The Anti-Communist Manifestos: Four Books That Shaped the Cold War

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, European, Russian, Nonfiction, History, Asian, Russia, Modern, 20th Century
Cover of the book The Anti-Communist Manifestos: Four Books That Shaped the Cold War by John V. Fleming, W. W. Norton & Company
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John V. Fleming ISBN: 9780393074765
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Publication: September 6, 2010
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company Language: English
Author: John V. Fleming
ISBN: 9780393074765
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication: September 6, 2010
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English

The books altered the course of history; the lives behind them have the dark fascination of fiction.

The subject of The Anti-Communist Manifestos is four influential books that informed the great political struggle known as the Cold War: Darkness at Noon (1940), by Arthur Koestler, a Hungarian journalist and polymath intellectual; Out of the Night (1941), by Jan Valtin, a German sailor and labor agitator; I Chose Freedom (1946), by Victor Kravchenko, a Soviet engineer; and Witness (1952), by Whittaker Chambers, an American journalist. The authors were ex–Communist Party members whose bitter disillusionment led them to turn on their former allegiance in literary fury. Koestler was a rapist, Valtin a thug. Kravchenko, though not a spy, was forced to live like one in America. Chambers was a prophet without honor in his own land. Three of the four had been underground espionage agents of the Comintern. All contemplated suicide, and two of them achieved it. John V. Fleming’s humane and ironic narrative of these grim lives reveals that words were the true driving force behind the Cold War.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The books altered the course of history; the lives behind them have the dark fascination of fiction.

The subject of The Anti-Communist Manifestos is four influential books that informed the great political struggle known as the Cold War: Darkness at Noon (1940), by Arthur Koestler, a Hungarian journalist and polymath intellectual; Out of the Night (1941), by Jan Valtin, a German sailor and labor agitator; I Chose Freedom (1946), by Victor Kravchenko, a Soviet engineer; and Witness (1952), by Whittaker Chambers, an American journalist. The authors were ex–Communist Party members whose bitter disillusionment led them to turn on their former allegiance in literary fury. Koestler was a rapist, Valtin a thug. Kravchenko, though not a spy, was forced to live like one in America. Chambers was a prophet without honor in his own land. Three of the four had been underground espionage agents of the Comintern. All contemplated suicide, and two of them achieved it. John V. Fleming’s humane and ironic narrative of these grim lives reveals that words were the true driving force behind the Cold War.

More books from W. W. Norton & Company

Cover of the book The Outer Lands: A Natural History Guide to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Block Island, and Long Island by John V. Fleming
Cover of the book Telling Lies: Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics, and Marriage (Revised Edition) by John V. Fleming
Cover of the book The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary by John V. Fleming
Cover of the book Three Chords for Beauty's Sake: The Life of Artie Shaw by John V. Fleming
Cover of the book Picnic Comma Lightning: The Experience of Reality in the Twenty-First Century by John V. Fleming
Cover of the book Faster, Higher, Farther: How One of the World's Largest Automakers Committed a Massive and Stunning Fraud by John V. Fleming
Cover of the book The Narrow Road to the Interior: Poems by John V. Fleming
Cover of the book The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Short Stories: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (Non-slipcased edition) (Vol. 1) (The Annotated Books) by John V. Fleming
Cover of the book Commander: The Life and Exploits of Britain's Greatest Frigate Captain by John V. Fleming
Cover of the book Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Selected Works by John V. Fleming
Cover of the book Canaan: A Novel by John V. Fleming
Cover of the book Library: An Unquiet History by John V. Fleming
Cover of the book Lament of the Dead: Psychology After Jung's Red Book by John V. Fleming
Cover of the book Letting Loose the Hounds: Stories by John V. Fleming
Cover of the book Leaflets: Poems 1965-1968 by John V. Fleming
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy