Cold Warriors: Writers Who Waged the Literary Cold War

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Product Details
Price
$32.50  $30.23
Publisher
Mariner Books
Publish Date
Pages
800
Dimensions
6.3 X 9.4 X 2.1 inches | 2.3 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9780062449818

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About the Author

Duncan White is an award-winning journalist and academic. He is Assistant Director of the History and Literature department at Harvard University and a lead book reviewer for the Daily Telegraph. He is the author of Vladimir Nabokov: Late Modernism, the Cold War and the Literary Marketplace. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Reviews

“Brilliant...a marvelous tapestry of postwar literature and politics. Now more than ever we need a book like this to remind us of the importance of writers and the written word.” -- Kevin Birmingham, author of The Most Dangerous Book

“A stunning achievement. Duncan White combines deep research, epic sweep, and sparkling writing to give us the best account of the literary Cold War to date.” -- Hugh Wilford, author of The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America

"Both profound and profoundly important and as engaging as a gripping Cold War thriller." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A compelling reminder of literature's influence--and vulnerability--in a world of power politics.” -- Booklist (starred review)

“Riveting and insightful.” -- Library Journal

“Cold Warriors is a big and brash book at the heart of which is the surprise that all in all, even in these godforsaken times, the pen managed to remain mightier than the sword.” -- National Review

"Consistently absorbing." -- Wall Street Journal

"Gripping and lively...Exploring espionage, imprisonment, and authors played like chess pieces by powerful heads of state, White's book weaves together deeply researched Cold War machinations with a savvy and intelligent look at the literature produced in its midst, who created it, and how." -- Boston Globe

Cold Warriors reads like a thriller...However, this is also a book about personal and political liberty; about the freedom to write, mock and dissent; about truth, lies and wilful ignorance.” -- The Times (UK)

“Fascinating... As in all the best works of nonfiction, comedy and tragedy rub up against each other with wonderful inappropriateness.” -- The Sunday Telegraph

"Ambitious and constantly rewarding...A reminder of a time when literature was a life-or-death matter." -- The Spectator

“Definitive...White's meticulous account of these times unfolds a bit like a thriller itself.” -- The Outline

“Easily one of the best literary history books you'll read in 2019.” -- InsideHook

“Irresistible...In the battle over ideas, the pen is truly mightier than the sword.”
-- Christian Science Monitor

"Cold Warriors is a formidable, engrossing and almost flawless achievement." -- Sydney Morning Herald

"White handles hefty quantities of research effortlessly, combining multiple biographies with a broader overview of the period. His energetic, anecdote-laden prose will have you hooked all the way from Orwell to le Carré." -- Sunday Times (London)

"In providing a chronicle of his own and by examining the writings of Arthur Koestler, George Orwell, Mary McCarthy, Stephen Spender, Graham Greene, John le Carré, et al., Duncan White shows us how the Cold War is not just a historical stand-off, but perhaps a literary creation.... An extraordinary book, endlessly thought-provoking and inspiring. I'm deeply jealous. I wish I had written it." -- Errol Morris, Academy Award-winning director of The Fog of War

"One reason the Cold War was won without becoming hot is that some books were as explosive as bombs. Duncan White tells the thrilling story of how some engaged intellectuals sent words into worthy battles." -- George F. Will, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist at The Washington Post