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.
“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 Carr�." -- 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 Carr�, 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
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