Minstrel's Alley Reduced Price of THE GUYS WHO SPIED FOR CHINA, to Help Understand Chinese Espionage Practices

Minstrel's Alley recently reduced the price of its eBook of The Guys Who Spied for China, written by Gordon Basichis. The Los Angeles based media group reduced the price so that readers may obtain a better sense of Chinese espionage practices and the pervasive tensions that these activities have created between the United States and China.

Minstrel's Alley Publisher, M.J. Hammond explained that the recent case, reported in the Washington Post, where a Chinese citizen was recently sentenced for stealing classified information regarding drone and missile technology, further reinforces the public need to read its book. In the most recent case, the convicted spy stole thousands of documents detailing how drones and missiles can be operated without any satellite guidance.

"We recently reduced the eBook pricing on The Guys Who Spied for China so readers could glean a better understanding of Chinese espionage operations in the United States," said Hammond. "Author Gordon Basichis first wrote his novel about Chinese spy networks that were active in the close of the twentieth century. The book is still as relevant as when it was first published in 2009.

"The Guys Who Spied for China is a roman a clef," said Hammond. "But the novel is based on Basichis' offbeat experiences in working to uncover Chinese Espionage Networks in the United States. Gordon Basichis narrates how it all began and the attempts that were made to suppress Chinese spying efforts in the United States. "This is not your typical spy novel," said Hammond. "It is a quirky and intimate novel that is often darkly humorous. It is character based and offers a unique perspective. Women enjoy reading it as well as men. Some of our best feedback has been from women.

Hammond noted that the Minstrel's Alley publication is a precursor to current Chinese spy activity. It offers valuable insight to the ongoing Chinese spying tactics as well as well as the increased threat of cyberwarfare.

"The same Washington Post article reports, in the past four years alone, there have been more than a 100 corporate defendants charged with stealing trade secrets and classified information, or sneaking sensitive military and dual use technology to China," said Hammond. Such companies as Northrop Grumman, Boeing, General Dynamics, Ford, Dupont and Dow Chemical have been compromised. This is serious stuff.

Hammond pointed out that the Guys Who Spied for China was a quarter-finalist in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. "With the Chinese government expanding its military and compounding both espionage efforts and cyberattacks against the United States, and with new spying cases making headlines every other week, there is no better time for curious readers to looking into a book like this," said Hammond. "It is some kind of reading experience."

Background: Minstrel's Alley is a Los Angeles based independent publisher that seeks to bring adventure back into the publishing industry by publishing books that have popular appeal but with more complexity than the standard mainstream fare. The new publishing group distributes its books through Amazon, Kindle, and assorted Internet outlets as well as through bookstores around the country. You can view Minstrel's Alley at http://www.minstrelsalley.com