Making Enemies

First published in 1998, Making Enemies was the opening volume in Francis Bennett's Cold War trilogy. 'For all of us now the Cold War is history... What interested me as a writer was how we survived. What went on behind the scenes?... I went looking for my own fictional explanations for historical events.' Francis Bennett Making Enemies centres on the race for the hydrogen bomb in 1947. Russia and the West, wartime allies, are now bitter enemies. Soviet Colonel Andropov tries to stall Britain's development of a nuclear deterrent, and a young British army officer unwittingly becomes enmeshed in his conspiracy. '[Making Enemies] is more than the intelligent reader's spy thriller... Like all the best historical novels, the authenticity of background and time lend the story added credibility. I have never read the relationship between an intelligence officer and his pawn described so well.' Phillip Knightley, Daily Mail

Francis Bennett was educated at Radley and Cambridge. He worked in publishing for nearly twenty years, finally as the Group Managing Director of Thomson Books. In 1987 he co-founded Book Data, the first bibliographic agency anywhere to introduce full information about titles. He was its Managing Director from 1987 until 2005 when he was appointed Chairman. He retired from Nielsen BookData in 2006. For many years Francis Bennett served as the Vice-Chairman of the Book Development Council, the export department of the UK'S Publishers Association. He has Chairman of the Society of Bookmen and has served on many other boards, committees and panels. He has received a British Book Award 'Lifetime Achievement'. He now acts as a publishing consultant.