatory and predictable. Far better, and more consonant with Buckley’s values would have been an unconsummated relationship, albeit with some sexual tension thrown in. That would have been more interesting.
  
  The shame of this is that it wasn’t needed. The build up to the election, the moral dilemma and the international ramifications are plenty to make this an interesting story. The bromance between Wintergren and Oakes is far more riveting than the romance.
• 
  Jonathan Ammon

  Another great surprise, perhaps as much as the first Blackford Oakes novel. Once again Buckley touches the tropes enough to make me think I know what I'm in for and then surprises me with a poignancy I did not think the novel had earned. Once again as morally complex as Le Carre, perhaps even more so because Buckley has a pragmatic kind of hope even in the midst of his anger--something that many will not share but cannot call naive.
• 
  Lindsay

  Suppose a very charismatic and very intelligent leader had surfaced in a post-war Germany, with the world still reeling from the horrors of Hitler? Suppose he urged the re-unification of Germany, something forbidden by the treaties? How would the world powers react? How would Blackford Oates react? In Stained Glass he is still a young and idealistic spy and he faces that moral challenge.
  
• 
  Jack

  At the time I read these novels (the late 1980's and early 1990's), I found them to be pretty good... sort of a cross between Matt Helm and James Bond. Not quite up to Ian Fleming's standards, but not quite as dated by then either.
• 
  Trevor Carlsen

  The second in the Blackford Oakes series. With the protagonist’s backstory established, this installment captured my interest more than the first did. Looking forward to reading what lies in store for Oakes next book.
• 
  Helen

  This is the second book in the series about a CIA agent working in various areas. This time he is helping to fix a cathedral in West Germany. The book is less humorous than the first, but it has Buckley's unique, intellectual writing style.
• 
  Oscar Maquito

  *5/5
  
  That novel tells Specipic stories about the Eastern Bloc Countries and to pursuit to Death..
• 
  Gavin

  Mercy, Blackford has to be involved with the death of someone that he admires.
• 
  Chris Nardo

  Second book of the series. Very interesting story line from the Cold War.
• 
  Bob Box

  Read in 1978. The second of eleven Blackford Oakes spy novel. Intricate plotting and solid spy craft.
• 
  Ken

  Enjoyed this mystery!
  
  First mystery by Buckley that I have read. Excellent plot, well written. I will read more of these mysteries. I recommend it!
• 
  Steven

  The second Blackford Oakes spy novel, like the fourth (The Story of Henri Tod), is set in the divided Germany of the Cold War era, and the shadow of tragedy gives William F. Buckley's storytelling unaccustomed depth and authority. The moral dilemma Oakes faces here is genuinely moving, even if the resolution and the coda (in which Oakes confronts Allen Dulles over the U.S. government's actions) are deeply unsatisfactory. When it came to writing spy novels, Buckley was no Len Deighton, much less John Le Carre, but the Berlin novels show him at his best.
• 
  Philip

  Mystery, intrigue, drama, and an amazing plot. What more could you ask for? This spy thriller drives the reader to ask questions about right and wrong, trust and political disobedience, and so on. The deeper you get into the story, the more you will connect with the characters and their moral and political dilemmas. This novel has interested me in the entire Blackford Oakes series. Perhaps I’ll pick up some of the others soon. Parents should be aware that there is some violence and sexuality in the novel. Mystery and espionage enthusiasts will certainly enjoy this work.
• 
  James Cooper

  I think I like Mr. Oakes better in London than in Germany. Given that his cover was blown pretty early in the story, the action had to be fast paced, less calculating (more time for error) than the more detailed, methodically planning of Saving the Queen. But it's Buckley & I'll never say anything that I dislike about his writing because it's always a great read!
• 
  Steve

  My favorite of the Blackford Oakes books.
• 
  Beverly

  Not as good as Saving the Queen but still a nice window into the Cold War zeitgeist.