FROM THE PUBLISHER

A prolific author with millions of fans, and novels that routinely climb the bestseller charts, John le Carre is more than simply a genre writer. Myron J. Aronoff contends that le Carre's spy novels grapple with one of the most pressing political issues facing the world community today: what extreme - and often undemocratic - means are justifiable to protect democracy in this post-Cold War era? As such, Aronoff demonstrates that le Carre's novels use espionage as a metaphor for politics, and his unforgettable characters dramatize the classic conflict between individual sovereignty and governmental loyalty and power.

FROM THE CRITICS

Choice

Highly recommended....

International Journal of Intelligence

No connoisseur of intelligence can consider the bookshelf in the study complete without this outstanding volume.

Booknews

Aronoff (anthropology and political science, Rutgers U.) examines the fictional world of le Carr, relating it to the real world of politics and espionage. His analysis focuses on the ethical dilemmas that confront citizens, particularly of democracies, when their states engage in espionage. He also draws parallels between the self-parody of le Carr and that of 17th-century Dutch artist Jan Steen, and explains how it expresses a distinctive form of ambiguous moralism. This is a paperbound reprint of a 1999 work. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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