Philip Lazar

Proud to share that my espionage thriller, set mainly before the 2016 U.S. election, The Tiger and the Bear, has won the publisher's Sunny award: www.sunburypress.com/collections/.... If you're interested, please also check out my podcast interview on the book: www.buzzsprout.com/2424694/epis...

I have been reading spy novels for 50+ years. The best show good writing and reflect the issues of their times - Ambler, Greene and le Carre, obviously. I tried to do both with my book. I feared I might be overreacting to the threat from the right. Signs continue that I wasn't: x.com/BillClinton/...

Am I the only writer willing to write serious political/espionage thrillers reflecting the state of the U.S. and the world today?

Product placement in a novel should serve a literary purpose. In my book, The Tiger and the Bear, I had my character wear a Rolex because its military past loosened the tongue of an American he meets in a bar and its luxury status helped him with an oligarch-adjacent Russian.

NUMBER 1!
Vicki Weisfeld at crimefictionliver.com has The Tiger and the Bear as No. 1 on her Top 5 Books of 2025 -- "a political thriller in the style of John LeCarré ... you see all the pieces by the end, but Lazar gives one more twist ... "
crimefictionlover.com/2025/12/vick...

Opinion | Trump Is the Jan. 6 President

My book, which takes place mostly in the distant past of 2014 warns of one threat to the United States; I leave it to readers to decide whether that threat came true. This New York Times piece concerns another, related and current, threat to our democracy.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/o...

Is there any doubt in anyone's mind, at least after last night's Venezuela news, that the current U.S. administration's instincts run completely counter to the foundations of what it has meant to be America?

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I was CIA's top agent in Moscow - Putin has trained to manipulate men like Trump Rob Dannenberg was the US spy chief in Russia early in Vladimir Putin's rule - and believes he understands the dictator better than most

“He’s being manipulated, in the way that a good case officer like Putin would manipulate this guy."
inews.co.uk/news/world/i...

In Hearing Transcript, Jack Smith Defends Decision to Indict Trump

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/u...

GOP lawmaker admonishes Trump for giving up 'instrument of power' in pursuit of cuts Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) admonished President Donald Trump for essentially dismantling Voice of America, a U.S. sponsored broadcaster targeting foreigners, because it would have helped support new protes...

I hope congressional Republicans and others who have no idea what the value of American soft power has been in the postwar period pay attention to this: www.rawstory.com/don-bacon-vo...

2025 In Review: The Year The US Changed Sides Amongst many stories, one stands out

“Overall, the US was treating Ukraine as a partner by the end of 2024 and is now treating that country as an annoyance to be put in its place in the US quest for better relations with Russia….The US has changed sides.”

open.substack.com/pub/phillips...

Top Dem on Putin’s claim Ukraine attempted strike on his home: I hope Trump ‘sees what Putin is really trying to accomplish’ | CNN CNN’s Brianna Keilar talks to Congressman Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, about Russia’s allegation that Ukraine tried to strike one of Putin’s homes in a drone att...

Another example of what our president is doing to us and our leadership of the West: edition.cnn.com/2025/12/30/u...

Analyst Sees Progress in Ukraine Talks, but Warns of Long Road Ahead  The United States, European Union and Ukraine have progressed toward a possible peace deal, but Russia’s unwillingness to engage and the unresolved

www.indavemedia.com/analyst-sees...

Trump Admin Scores Visa for Founder of Russian Propaganda Outlet Tenet Media’s Lauren Chen is back—even though the illegal-influence and money-laundering investigation remains open.

www.thebulwark.com/p/lauren-che...

While writing my published book, and working on the next one, I have striven to avoid going overboard in linking Moscow with the group now running the country. Other than implying a direct link where none has been proven, though, that sees less and less a danger.

Putin general linked to Salisbury poisoning 'blown up in drone strike' Averyanov is linked to some of Russia's most notorious covert operations abroad, including the assassination of Yevgeny Prigozhinin 2023.

One can hope.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

And don't take your eyes off Southeast Asia, where Moscow is starting to try to sell arms in Vietnam, Burma and elsewhere. Not a major player yet, but ...

As a Soviet said to me one midnight in, I think Kiev (as it was then known), Russia will always be Russia. Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Chernenko, Andropov and Gorbachev, he said, would come and go, but Russia will always be Russia and not a Western liberal democracy.

The Tiger and the Bear Amazon.com: The Tiger and the Bear eBook : Lazar, Philip: Books

www.amazon.com/Tiger-Bear-P...