Rating: 
Summary: Racy espionage thriller
Review: "Greenmantle", by John Buchan, is actually based on a remarkable, if little-known, aspect of German propaganda during World War I. It involved Kaiser Wilhelm declaring himself a convert to Islam, a leader of "jihad", as a tactic for winning the support of the Muslim territories under British control and thus fomenting an anti-British revolution. Richard Hannay, Buchan's intrepid hero from "The Thirty-Nine Steps", is the man entrusted to stop this plan from being carried out, and his adventure takes him from London, to Holland and Turkey and finally to the Russian border for a spectacular climax. Complaints have been made about Buchan's racist and jingo-imperialist biases, as the novel easily betrays the sentiments of a la "dominion over palm and pine." However, a fiction-writer may, under a certain poetic license, attack creeds, doctrines, persons and institutions with impunity; moreover, a writer must be seen as a product of his age. This racy, lively, energetic novel is best appreciated as an excellent work of light literature. The conclusion is an undeniably exciting confrontation, including the charge of Cossack cavalry, as Hannay engages in the final showdown between the two German villains, the gross Stumm and the evil beauty, Hilda von Einem.
Rating:
Summary: Dull and Delicious
Review: ...and a harmless read (recommended for train trips through particularly tedious or repetitive countryside, or long plane flights spent wedged into economy class). "Greenmantle" is another of Buchan's Richard Hannay novels (the same protagonist as in "The Thirty-Nine Steps"); in it Hannay must track and foil a plot by the Kaiser to foment Jihad. I confess to being particularly drawn to this book as, well, an example of WWI-era pulp. It is sufficiently plot-driven, and entertaining enough to while happily away a few hours. Decidedly fun.
Rating:
Summary: A fine little thriller
Review: ...and a harmless read (recommended for train trips through particularly tedious or repetitive countryside, or long plane flights spent wedged into economy class). "Greenmantle" is another of Buchan's Richard Hannay novels (the same protagonist as in "The Thirty-Nine Steps"); in it Hannay must track and foil a plot by the Kaiser to foment Jihad. I confess to being particularly drawn to this book as, well, an example of WWI-era pulp. It is sufficiently plot-driven, and entertaining enough to while happily away a few hours. Decidedly fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Good story but spoiled by promulgation of racism
Review: A classic tale of espionage and intrigue in the days of WWI. Unfortunately, John Buchan inbues his work with the Eurocentric racist views of the time. With the dehumanization of Muslims and Africans to "savages" and disdain for different religious beliefs this work typifies Apartheid doctrines. A good read if you are inclined to enjoy racism couched in the embrace of Catholicism and the "superiority" of the Aryan.
Rating:
Summary: Museum piece, badly dated
Review: A friend recommended I read Greenmantle. My friend thought Buchan predicted the emergence of Jihad as a factor in world politics. If so, I didn't notice it. The story is rather lame, never providing much of a surprise or emotional undercurrent. Buchan relies on luck to extract our hero from almost every plot twist. The 'mystery' code is solved without requiring any discoveries by our spying expedition, so I had to wonder why they even left on their adventure. Waiting for the insight on Jihad, I forced myself to finish the book. It never arrived. The Turks appearing in the plot are universally dim witted fools and/or larcenous scoundrels. Buchan suggests the jihad can be organized by the man who wears the 'green mantle'. Even Buchan seems uncomfortable with this plot device. Of course, the British and the Turks somehow fail to notice their 'prophet' is a British officer and spy. The book concludes with the British spy charging off into the sunset followed by a host of obedient Turks. I guess this was what Buchan and his faithful readers made of Jihad.
Rating:
Summary: Museum piece, badly dated
Review: A friend recommended I read Greenmantle. My friend thought Buchan predicted the emergence of Jihad as a factor in world politics. If so, I didn't notice it. The story is rather lame, never providing much of a surprise or emotional undercurrent. Buchan relies on luck to extract our hero from almost every plot twist. The 'mystery' code is solved without requiring any discoveries by our spying expedition, so I had to wonder why they even left on their adventure. Waiting for the insight on Jihad, I forced myself to finish the book. It never arrived. The Turks appearing in the plot are universally dim witted fools and/or larcenous scoundrels. Buchan suggests the jihad can be organized by the man who wears the 'green mantle'. Even Buchan seems uncomfortable with this plot device. Of course, the British and the Turks somehow fail to notice their 'prophet' is a British officer and spy. The book concludes with the British spy charging off into the sunset followed by a host of obedient Turks. I guess this was what Buchan and his faithful readers made of Jihad.
Rating: 
Summary: No longer anachronistic
Review: After September 11 and the breathless wartalk of the US government I suddenly found myself thinking about good old Greenmantle. As the other reviewers say, it is undoubtedly imperialist and jingoistic (I can't begin to imagine how viciously Edward Said would trash it), but uncannily useful for reading the current political situation. The stunning climax (I've never read one better) suggests perfectly how the West intends to undermine Islamic extremism in a far more subtle way than we can imagine. I'm tempted to reveal the ending, but it's far to good to spoil. Read this!
Rating:
Summary: Best John Buchan book
Review: Fast paced and intruiging. Set in a real historical situation which means you get a slice of the atmosphere around that period.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Spy Novel
Review: Greenmantle is a dramatic and suspenseful story of 4 men journeying through enemy lines to stop an evil menace that may crush Britain during WW1.As you read you will be able to tell that John Buchan knew what he was writing about! The characters and the plot are very well developed and sometimes rather confusing but if you just keep reading it will clear up. Buchan sometimes gets technical and you may have to look up some phrases/words in the back but this book is worth it. I would recommend it for 11th grade +. Once you start it you may not be able to put it down so enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: An fine cosy espionage thriller,
Review: of the sort that cannot be written nowadays. (The modern equivalent would be seven times as long and would be a study in grey, as exciting as a slab of concrete.) Admittedly the book is racist. No, on second thought, "racist" is not at all the word. Buchan clearly thinks British culture is superior to other culture; but that's the sort of thing it's easy to live with in a book - and if he shows a lack of understanding of other cultures, well, a book of this kind needs villains, and it doesn't matter (for our purposes) if the villains never really existed. As for his view of Islam ... well, a writer is surely allowed to show contempt for doctrines, if not people; and, after all, he never does so in order to sell us a religion of his own. Despite the absurd things Hannay says he is clearly a man of intelligence - as is the author. This book is my introduction to both Hannay and Buchan. I hope to encounter them both again.
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