"I always worry, with all these things. ''Canal Dreams'' was my first attempt at a political thriller - an action book. As a political thriller it's not very good and a sign that it's not so good at what it's supposed to be doing is that it would be so easy to take the politics out and make a pro-CIA propaganda movie. If it's that easy to strip out, the political element, I haven't done my job properly.

"Och yeah. At the moment there's some interest in ''Canal Dreams'' although I think I could only sell it to Oliver Stone, anybody else doesn't have the clout not to get shoved off the picture and they'd just make it and turn it into American CIA propaganda. ... Actually of all the books, ''Canal Dreams'' is the one I'm least pleased with. By the usual reckoning, the worst books make the best films, so going on that it might be quite a good film! Make a film like ''Die Hard'' and cut out most of the first half of the book."