Stuff I'm Reading: The Spy Next Door

The Spy Next Door: The Extraordinary Secret Life of Robert Philip Hanssen, the Most Damaging FBI Agent in U.S. History by Elaine Shannon

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the true story upon which the movie "Breach" was based, about Robert Hanssen, the man who worked for the FBI and spied for the Soviet Union (and after the breakup of the USSR, Russia) for over 20 years. It is a fascinating story--how this pious, upstanding, downright boring man was able to fool everyone around him as he passed along infomation in "dead drops" as "Ramon Garcia." The more I read, I also gained a real understanding of how something like 9-11 happened without it being uncovered by intelligence agencies. The technology the FBI possessed was behind the times, the flow of information amongst intelligence agencies was poor, plus there was an attitude among the people of the FBI that their agents were of a higher caliber than most people, and were beyond reproach and incapable of such treachery.

The book is written pretty much like an extended magazine article, offering background when needed, trying to offer answers where possible, but still the best answer is that no one really knows why Hanssen did what he did. And to this day the information he sold to our enemies could still be used to hurt us. Frightening stuff.


View all my reviews.

More Davey G musical updates.

I have compiled over a dozen new songs since the last time I played live, and my hope is that maybe half of them are usable. Yesterday I wrote a song called “Frustrating Conversationalist” which will I will probably open with soon, and “Pimple,” a song about keeping your problems in perspective, because it is my solemn hope that Davey G will one day improve your life through my message of self-help and spiritual guidance.
The key to writing Davey G songs, as I’ve learned after all this time, is to just let go and tap into the inner shower-singer in all of us…to record those little moments in the car when I have no radio and I’m singing to myself things like “Bob Bob Bob, Bob Bob or Ann” and wondering if that Beach Boys song is really about a bi-sexual trying to decide if he’s going to spend the night with a boy, Bob, or a girl, Ann. And then someone tells me that the song is actually “Barbara Ann”…but I think that my version is funnier. I digress.

I have 2 shows coming up this fall/winter, with the possibility of a third. The first is Saturday, November 1, at the Windup Space at 12 W. North Avenue in Baltimore. I will be playing with The Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad, Bene Gesserit Witch and Markitect. This should be a really great show where you can first hear some of the new Davey G material.

I will have another show on Thursday, December 11 at the Sidebar, at 218 E. Lexington Street in Baltimore. Details forthcoming, as this was just arranged yesterday.

Being on my mailing list is the best way to know when the shows happen. Go to the “Contact Me” link on my site and e-mail me, and I will add you.
Thanks for reading today!

--Davey G.

www.daveygandthekeyboard.com