Search Results: Communism from Le Bookiniste, ABAA-ILAB-IOBA

Small Octavo (7 7/8 x 5 1/2 inches; 202 x 137 mm), viii, 9-192 pages, in publisher's original gray cloth, with a printed dust jacket.
An important compilation of papers and proceedings at the historic first Writers' Congress of 1935. Authors included Malcolm Cowley, John Dos Passos, Louis Aragon, Waldo Frank, Granville Hicks, and Langston Hughes, among many others. Much of the discussion dealt with proletarian literature; the role of the writer in the Soviet Union, and the fight against Fascism. These were all left-wing writers, many of them associated with the Communist Party; the party's publishing arm issued this edition.
Given the close association of the congress with the Communist Party, it's not surprising to find CPUSA chief Earl Browder turning up in the proceedings. And Alexander Trachtenberg, who ran the party's International Publishers, gave an interesting talk on publishing revolutionary writers. Scarce in commerce.
CONDITION: Some sunning and soiling to boards, top edge dusty.… Read More

New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1949. Later Edition. Octavo, 363 pages. Near Fine, with some light toning of the pages. The dust jacket shows some wear along the edges and has a couple small chips and closed tears. Overall, an attractive copy.  John Gunther (1901-1970) was an acclaimed foreign correspondent best known for his "Inside..." series of books. Here he reports from behind the "Iron Curtain" in the immediate aftermath of World War II. He's especially compelling on Tito and Yugoslavia and the rupture with Moscow.

New York: New York Labor News Company, 1939. First Edition. 12mo (7 5/16 x 5 inches; 186 x 128 mm), 110 pages, in stapled wrappers (soft cover). A pamphlet attacking Communists as swindlers, frauds, capitalist stooges, and other crimes. Written by Arnold Petersen, leader of the Socialist Labor Party, in his usual subtle style. Petersen believed the Communists had abandoned the working class by supporting the New Deal and offering to collaborate with other parties during the Communists' "Popular Front" phase. This pamphlet is quite scarce in commerce. Seidman P117 (Joel Seidman, editor, Communism in the United States--A Bibliography, Cornell University Press, 1969). CONDITION: Soiling and creasing to wrappers, corners bumped, a few scattered stains and creasing to page corners. Overall, Very Good.

Pelc, Ant., Lev Haas, and Holobrádek. RP karikatury. Prague: Redakce Rudého práva, 1947. First Edition, First Printing. Oblong Octavo (8 1/8 x 5 3/4 inches; 208 x 145 mm), 75, [5] pages, in wrappers (soft cover).A rare book of cartoons published by the Czech Communist Party newspaper, Rudé právo. Antonin Pelc and Lev Haas drew the cartoons, which are pro-Communist, anti-Nazi, anti-American, and anti-Western alliance. Holobrádek (a pseudonym) supplied short verses to accompany each cartoon. The book appeared in 1947, a year before the Communist seizure of power in Czechoslovakia. Oddly, the cover features a cartoon by Pelc that misspells the name of Klement Gottwald, the Communist leader (it shows only one "t" in Gottwald). A sign displayed in the cartoon reads (translating from the Czech): "The construction of a two-year plan is carried out by Gotwald and others." That's a fair representation of the sometimes heavy-handed propaganda in the book, which depicts American businessmen as fat… Read More

Single sheet, 8 1/2 x 11 inches (217 x 280 mm), printed on one side only.
A Communist Party USA flyer issued in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union. It calls for a united front in the fight against the Axis powers and total mobilization of industry. "The Communist Party pledges its loyalty, its devoted labor and last drop of its blood in support of our country in this greatest of all the crises that has ever threatened its existence."
No institutional holdings found in OCLC. SCARCE.
CONDITION: Heavily toned, folded for mailing, some pencil notations. About Very Good.

Washington, D.C.: Press Office-German Embassy, 1958. No Edition Stated. