description The Cold War Swap Overview
The Cold War Swap is a spy thriller novel written by American author Ross Thomas, published in 1966. It was his debut novel and won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America in 1967. The plot follows a disgraced former CIA agent who is enlisted to arrange a prisoner exchange between the East and West in Germany. The book is aimed at fans of classic Cold War espionage fiction.
help The Cold War Swap FAQ
Who is the disgraced former CIA agent at the center of The Cold War Swap?
The novel follows Mac McCorkle, an American expatriate who runs a bar in Bonn with his partner, Mike Padillo. Padillo's intelligence connections pull McCorkle into a Cold War exchange involving a kidnapped American.
Is The Cold War Swap the first Mac McCorkle and Mike Padillo novel?
Yes. Ross Thomas introduced McCorkle and Padillo in this 1966 debut before bringing them back in later novels, including Cast a Yellow Shadow and The Backup Men.
Why did The Cold War Swap win an Edgar Award?
The Mystery Writers of America named it Best First Novel in 1967. Its appeal came from combining an espionage exchange with cynical dialogue, political maneuvering, and the uneasy partnership between McCorkle and Padillo.
Where does The Cold War Swap take place?
Much of the story is rooted in Bonn, then the capital of West Germany, where McCorkle and Padillo operate a bar. That divided-Germany setting gives the 1966 thriller a direct connection to real Cold War tensions.
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