Seoul man

Seoul Man: a memoir of cars, culture, crisis, and unexpected hilarity inside a Korean corporate titan / Frank Ahrens 336 pgs.

Frank Ahrens was a happy journalist bachelor when love struck.  In the span of a few months, he got married, changed jobs and moved across the world to Seoul, Korea.  That is a LOT of change.  This memoir talks a lot about his new job in the P.R. department of Hyundai motors and the differences in culture between Korea and the United States.  Frank had always been a journalist so P.R., the auto industry and corporate life were new to him as was Korea.  Some of the insights into the Korean rise to a formidable economic power are excellent.  Stories about the auto industry and Hyundai's goals to move up to a more respected position in the industry were also interesting.  Korea is a country that has undergone a lot of change in a generation.  Frank's personal stories of his life in Korea and the shelter given to the normal ex-pat struggles by living on a U. S. military base are insightful.  At some point, however, this book seems to veer off into the personal story about how fatherhood makes you grow up (even at 49) and begins to focus on the importance of Christian belief in the author's life.  That is all fine but is not mentioned in any of the marketing of this book.  I think the book suffered from a lack of focus or maybe I'm just not amazed to hear that having a child changes your life when I thought I was reading about cars and culture.

Jack of Spies by David Downing

Jack of Spies by David Downing, 338 pages.

On the eve of the First World War Jack McColl has decided that selling luxury automobiles, specifically the fictional (I'm pretty sure) Maia model, isn't for him anymore. Cars and car sales have changed so much, and Jack doesn't see much future in sales in the manner he has grown accustomed to. Currently he and his mechanic travel the world, car in tow, heading for places where the wealthy can be found, and give test drives and take orders for cars that will then be manufactured. Since the changes coming don't appeal, Jack is convinced that he should be seeking full-time employment in the newly evolving field of espionage. He's been nosing around German naval settlements during his travels in China, and throughout the Pacific, reporting back to London on an ad-hoc basis. Now, with war in the offing Jack hopes to prove his worth and turn this into a paying, full-time gig. It seems like that is going to work out for him, but when the German officers he has been following start conspiring with Irish nationals in New York and Dublin, Jack has to choose between his new-found career, and the beautiful Irish woman he met on his travels. She's not working with the Germans, he knows that, but his bosses would like him to investigate her friends and family members. Jack's pretty sure Caitlin would see that as a breach of trust, especially since he hasn't told her about his new career and she thinks he's just a car salesman. Maybe he can just keep quiet, and hope she doesn't notice that people keep trying to kill him. 
Good fun from the author of the "John Russell" Station novels.
Light violence, nice historical setting and light romance.
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