Why read Gorshkov during the Cold War?

Would Western bias and Soviet restrictions have made Gorshkov's work unusable during the Cold War?

No. Western readers studied it to understand an adversary, and the book sold well in the United States.

Understanding an adversary provides a reason to read Gorshkov despite Cold War hostility. His Soviet standpoint helps explain the interest rather than eliminating it. The book sold well in the United States, so political rivalry did not prevent an American audience from studying his strategic arguments.