52 Novels set during the Cold War

Advise and Consent is a 1959 political fiction novel by Allen Drury that explores the United States Senate confirmation of controversial Secretary of State nominee Robert Leffingwell, whose promotion is endangered due to growing evidence—explored in the novel—that the nominee had been a member of the Communist Party. The chief characters' responses to the evidence, and their efforts to spread or suppress it, form the basis of the novel.

The Ambassador is a novel by Australian author Morris West. It was first published in 1965. The novel is fictionalisation of the period leading up to and shortly after the Coup d'état against and assassination of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem.

Back in the USSA is a 1997 collection of seven short stories by English writers Eugene Byrne and Kim Newman, which was published by Mark V. Ziesing Books. The title is a reference to the song "Back in the U.S.S.R." by The Beatles. The stories are linked through their setting, an alternate history of the twentieth century in which the United States experienced a communist revolution in 1917 and became a communist superpower, whereas Russia did not. Six of the stories first appeared in Interzone magazine, and the concluding story in the sequence, "On the Road", was written especially for the collection.

Bear: Flight to Liberty is a novel by Miguel Vargas-Caba published by iUniverse in 2007. The plot covers the crew of a Soviet Tupolev Tu-95 Bear attempting to defect to the West in 1976.

The Bourne Identity is a 1980 spy fiction thriller by Robert Ludlum that tells the story of Jason Bourne, a man with remarkable survival abilities who has retrograde amnesia, and must seek to discover his true identity. In the process, he must also determine why several shadowy groups, a professional assassin, and the CIA want him dead. It is the first novel of the original Bourne Trilogy, which also includes The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum.

Capable of Honor is a 1966 political novel written by Allen Drury. It is the second sequel to Advise and Consent, for which Drury was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1960.

Cat's Cradle is a satirical postmodern novel, with science fiction elements, by American writer Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut's fourth novel, it was first published in 1963, exploring and satirizing issues of science, technology, the purpose of religion, and the arms race, often through the use of black humor. After turning down his original thesis in 1947, the University of Chicago awarded Vonnegut his master's degree in anthropology in 1971 for Cat's Cradle.

Colonization: Down to Earth is an alternate history and science fiction novel by Harry Turtledove. It is the second novel of the Colonization series, as well as the sixth installment in the extended Worldwar series. British editions are entitled Colonisation: Down to Earth and are the second of the Colonisation series.

Colonization: Second Contact is an alternate history novel by American writer Harry Turtledove. It is the first novel of the Colonization series and the fifth installment in the Worldwar series.

Colossus is a 1966 science fiction novel by British author Dennis Feltham Jones, about super-computers taking control of mankind. Two sequels, The Fall of Colossus (1974) and Colossus and the Crab (1977) continued the story. Colossus was adapted as the feature film Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970).

Commander-1 is a 1965 novel by Welsh author Peter Bryan George and deals with the aftermath of a nuclear war between the United States, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. It was George's last published work, with the author committing suicide in 1966.

Crooked is a novel by author Austin Grossman, published in 2015 by Mulholland Books. It is a cosmic horror fantasy and secret history of the Cold War and the Watergate scandal, narrated by a fictionalized Richard Nixon.

The Devil's Alternative is a novel by British writer Frederick Forsyth first published in 1979. It was his fourth full-length novel and marked a new direction in his work, setting the story in the near-future rather than in the recent past. The work evolved from an unfilmed screenplay entitled No Alternative.

The Dragon's Pearl is the autobiography written by Sirin Phathanothai telling her experiences growing up in the 1950s and 1960s among the leaders of China.

Edge of Eternity is a historical and family saga novel by Welsh-born author Ken Follett, published in 2014. It is the third book in the Century Trilogy, after Fall of Giants and Winter of the World.

Enemies & Allies is a 2009 novel by American science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson. The book is set in the 1950s, in the midst of the Cold War, and follows Superman and Batman. Though suspicious of each other, they confront Lex Luthor who stages an international nuclear conflict and spreads fear of an alien invasion so that he can sell advanced weapons to governments. Themes used in the novel, reflective of the 1950s era, include alien invasion films, nuclear threats, and Cold War paranoia.

