The years between the end of World War 2 and the beginning of the Nineties were characterized by a deeply polarized world. Capitalist and communist countries were in direct opposition to one another and this tension was the inspiration for many books. With so many to choose from, though, it's not always easy to find a good Cold War author but your task will be much easier if you could narrow the writers down by genre.
The Cold War wasn't really an armed conflict in the tradition of wars everywhere. Instead, it was a power struggle between the capitalist and communist countries. This tension was the underlying reason for foreign intervention in places like Korea, Vietnam and the revolutionary wars in Africa and Latin America but there was never a full-scale war specifically between the superpowers, the USA and the USSR.
In an atmosphere of mistrust, you have the perfect breeding ground for spies. The Cold War soon became the golden era of the spy novel, especially in the USA and Britain. Few themes can inspire stories of intrigue, drama, adventure and action quite like espionage does.
One of the masters of the spy thriller is British writer John Le Carre, creator of, among others, 'The Spy Who Came In from the Cold', 'The Tailor of Panama', 'The Russia House' and 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'. Le Carre used his insider's knowledge as a former spy for the British secret service to great effect, just like fellow ex-agent Graham Greene did. Journalists often made great tellers of spy stories too, with Frederick Forsythe a prime example.
Sometimes a character would come back in spy story after spy story. Several of these characters even made it into cinema history. For instance, Harrison Ford brought Jack Ryan, the secret agent created by Tom Clancy, to life in several films, as did Matt Damon with Jason Bourne, created by Robert Ludlum. Ian Fleming created the ultimate spy hero, a character that almost every male actor would love to play at least once: agent 007, James Bond.
Life behind the Iron Curtain also inspired writers from communist countries, like political activist and later president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel. Some writers got into trouble with the authorities though. The Czech writer Milan Kundera lived in exile, for instance, while the Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas and the Soviet writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn both spent time in prison and eventually were forced to leave their home soil.
Non-fiction books on the topic abound too. There are some that deal with the entire era while others focus on specific events or people. For example, you'll find several books on the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Kennedy assassination or on figures like Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara. Some of the non-fiction books deal with the stories of regular, everyday people. Australian author Anna Funder, for instance, recorded the stories of East Germans in 'Stasiland: Stories From Behind the Berlin Wall'.
A good way to find your ideal Cold War author is to search online and then read the reviews of different people's works. You can also ask in your local bookstore or library. Then all you need is a quiet spot and some time to curl up with a great story.
The Cold War wasn't really an armed conflict in the tradition of wars everywhere. Instead, it was a power struggle between the capitalist and communist countries. This tension was the underlying reason for foreign intervention in places like Korea, Vietnam and the revolutionary wars in Africa and Latin America but there was never a full-scale war specifically between the superpowers, the USA and the USSR.
In an atmosphere of mistrust, you have the perfect breeding ground for spies. The Cold War soon became the golden era of the spy novel, especially in the USA and Britain. Few themes can inspire stories of intrigue, drama, adventure and action quite like espionage does.
One of the masters of the spy thriller is British writer John Le Carre, creator of, among others, 'The Spy Who Came In from the Cold', 'The Tailor of Panama', 'The Russia House' and 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'. Le Carre used his insider's knowledge as a former spy for the British secret service to great effect, just like fellow ex-agent Graham Greene did. Journalists often made great tellers of spy stories too, with Frederick Forsythe a prime example.
Sometimes a character would come back in spy story after spy story. Several of these characters even made it into cinema history. For instance, Harrison Ford brought Jack Ryan, the secret agent created by Tom Clancy, to life in several films, as did Matt Damon with Jason Bourne, created by Robert Ludlum. Ian Fleming created the ultimate spy hero, a character that almost every male actor would love to play at least once: agent 007, James Bond.
Life behind the Iron Curtain also inspired writers from communist countries, like political activist and later president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel. Some writers got into trouble with the authorities though. The Czech writer Milan Kundera lived in exile, for instance, while the Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas and the Soviet writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn both spent time in prison and eventually were forced to leave their home soil.
Non-fiction books on the topic abound too. There are some that deal with the entire era while others focus on specific events or people. For example, you'll find several books on the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Kennedy assassination or on figures like Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara. Some of the non-fiction books deal with the stories of regular, everyday people. Australian author Anna Funder, for instance, recorded the stories of East Germans in 'Stasiland: Stories From Behind the Berlin Wall'.
A good way to find your ideal Cold War author is to search online and then read the reviews of different people's works. You can also ask in your local bookstore or library. Then all you need is a quiet spot and some time to curl up with a great story.
About the Author:
When you want to find a good Cold War author, pay a visit to the web pages at www.war-author.com today. You can learn more about the topic at http://www.war-author.com now.