Six Days of the Condor

Six Days of the Condor

"Six Days of the Condor" is a thriller novel by James Grady first published in 1974 by W.W. Norton.

The story is a suspense drama set in contemporary Washington, D.C., and is considered an exposition of the moral ambiguity of the actions of the United States government following the Vietnam War and Watergate. It was followed by a second novel by Grady titled "Shadow of the Condor," released in 1978.

Plot summary

Ronald Malcolm is a CIA employee who works in a clandestine office in Washington, D.C. responsible for analyzing the plots of mystery and spy novels. One day, when he should be in the office, Malcolm slips out a basement entrance for lunch. In his absence a group of armed men gains entrance to the office and kills everyone there. Malcolm returns, realizes he is in grave danger, and telephones a phone number at CIA headquarters he has been given for emergencies.

When he phones in (and remembers to give his code name "Condor"), he is told to meet an agent named Weatherby who will "bring him in" for protection. Alas, Weatherby is part of a rogue group within the CIA, the same group responsible for the original assassinations. Weatherby tries to kill Malcolm, who escapes with his life. Malcolm uses his wits to elude both the rogue CIA group and the proper CIA authorities, each of which would very much like to find him first.

Seeking shelter, Malcolm kidnaps a paralegal named Wendy Ross who (he overhears) intends to spend her coming vacation days holed up in her apartment -- hence he knows that nobody will notice her absence. He quickly wins her trust, and she assists him in his quest to stay alive and to find out more about the forces after him.

It turns out that the rogue group was using the section where Malcolm works to import illegal drugs from Laos. A supervisor stumbles on a discrepancy in the records resulting from the clandestine importation, necessitating the elimination of the section.

However, upon confronting the "rogue group" leader, Malcolm finds out the true motive behind the conspiracy, and it is the United States` government plan to invade an Arab country and take over its oil deposits.In the end, a CIA executive officer tries to justify these actions and plans by suggesting that the American people will set aside all moral boundaries, when they run out of gas. So, planning such an agenda is driven by the necessity to survive economically.Malcolm then understands that he has no other choice but to live on the run from now on.

Film adaptation

*In 1975 James Grady and Lorenzo Semple adapted the novel to film as "Three Days of the Condor".


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Three Days of the Condor — Infobox Film name = Three Days of the Condor image size = caption = Theatrical poster director = Sydney Pollack producer = Executive Producer: Dino De Laurentiis Producer: Stanley Schneider writer = Story: James Grady Screenplay: Lorenzo Semple… …   Wikipedia

  • Three Days of the Condor — Filmdaten Deutscher Titel: Die drei Tage des Condor Originaltitel: Three Days of the Condor Produktionsland: USA Erscheinungsjahr: 1975 Länge: 113 Minuten Originalsprache: Englisch …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Three Days of the Condor — Solicita una imagen para este artículo. Título Los tres días del Cóndor Ficha técnica …   Wikipedia Español

  • Three Days of the Condor — Les Trois Jours du condor Les Trois Jours du condor Titre original Three Days of the Condor Réalisation Sydney Pollack Acteurs principaux Robert Redford Faye Dunaway Scénario Histoire : James Grady adaptation: Lorenzo Semple Jr. David… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • The Legend of the Condor Heroes — The Legend of Condor Heroes (zh tsp|t=射鵰英雄傳|s=射雕英雄传|p=shè diāo yīng xióng zhuàn) is one of the most acclaimed wuxia novels by Jinyong, first published in 1957 in Hong Kong Commercial Daily . This is the first novel of the Condor Trilogy . The… …   Wikipedia

  • Condor (disambiguation) — Condor is the common name for two species of birds: Vultur gryphus (Vultur) the Andean condor Gymnogyps californianus (Gymnogyps), the California condor Condor may also refer to: Contents 1 Civil aviation 2 …   Wikipedia

  • Six-Day War — Part of the Arab–Israeli conflict …   Wikipedia

  • The X-Files — This article is about the TV show. For other uses, see The X Files (disambiguation). The X Files Title screenshot Genre Drama, science fiction, horror, mystery, thriller …   Wikipedia

  • Die drei Tage des Condor — Filmdaten Deutscher Titel Die drei Tage des Condor Originaltitel Three Days of the Condor …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • The City on the Edge of Forever — Star Trek: The Original Series episode The Enterprise crew encounters the Guardian of Forever …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”