| Summary/Abstract |
This article examines the writing and reception of Sir John Hackett’s bestselling 1978 novel The Third World War. The retired British general and a team of collaborators produced a vision of global conflict that found an enthusiastic audience around the world. I argue that Hackett’s book succeeded in large part because he reflected growing anxieties about the future of the Cold War just as the superpower confrontation entered a period of dangerous instability. This novel also helped to inspire the modern literary genre of the techno-thriller, which remains commercially and intellectually important today.
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