Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

This unique and perceptive history unravels geopolitical intrigues and reveals how they have influenced the authors who fashioned one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the literate world the spy novel. Espionage fiction is one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the literate world and, since its widespread acceptance in the early twentieth century, it has sought to pursue the secret politics of Western social order. Drawn from reality, exposing what is generally concealed, it provides a unique glimpse into the darker, more conspiratorial affairs of state through the use of fictional covert actions, double agents, treason, and international intrigues. It is a carefully crafted, clandestine venue wherein the situations are circumscribed, the moods are forever gray, and the heroes if indeed there are heroes generally emerge as ordinary individuals who believe that virtues such as truth and loyalty are simply matters of convenience. People who are, in fact, not that much different from those whom they oppose. The concept of neutral ground the term adapted from Sir Walter Scott s early nineteenth century Waverly novels originally spoke to the geographic region between two warring armies, a place controlled by neither but marked by fluid jurisdictions drawn by the ebb and flow of strategic influences or battle lines. But with the passage of time, and the refinement of espionage fiction, the definition of neutral ground witnessed a transition, emerging as both metaphor and cautionary note for the thematic conflicts and doubts that flourish in the absence of clear political authority. An intellectual nether region reminiscent perhaps of Cold War Berlin that affords conflicting parties unrestricted rights of passage and where political ideology and literary fiction can and do seamlessly intersect. Yet, in the grander historical sense, the evolution of espionage fiction also reflects the history of a culture for, as the genre evolved, so too did Western society. To explore these historical relationships Neutral Ground: A Political History of Espionage Fiction takes the reader behind the fiction and explores the real-world political, military, and diplomatic events that have consistently and significantly threaded their way through the fabric of the genre. Against this historical timeline, it examines how numerous authors including Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, and John le Carré have engaged reality in order to write the espionage novels that have become literary classics and, in selected cases, have also served to alter the course of government policy.

Spy stories, English --- Spy stories, American --- Politics and literature --- World politics in literature. --- Espionage in literature. --- Spies in literature. --- American spy stories --- American fiction --- History and criticism. --- History --- Espionage in literature --- Spies in literature --- World politics in literature --- History and criticism

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Illuminating a powerful intersection between popular culture and global politics, Spies and Holy Wars draws on a sampling of more than eight hundred British and American thrillers that are propelled by the theme of jihad—an Islamic holy war or crusade against the West. Published over the past century, the books in this expansive study encompass spy novels and crime fiction, illustrating new connections between these genres and Western imperialism. Demonstrating the social implications of the popularity of such books, Reeva Spector Simon covers how the Middle Eastern villain evolved from being the malleable victim before World War II to the international, techno-savvy figure in today's crime novels. She explores the impact of James Bond, pulp fiction, and comic books and also analyzes the ways in which world events shaped the genre, particularly in recent years. Worldwide terrorism and economic domination prevail as the most common sources of narrative tension in these works, while military "tech novels" restored the prestige of the American hero in the wake of post-Vietnam skepticism. Moving beyond stereotypes, Simon examines the relationships between publishing trends, political trends, and popular culture at large—giving voice to the previously unexamined truths that emerge from these provocative page-turners.

English fiction --- American fiction --- Spy stories, English --- Spy stories, American --- Detective and mystery stories, English --- Detective and mystery stories, American --- Jihad in literature. --- Espionage in literature. --- Spies in literature. --- Politics and literature --- History and criticism. --- History --- Middle East --- In literature. --- American spy stories --- Asia, South West --- Asia, Southwest --- Asia, West --- Asia, Western --- East (Middle East) --- Eastern Mediterranean --- Fertile Crescent --- Levant --- Mediterranean Region, Eastern --- Mideast --- Near East --- Northern Tier (Middle East) --- South West Asia --- Southwest Asia --- West Asia --- Western Asia --- Orient

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

In December 2010 the U.S. Embassy in Kabul acknowledged that it was providing major funding for thirteen episodes of Eagle Four-a new Afghani television melodrama based loosely on the blockbuster U.S. series 24. According to an embassy spokesperson, Eagle Four was part of a strategy aimed at transforming public suspicion of security forces into something like awed respect. Why would a wartime government spend valuable resources on a melodrama of covert operations? The answer, according to Timothy Melley, is not simply that fiction has real political effects but that, since the Cold War, fiction has become integral to the growth of national security as a concept and a transformation of democracy. In The Covert Sphere, Melley links this cultural shift to the birth of the national security state in 1947. As the United States developed a vast infrastructure of clandestine organizations, it shielded policy from the public sphere and gave rise to a new cultural imaginary, "the covert sphere." One of the surprising consequences of state secrecy is that citizens must rely substantially on fiction to "know," or imagine, their nation's foreign policy. The potent combination of institutional secrecy and public fascination with the secret work of the state was instrumental in fostering the culture of suspicion and uncertainty that has plagued American society ever since-and, Melley argues, that would eventually find its fullest expression in postmodernism. The Covert Sphere traces these consequences from the Korean War through the War on Terror, examining how a regime of psychological operations and covert action has made the conflation of reality and fiction a central feature of both U.S. foreign policy and American culture. Melley interweaves Cold War history with political theory and original readings of films, television dramas, and popular entertainments-from The Manchurian Candidate through 24-as well as influential writing by Margaret Atwood, Robert Coover, Don DeLillo, Joan Didion, E. L. Doctorow, Michael Herr, Denis Johnson, Norman Mailer, Tim O'Brien, and many others.

American fiction --- Espionage in literature --- Literature and history --- National security --- Popular culture --- Secrecy in literature --- Spy stories, American --- Terrorism in literature --- World politics in literature --- Culture, Popular --- Mass culture --- Pop culture --- Popular arts --- Communication --- Intellectual life --- Mass society --- Recreation --- Culture --- American spy stories --- National security policy --- NSP (National security policy) --- Security policy, National --- Economic policy --- International relations --- Military policy --- History and criticism --- Social aspects --- Political aspects --- History --- Government policy --- World politics in literature. --- Secrecy in literature. --- Terrorism in literature. --- Espionage in literature. --- History and criticism.