Charles McCarry established an international reputation with the publication of his worldwide bestseller The Tears of Autumn in 1975, and altogether has written ten critically acclaimed espionage and crime novels featuring Paul Christopher, the most elegant of spies. Several of his books have foreshadowed events that at the time seemed too outlandish to be possible, such as 9/11 and the Bush/Gore election scandal. During the Cold War, he was an intelligence officer operating under deep cover in Europe, Africa and Asia, and he draws on his own experience when writing his books, giving them a tangible, believable feel.