Thrilling Tales from the Cold War

Of the great events that influenced literature, cold war fed off innumerable spy novels, provided countless opportunities for budding novelists, spawned off a gazillion movies, among other things. Just highlighting two:

The spy who came in from the cold by John le Carré is considered a classic spy novel, arguably the best. It is blatantly realistic in approach, drawing from the experience of its author. Taking off all hype and concentrating on paperwork, patience and method, this books really brought out the spies from their James Bond-ish outlook to the real world.

The Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith is another one I enjoyed, albeit its unnecessary length. Looking at the world from Russia, it sets its act in Moscow and New York. The everyday life in the Soviet really comes out well, although it has very little to do with the actual cold war - most of the action happens around traditional crime taking advantage of national borders. But then, Cold war adds colour which, if missing, would have made the novel a bore.