The Quiet American - Graham Greene (Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, 1959)

This Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow edition (1959) is of interest to collectors of Graham Greene, Cold War publishing history, Soviet English-language editions, and 20th century political fiction.

About: Very Good copy in the original grey cloth binding with illustrated boards reproducing the striking cover design in red and black; title page with characteristic red and black typography and pen-and-ink illustrations; binding firm and square with light shelf wear to extremities; pages clean and bright; a handsome and uncommon copy of a significant Cold War-era imprint.

Details:

• Title: The Quiet American
• Author: Graham Greene
• Publisher: Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow
• Publication Date: 1959
• Edition: Soviet Foreign Languages Publishing House Edition
• Binding: Hardcover - original grey illustrated cloth
• Condition: Very Good
  

Synopsis: Soviet Foreign Languages Publishing House imprint, Moscow 1959, illustrated boards with red and black cover design, pen-and-ink interior illustrations, rare Cold War-era English-language edition, appealing to collectors of Graham Greene, Soviet publishing history, and Cold War cultural artifacts.

Review: Graham Greene's The Quiet American, first published by Heinemann in 1955, is set during the French Indochina War and follows British journalist Thomas Fowler and the idealistic American agent Alden Pyle in Saigon. A prescient and morally complex novel about Western intervention in Southeast Asia, its publication by the Soviet Foreign Languages Publishing House in 1959 reflects the book's political resonance during the Cold War - Greene's critique of American foreign policy made it a natural choice for Soviet propagandist publishing, lending this edition a unique historical dimension beyond its literary merit.