We suspect that folks who refer to John le Carré as an espionage novelist have read few,
or any, of his books.

He certainly is a master of the spy craft, that dark art that gained popular attention during the Cold War and continues to grow in geographic, technical and financial complexity in a new age of international terrorism.

And he’s still schooling us in the shifting nuances of espionage–frightening lessons learned through his amazingly complex and compelling characters.

But, Mr. le Carre’s most important contribution to 20th century literature (yes, literature) goes far beyond cyanide pills, safe houses, duplicity and national loyalty.

It’s the exquisite skill of his writing that transcends all the rest.

This loyal reader, who has been blessed with countless hours of pleasure hunched over a rich stream of le Carre novels, finds him simply to be one of the greatest writers in the English language.

You can read what the master is up to, on his 80th birthday, in this New York Times interview.

 Better still, pick up any one of his novels (old or new) and prepare yourself to be delighted.

Happy Birthday, John!

• The “TRAIN” Act, which O’Malley says would
  indefinitely delay the clean-up of toxic power plant pollution; 
• (H.R. 2681) which would block clean air standards that lower mercury and
  other toxic air pollution from cement plants; and 
• (H.R. 2250) that would
  prevents the imposition of new standards to reduce toxic pollution from industrial incinerators and
  boilers at power plants. 

Photo: Jennifer Corbett/The News Journal

An industrial-scale sorting center for cans, bottles and other wastes is preparing to open in the Southbridge section of Wilmington, DE and the Delaware Solid Waste Authority next week will consider
four proposals for operation of a sorting center at the
city’s Delaware Recycling Center. 

It’s not what you might expect in a down economy, but the prices that manufacturers are paying for recycled  paper, plastic and metals has rebounded from recession levels a few years ago and Delaware’s year-old mandatory curbside recycling law is also helping to drive the recycling recovery.

The News Journal’s Jeff Montgomery delivers the encouraging environmental news today in:
Recycling efforts to expand

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