Truth can be stranger than fiction and also more exciting. A Cold War author, especially one whose work was well reviewed, may have written a book that will hold you enthralled in a way you never expected from a historical book. Although the stand-off between the Soviet Union and the United States was roughly from 1947 to 1989, the scope of its literature is greater. Many books deal with events leading up to this ideological struggle or immediately after the collapse of the USSR.

Called the Iron Curtain, the totalitarian control of Eastern Europe virtually cut part of the world off from the rest of humanity. Travel to the area was severely restricted, and travel out was impossible for most private citizens. Escape was dramatic if successful - people jumping ship in foreign ports, clinging to the underside of automobiles, walking along remote routes through the mountains, buying passage in smugglers' ships, or running from the wall toward freedom - or tragic in failure.

Although the regime tried to hide conditions behind the Curtain and prevent contact with the outside world, courageous informers smuggled information out and organizations like Radio Free Europe sent information in. Chilling stories emerged of the secret police, the KGB, and their brutal suppression of dissent. Defying the party line could result in exile to Siberia, one of the most inhospitable places on earth.

Communism has lofty ideals of a classless system where workers could escape capitalistic oppression and share the fruits of their labor. In reality, a new elite made up of Party members was created. Ten percent of the population could go to university, practice a profession, shop in stores with plentiful merchandise, and vacation on the Black Sea. The other ninety percent worked in grim factories or communal farms, lived in cramped apartments, queued for hours in hopes of getting the necessities of life, and had no way to improve their lot.

The accounts of life behind the Iron Curtain can be grim, but there are also inspirational stories of freedom fighters, those who refused to give up their faith in God or love of country, and those who took great risks to escape to the free world. Outsiders worked hard to reach the people locked away, to get them Bibles, and to let them know they were not forgotten.

The era was not without confrontation, even though the US and The USSR never came to open warfare. Greece resisted a communist take over, China could not. South Korea survived while South Viet Nam did not. Control of the Suez Canal was disputed, and things almost exploded when Russia tried to install missiles to Cuba. President Reagan went against the advice of his staff and called for the destruction of the Berlin Wall while visiting West Berlin.

There are great novels, as well. James Bond made the world of espionage glamorous and gave us many memorable villains, not to mention lovely female allies or opponents. Tales of daring escapes, defections, and resistance to tyranny make great reading while they make history and Eastern European culture come alive.

Many a Cold War author deserve resurrecting. Modern accounts that might gloss over grim reality should be balanced with stories told by those who experienced the actuality or watched events unfold. Pure communism never existed. It was always conducted by humans who fell far short of any ideal.