The televised hearings in which Lt. Colonel North swept the country with his noble patriotism represent only the tip of the Iran-contra iceberg. Bradlee (Boston Globe ) does a superb job of assembling that story through an examination of North's life. Arranging secret arms deals missions to Iran and guns to the contras were the culmination for North of the jobs that needed to be done to keep the United States safe in a hostile world. Bradlee puts the Iran-contra story into perspective in terms of North's life and the Reagan Administration's penchant for rogue NSC and CIA operations. An excellent book that should be read by those who saw North as a hero and people such as William Casey as responsible. Bradlee is son of Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee.
