A good book on Cold War

[tech291083]

Hi,

i am fascinated by the strories of the Cold War, is there a good book on the subject? any bestsellers? Thanks.

[sonoran]

John le Carré's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, also the 1979 BBC series based on it starring Alec Guinness, and the 2011 film version with Gary Oldman. le Carré's work captures the moral and psychological ambiguity of the Cold War, particularly as experienced by those fighting it.

[trigpoint]

I really enjoyed Spycatcher http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spycatcher

I don't know where you are in the world, but if you are ever in the UK, the Cold War exhibition at RAF Cosford, near Wolverhampton, is fasinating. As is the Nuclear Bunker at Hack Green in Cheshire, follow the brown tourist signs to the Secret Bunker.

[tech291083]

Thanks a lot, guys. I will try to read them both ASAP.

[billybob linux]

There is a wealth of cold war history on the internet, enough to give you some good reading for some time

I came across this as just one small example. It gives some indication of how well advanced and informed the Soviets were during this period:

http://www.spybusters.com/Great_Seal_Bug.html

The Soviets had presented a replica of the Great Seal of the United States as a gift to Ambassador Averell Harriman in 1946. The gift hung in the U.S. Embassy for many years, until in 1952, during George F. Kennan's ambassadorship, U.S. security personnel discovered the listening device

And

In 1984, we found that an unsecured shipment of typewriters for the Moscow Embassy had been bugged and had been transmitting intelligence data for years.

I don't suppose much has changed .

There are plenty of stories if you are interested right on the web

[tech291083]

Originally Posted by billybob linux

There is a wealth of cold war history on the internet, enough to give you some good reading for some time

I came across this as just one small example. It gives some indication of how well advanced and informed the Soviets were during this period:

http://www.spybusters.com/Great_Seal_Bug.html

I can't believe this, nobody can in fact. Interesting very interesting as I read it today again. Thanks a lot.

[billybob linux]

Here is another for you:

http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/berlin_tunnel.asp

[sonoran]

And for the opinion that the entire Cold War was a fraud perpetrated by the military-industrial complex
there is now The Untold History of the United States, " a book and television series by Oliver Stone
and Peter Kuznick, Gallery Books, 750 pp., $30.00; Showtime, ten episodes."

Ian McEwan wrote an interesting novel that features the Berlin tunnel - The Innocent (1990). Like other
McEwan books it mostly escapes categorization.

[joncr]

All of Ian Fleming's original Bond novels are ostensibly set in the Cold War. They give you a different Bond than most of the movies, but the books are still fantasies.

John le Carré's series around UK spymaster George Smiley -- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, etc., -- are justly famous. Carre' is still active and a very good writer.

[Dan]

Originally Posted by sonoran

If one wants to get an idea what the Dr. Strangelove Cold War mindset was, it will be on display soon ...

Just couldn't resist, could ya? <....>

Content edited. (And you damn well know why.) <....>