Fail-Safe is a bestselling American novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. The story was initially serialized in three installments in the Saturday Evening Post, on October 13, 20, and 27, 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Firefox is a thriller novel written by Craig Thomas and published in 1977. The Cold War plot involves an attempt by the CIA and MI6 to steal a highly advanced experimental Soviet fighter aircraft. The chief protagonist is fighter pilot turned spy Mitchell Gant. The book was subject to a 1982 film adaptation produced and directed by Clint Eastwood who also played the role of Gant in the film.

Firefox Down is a 1983 novel by author Craig Thomas. It is a sequel to his novel Firefox. Craig Thomas dedicated the first edition of the novel to actor/director/producer Clint Eastwood, who starred as Mitchell Gant in the film adaptation of the first novel, stating, "For Clint Eastwood — pilot of the Firefox".

Forbidden Area is a 1956 Cold War thriller novel by Pat Frank. Its plot involves Soviet sleeper agents intended to sabotage the U.S. war effort, who have been trained by classical conditioning to have an American "cover identity" that they can remember as well as their own.

The Fourth Protocol is a thriller novel by British writer Frederick Forsyth and published in August 1984.

The Gladiator is a novel for young adults by American writer Harry Turtledove,published in 2007. Part of the loose Crosstime Traffic family of books, it is set in a world in an alternate history in which the Soviet Union has won the Cold War. It tied with Jo Walton's Ha'penny for the 2008 Prometheus Award.

The Hunt for Red October is the debut novel by American author Tom Clancy, first published on October 1, 1984 by the Naval Institute Press. It depicts Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius as he seemingly goes rogue with his country's cutting-edge ballistic missile submarine Red October, and marks the first appearance of Clancy's most popular fictional character, Jack Ryan, an analyst working for the Central Intelligence Agency, as he must prove his theory that Ramius had intended to defect to the United States.

In the Courts of the Crimson Kings is a 2008 alternate history science fiction novel by American writer S. M. Stirling.

The Innocent is a 1990 novel by British writer Ian McEwan. It received positive reviews from book critics and is often considered one of his best novels.

Joe Steele is an alternate history novel by Harry Turtledove, first published by ROC Books/New American Library in hardcover and ebook form in April 2015. It is an expanded version of the author's 2003 short story of the same name.

The Last Ship is a 1988 post-apocalyptic fiction novel written by William Brinkley.

Lilith's Brood is a collection of three works by Octavia E. Butler. The three volumes of this science fiction series were previously collected in the now out-of-print volume Xenogenesis. The collection was first published under the current title of Lilith's Brood in 2000.

Long Voyage Back was written by George Cockcroft under the pen name of Luke Rhinehart. It was published in 1983, at the height of the Cold War, and it shows that influence. The author sides with the nuclear disarmament side of the debate and the only character in the book with vociferous views on the subject, the daughter of the lead character, probably represents his own views. It also reflects his love of sailing.

Man Plus is a 1976 science fiction novel by American writer Frederik Pohl. It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1976, was nominated for the Hugo and Campbell Awards, and placed third in the annual Locus Poll in 1977. The story is about a cyborg, Roger Torraway, who is designed to operate in the harsh Martian environment so that humans can colonize Mars.

"Missile Gap" is a 2006 English language science fiction novella, originally published in the anthology One Million A.D. by British author Charles Stross. It won the Locus Award for best novella of 2006. The novella was republished in Stross's short-story collection Wireless in 2009.

The Mouse on the Moon is a novel by Irish author Leonard Wibberley. It was released in 1962 as the sequel to The Mouse That Roared. In it, the people of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, an isolated mountain microstate, attempt space flight using wine as a propellant. It satirizes the space race, Cold War and politics. It was adapted into a film The Mouse on the Moon in 1963.

On the Beach is a 1957 post-apocalyptic novel written by British author Nevil Shute after he emigrated to Australia. The novel details the experiences of a mixed group of people in Melbourne as they await the arrival of deadly radiation spreading towards them from the Northern Hemisphere, following a nuclear war a year previously. As the radiation approaches, each person deals with impending death differently.

Orion's Belt is an action-thriller novel written by Norwegian author Jon Michelet. It was published by Oktober Forlag in 1977 and became a popular seller. It was translated into English by Ellen Nations. The novel was adapted into a 1985 film by the same name, which is regarded as Norway's first modern action film.

The Public Burning, Robert Coover's third novel, was published in 1977. It is an account of the events leading to the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. An uncharacteristically human caricature of Richard Nixon serves as protagonist and narrator for the primary continuity.

