A true reflection of our secret services or just tongue in cheek? I can't help but feel the story envelopes the shady world in a direct and highly amusing interpretation of the life of a secret agent. Yes "man plans and god laughs" and this book will make you laugh out loud as you follow Joe Wilderness through the decades, more crook than spy and then more friend than foe to the various characters he meets. I suspect the foibles our intrepid spy displays are truer than the dark fare that we're normally served with events just unfolding and no one really knowing what any other side is really planning, doing or indeed why. Yes life's a mess that we all just stumble through and Joe Wilderness does just that, stumbles through trying to do the right thing regardless. A good read that keeps your attention throughout.