Leon Uris does a great job in Topaz--the book really does leave you wondering what is ficition and what is truth! The story is basically about the Cuban missile crisis of October 1962, but we are also taken 20 years back in time to war-torn Europe, seeing how Capitalism and Communism even THEN played a role in the danger that young President Kennedy faced. The book is engagingly easy-to-read, and does a tremendous job of tying loose ends together--I highly recommend "Topaz"!