In all honesty, I just wanted to share the best homemade pancake recipe. This recipe is from the Bell’s Best cookbook. This is an easy recipe that the girls use and one I have memorized from heart. Notice the yellow hue of the pancakes. This is how much of a difference one free-range chicken egg can make in a batter.
Recipe:
1 cup of self-rising flour
1 cup of milk (or you can substitute 1/3 cup dry milk with 1 cup water)
1 egg
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
optional: chocolate chips (or whatever additions)
Directions: Stir together all ingredients and cook. (if you don’t know how to make pancakes at this point, just google)
The book…
Synopsis
At the height of the Cold War, Irina, a young Russian-American secretary, is plucked from the CIA typing pool and given the assignment of a lifetime. Her mission: to help smuggle Doctor Zhivago into the USSR, where it is banned, and enable Boris Pasternak’s magnum opus to make its way into print around the world. Mentoring Irina is the glamorous Sally Forrester: a seasoned spy who has honed her gift for deceit, using her magnetism and charm to pry secrets out of powerful men. Under Sally’s tutelage, Irina learns how to invisibly ferry classified documents—and discovers deeply buried truths about herself.
Honestly, I enjoyed learning about the history of this former top-secret mission. I loved the fact that literature was used in the past to promote the ideals of freedom. What I did not enjoy about this book was the love story part. Although the scenes were not graphic, it was “enough” to make me not want my daughter to read this book. There were also some other issues of the love story that I did not enjoy but will not post that on this blog. Once the mission was complete, the book sort of fizzled out for me.
If you are wanting history of this mission, I suggest reading a book that was used as a resource for this novel: The Zhivago Affair by Peter Finn (or google some sites). I have not read this book but do have it on my wish list.
After reading the book, I read several interviews with Prescott. Although I do agree with her on the premise of the dangers of misinformation in the age of technology (versus the slow spread of ideals through the use of literature), I wonder if she thinks misinformation is just from one ideology? One British interview stated she worked on progressive political campaigns as a political consultant; does she feel the dangers of “misinformation” is only from some? She quoted Elizabeth Warren to support her stance. Sorry but Elizabeth Warren does not have a lot of credibility in providing factual information. Does “misinformation” influence opinions? Absolutely. However, so do many of things. I also wonder how she feels about big-tech censorship? Dr. Zhivago was not published IN the Soviet Union until 1988 (and was banned for decades). How is that any different than some big-tech companies censoring certain people or journalists “censoring” through the omission of facts (deliberately leaving out details to sway opinion)? Either there is freedom of thought or there isn’t…
Another thought… I always see irony how a few will argue for schools banning certain books (like Little House on the Prairie) but support schools that allow graphic sex in books (and also shocked why this is not an issue). Or what about those who would argue against banning books but cheer for big-tech allowing censorship of political opinions that a big-tech CEO disagrees with? Just some “food for thought.”
If you are interested in this mission but not reading this book (or other books on this topic), I have included some links below. Enjoy!
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27942646
Peter Finn’s research discussion
https://lithub.com/the-cia-scheme-that-brought-doctor-zhivago-to-the-world/
