John le Carré and the Cold War

<i>John le Carré and the Cold War</i>explores the historical contexts and political implications of le Carré's major Cold-War novels. The first in-depth study of le Carré this century this book analyses his work in light of key topics in 20th-century history including containment of Communism decolonization the Berlin Wall the Cuban missile crisis the Cambridge spy-ring the Vietnam War the 70s oil crisis and Thatcherism.<br/> <br/>Examining <i>The Spy Who Came in from the Cold</i>(1963) <i>Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy</i>(1974) <i>Smiley's People</i>(1979) and other novels this book offers an illuminating picture of Cold-War Britain while situating le Carré's work alongside that of George Orwell Graham Greene and Ian Fleming. Providing a valuable contribution to contemporary understandings of both British spy fiction and post-war fiction Toby Manning challenges the critical consensus to reveal a considerably less radical writer than is conventionally presented.