Christian Long

Christian Long investigates the imaginary geography of American spy fiction in the decades following the Second World War, treating genre literature as a form of public education. Challenging the assumption that mass-audience fiction simplifies the world for its readers, he argues that Cold War spy thrillers in fact expanded their readers’ geographical imagination — mapping not just what the secret world looks like, but where it can be found, its hot spots and blank spots alike. By taking seriously the literal worlds that spy thrillers construct, Long opens up a new way of understanding the geography of American Cold War culture.