A bit of advice from the useful blog The Art of Manliness: toastmaster-link. I've given one best man's toast, in '07, & without having read "10 Steps to the Best Best Man's Speech" adhered to rules №s. 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, & 10. I adhered to rule № 5 in that I didn't mention any embarrassing anecdotes, but I violated it in that my best man's speech was nothing more than a thinly-veiled—I thought—insult to the bride & bridegroom. The veil must have been thicker than I thought, because I received several compliments on the speech. Of course, those might have been pro forma, or it could just be that they were grateful that my remarks had lasted less than a minute, but I sensed authenticity. The insult was cunningly devised, if I do say so myself, one that I spent weeks crafting. I'm quite proud of the end product, though I fear it might have been too clever, clever enough to have gone over the heads of its victims. Alas! I should have loved dearly to deliver an earnest, affectionate best man's speech, but 'twas not to be. To do other than I did would have been a profound betrayal of myself & all for which I've ever said I stand. Mayhap Providence will afford me another chance, but I shan't hold my breath.

The Queue
I am open to the idea that comparing Keith Jeffery's The Secret History of M.I.6: 1909-1949 to Christopher Andrew's Defend the Realm: The Authorized History of M.I.5 might be unfair, but I would reply that even Dr. Jeffery would concede the comparison is in any event inevitable. The spy agencies that became the Secret Intelligence Service (M.I.6) & the Security Service (M.I.5) were founded in 1909 as one department, the Secret Service Bureau. The two services were born together; have fought alongside each other for over a century, through two world wars, a cold war, & the war on terror; have resisted several attempts to recombine them into one agency; & unto the present day cooperate & coordinate so as best to serve H.M.G.'s policies. The Secret History of M.I.6 suffers from covering only the first forty years of the S.I.S., compared to Defend the Realm's century. Even compensating for this, methinks that Dr. Andrew has the more engaging writing style & the overall better book. That is not to say that I did not thoroughly enjoy The Secret History of M.I.6, because I did, very thoroughly.

Having just finished a large non-fiction tome, Saving the Queen has jumped the queue, a bit of spy fiction before plunging back into the fascinating world of spy non-fiction. The path after that is less clear. If Saving the Queen works out as I hope 'twill, more of Buckley's fiction will follow, probably immediately. I am also intrigued by David Ignatius, & refuse to let the wretched scribblings of Dame Stella Rimington & Charles Cumming make me gun-shy about contemporary spy fiction. Sooner or later (probably sooner), I'll tackle le Carré's debut, Call for the Dead. At some point I should probably read something by Graham Greene, at least one of his "entertainments."

Recently
Robert M. Soderstrom, The Big House: Fielding H. Yost and the Building of Michigan Stadium
John Buchan, The Thirty-nine Steps
Keith Jeffery, The Secret History of M.I.6: 1909-1949

Currently
William F. Buckley, Jr., Saving the Queen

Presently
Allen Dulles, The Craft of Intelligence
David Ignatius, Agents of Innocence
John le Carré, Call for the Dead

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer, "Don't Mope" from Jalopy Go Far (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary:

"So how about we hang out,
A little more than we should,
And I wouldn't worry much about much."