The Quest for Christa T. is a 1968 novel by German writer Christa Wolf that follows two childhood friends from the second World War into the 1960s in East Germany. Stylistically it demonstrates a subjectivist experimentation in prose characteristic of GDR literature of the 1960s. According to the 2013 exhibition "David Bowie Is," the novel was one of David Bowie's 100 favourite books.

The Rain Goddess is a novel by Peter Stiff (ISBN 978-1919854069), set in the war-torn area of Rhodesia's North-East border, a region which the Rhodesian military staff called "Hurricane".

Rat Trap is a techno-thriller novel written by Craig Thomas and published in 1976. The plot concerns a hijacking at London's Heathrow International Airport and the complications that occur trying to resolve the situation.

Red Alert is a 1958 novel by Peter George about nuclear war. The book was the underlying inspiration for Stanley Kubrick's 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Kubrick's film differs significantly from the novel in that the film is a black comedy.

Red Army is a 1989 Cold War-era war novel written by U.S. Army intelligence analyst Ralph Peters. The alternate history explores a World War III scenario based on a Soviet attack on West Germany across the North German Plain, with defense provided by NATO army corps from the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.

Red Storm Rising is a war novel, written by Tom Clancy and co-written with Larry Bond, and released on August 7, 1986. Set in the mid-1980s, it features a Third World War between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Warsaw Pact forces, and is unique for depicting the conflict as being fought exclusively with conventional weapons, rather than escalating to the use of weapons of mass destruction or nuclear warfare. It is one of two Clancy novels, including SSN (1996), that are not set in the Ryanverse.

A Shade of Difference (ISBN 0-385-02389-8) is a 1962 political novel written by Allen Drury. It is the first sequel to Advise and Consent, for which Drury was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1960, and was followed in 1966 by Capable of Honor.

The Shoes of the Fisherman is a novel by the Australian writer Morris West first published in 1963.

The Sky People is an alternate history science fiction novel by American writer S. M. Stirling. It was first published by Tor Books in hardcover in November 2006, with a book club edition co-published with the Science Fiction Book Club following in December of the same year. Tor issued paperback, ebook, and trade paperback editions in October 2007, April 2010, and May 2010 respectively. Audiobook editions were published by Tantor Media in January 2007.

The Throne of Saturn is a 1971 science fiction/political novel by Allen Drury that explores the preparations for a near-future manned mission to the planet Mars.

Topaz is a Cold War suspense novel by Leon Uris, published in 1967 by McGraw-Hill. The novel spent one week atop The New York Times Best Seller List, and was Uris's first New York Times number-one bestseller since Exodus in 1959. During its 52-week run on the list, Topaz set two records in two weeks; those for largest positional jump to number-one (9-1) and largest positional fall from number-one (1-5).

The Ugly American is a 1958 political novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer that depicts the failures of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Southeast Asia.

Vortex is a 1991 war novel by Larry Bond and Patrick Larkin. Set during the final years of apartheid in South Africa, Vortex follows the assassination of a reformist National Party president and his cabinet by the African National Congress, as well as a subsequent seizure of power by far-right Afrikaners. The plot unfolds through a series of intertwining accounts narrated through several characters. It was a commercial success, receiving generally positive reviews.

Washington, D.C. is a 1967 novel by Gore Vidal. The sixth novel in his Narratives of Empire series of historical novels, it begins in 1937 and continues into the Cold War, tracing the families of Senator James Burden Day and influential newspaper publisher Blaise Sanford.

Winter Hawk is a 1987 thriller novel written by Craig Thomas. It is a novel set within a larger continuum linking many of Thomas's other books, including some characters last seen in Firefox Down, itself a sequel to Thomas's Firefox. Though the featured character is Mitchell Gant, the plot is composed of several running subplots surrounding the imminent launch of the Soviets' Space Shuttle and the planned signing of an historic arms reduction treaty between the United States of America and the Soviet Union.

A World of Difference is a 1990 science fiction novel by American writer Harry Turtledove.

You Are One of Them is a 2013 novel by Elliott Holt. It is based on the true story of American schoolgirl Samantha Smith who wrote to Yuri Andropov, the Premier of the Soviet Union, at the height of the Cold War. Holt's first novel, You Are One of Them received predominantly positive reviews. Most critics praised Holt's use of language and description of characters, though some expressed reservations about its genre.