Alan Furst describes the area of his interest as “near history.” His novels are set between 1933-the date of Adolf Hitler’s ascent, with the first Stalinist purges in Moscow coming a year later-to 1945, which saw the end of the war in Europe. The history of this period is well documented. Furst uses books by journalists of the time, personal memoirs-some privately published-autobiographies (many of the prominent individuals of the period wrote them), war and political histories, and characteristic novels written during those years.