Topaz (novel)
(McGraw-Hill, 1967)
Topaz is a Cold War suspense novel by Leon Uris, published in 1967 by McGraw-Hill. Topaz is one of only a handful of novels to have spent just one week at the number-one position on The New York Times Best Seller List for adult fiction (on the list dated October 15, 1967), and was Uris's first New York Times number-one bestseller since Exodus in 1959. Early in its 52-week tenure on the list, Topaz broke two records in two weeks due to a large but brief spike in sales; those for largest positional jump to number-one (9-1) and largest positional fall from number-one (1-5).
Overview
On the eve of the Cuban Missile Crisis, American and French intelligence agents are plunged into a maze of Cold War intrigue. In Paris, 1962, French intelligence chief André Devereaux and NATO intelligence chief Michael Nordstrom have uncovered Soviet plans to ship nuclear arms to Cuba. But when Devereaux reports his findings and nobody acts—and he is targeted in an assassination attempt—he soon realizes he’s tangled in a plot far greater than he first understood. The two agents, along with a small band of Cuban exiles and Soviet defectors, chase leads around the globe in a quest to save NATO, themselves, and perhaps the world itself.
Film Adaptation
In 1969, Alfred Hitchcock directed a film based on Leon Uris's novel. Released by Universal Pictures, the film was a rare critical and commercial failure for the renowned director.
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