Word: ordeal
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...Reagan spoke privately that day about his nine-month Iran-contra ordeal, one had the feeling that nothing had changed, yet everything was different. He remains stubborn and unbowed and believing and upbeat; he refuses to hold a grudge. The essence of his talk in the afternoon light of the Oval Office was that a foreign policy operation, born of the best of intentions, went wrong. But the damage, he is certain, will fade. Reagan is calling for the nation to forget and move into the future. Details be damned; unanswered questions be hanged. The great congressional inquisition is finished...
...with a Soviet defector, to know whether he is a font of information or a plant aimed at disinformation; and the too often paralyzing fear among senior spooks that a highly placed "mole" has compromised everything. Quammen traverses this established terrain with skill, deftly interweaving plots, achingly conveying the ordeal of a "hostile debriefing." A retired spymaster at the center of the story remarks that "history is the control of appearances." Quammen stirs readers to care about the truth behind the truth behind the truth...
After the hearings end this week, the President is expected to carry out his promise, figuratively if not literally, to "stand on the roof and yell." For some of his former staffers, however, the ordeal may be far from over. Independent Counsel Lawrence Walsh is expected to start handing up indictments of the key players this month...
...pointless. Six months after her miscarriage, which has driven Rick into self-absorbed guilt and silence, Paige has moved out. The question of whether this marriage can or should be saved generates some suspense. More interesting, though, are the paces Author Bret Lott puts his hero through during the ordeal of wifelessness. Living without Paige and most of the furniture, which she took with her, Rick fills up his empty days by becoming a demon salesman. He is so good that he attracts the attention of his bosses. Yet he realizes that even with a promotion and a raise...
...tough questions of the committee lawyers with lengthy answers and some deft jabs ("Don't get angry, counsel. I'm going to answer your question"), the combative North brazenly defended many of his actions. He even assailed members of Congress for putting him through what he called "this ordeal." Said North: "I don't mind telling you that I'm angry at what you have attempted to do to me and my family...