Oliver S. Buckton is professor of English at Florida Atlantic University.

Buckton has written a comprehensive historical and thematic study of the rise and development of what he terms 'spy fiction.' As he points out in the introduction, such fictions have always responded to temporal political and cultural currents and have 'consistently played a role in imagining, describing, elaborating, and indeed defining the identity of the ‘other’—the foremost ‘enemy’ and national rival'.... Buckton considers nearly all the most celebrated authors of the genre—Joseph Conrad, William Le Queux, Eric Ambler, John Buchan, Graham Greene, Ian Fleming, John le Carré, and Stella Rimington, to name just a few. Directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang, and Carol Reed are also discussed. The book's nine chapters chart the development of the amateur spy, the professional operative, the Cold War warriors, and the Soviet threat and fall of the Berlin Wall. One of the most provocative chapters is the last, 'Reinventing the Spy Story after the Cold War,' in which Buckton considers the absence of specific enemy states and the increased reliance on faceless technology to gather information and exact retribution. The book is thoroughly researched, well written, and judicious in its assessments. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.

• IntroductionPart One: From Empire to World Wars, 1900-1945Chapter One: The Changing EnemyChapter Two: The Accidental SpyChapter Three: The Spy Who Knew Too MuchPart Two: The Cold War Era, 1945-1990Chapter Four: Licensing the Professional Spy: James BondChapter Five: The Post-Bond Cold Warriors Chapter Six: The Double Agent in Fact and FictionChapter Seven: The Spy VillainChapter Eight: The SpymasterPart Three: After the Cold War, 1990 to the PresentChapter Nine: Reinventing the Spy Story After the Cold WarConclusionBibliography

Oliver S. Buckton is professor of English at Florida Atlantic University.

Buckton has written a comprehensive historical and thematic study of the rise and development of what he terms 'spy fiction.' As he points out in the introduction, such fictions have always responded to temporal political and cultural currents and have 'consistently played a role in imagining, describing, elaborating, and indeed defining the identity of the ‘other’—the foremost ‘enemy’ and national rival'.... Buckton considers nearly all the most celebrated authors of the genre—Joseph Conrad, William Le Queux, Eric Ambler, John Buchan, Graham Greene, Ian Fleming, John le Carré, and Stella Rimington, to name just a few. Directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang, and Carol Reed are also discussed. The book's nine chapters chart the development of the amateur spy, the professional operative, the Cold War warriors, and the Soviet threat and fall of the Berlin Wall. One of the most provocative chapters is the last, 'Reinventing the Spy Story after the Cold War,' in which Buckton considers the absence of specific enemy states and the increased reliance on faceless technology to gather information and exact retribution. The book is thoroughly researched, well written, and judicious in its assessments. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.

• IntroductionPart One: From Empire to World Wars, 1900-1945Chapter One: The Changing EnemyChapter Two: The Accidental SpyChapter Three: The Spy Who Knew Too MuchPart Two: The Cold War Era, 1945-1990Chapter Four: Licensing the Professional Spy: James BondChapter Five: The Post-Bond Cold Warriors Chapter Six: The Double Agent in Fact and FictionChapter Seven: The Spy VillainChapter Eight: The SpymasterPart Three: After the Cold War, 1990 to the PresentChapter Nine: Reinventing the Spy Story After the Cold WarConclusionBibliography

Oliver S. Buckton is professor of English at Florida Atlantic University.

Buckton has written a comprehensive historical and thematic study of the rise and development of what he terms 'spy fiction.' As he points out in the introduction, such fictions have always responded to temporal political and cultural currents and have 'consistently played a role in imagining, describing, elaborating, and indeed defining the identity of the ‘other’—the foremost ‘enemy’ and national rival'.... Buckton considers nearly all the most celebrated authors of the genre—Joseph Conrad, William Le Queux, Eric Ambler, John Buchan, Graham Greene, Ian Fleming, John le Carré, and Stella Rimington, to name just a few. Directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Fritz Lang, and Carol Reed are also discussed. The book's nine chapters chart the development of the amateur spy, the professional operative, the Cold War warriors, and the Soviet threat and fall of the Berlin Wall. One of the most provocative chapters is the last, 'Reinventing the Spy Story after the Cold War,' in which Buckton considers the absence of specific enemy states and the increased reliance on faceless technology to gather information and exact retribution. The book is thoroughly researched, well written, and judicious in its assessments. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.

• IntroductionPart One: From Empire to World Wars, 1900-1945Chapter One: The Changing EnemyChapter Two: The Accidental SpyChapter Three: The Spy Who Knew Too MuchPart Two: The Cold War Era, 1945-1990Chapter Four: Licensing the Professional Spy: James BondChapter Five: The Post-Bond Cold Warriors Chapter Six: The Double Agent in Fact and FictionChapter Seven: The Spy VillainChapter Eight: The SpymasterPart Three: After the Cold War, 1990 to the PresentChapter Nine: Reinventing the Spy Story After the Cold WarConclusionBibliography