John le Carr}} and the Cold War [Hardcover]

John le Carr? and the Cold Warexplores the historical contexts and political implications of le Carr?'s major Cold-War novels. The first in-depth study of le Carr? 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.

ExaminingThe Spy Who Came in from the Cold(1963),Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy(1974),Smiley's People(1979) and other novels, this book offers an illuminating picture of Cold-War Britain, while situating le Carr?'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.

Toby Manninghas taught at Queen Mary University, Brunel University and the University of Birmingham, UK. A former journalist, he is also the author ofThe Rough Guide to Pink Floyd(2006).

1. No-Man's Lands: Introduction
2. Alarm Call:Call for the Dead
3. Breeze Blocks and Barbed Wire:The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
4. That Secret Elite:The Looking Glass War
5. Holding the World Together:Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
6. All One Vanishing World:The Honourable Schoolboy
7. Smiley's Last Bow:Smiley's People
8. Conclusion: No-Men in No-Man's Land

Bibliography
Index

An analysis inspired by venerated figures of 20th-century Marxist literary criticism. This reappraisal of the popular novelists oeuvre incorporates a fans enthusiasm with the literary scholars eye for ideological complexity. Summing Up: Recommended. -CHOICE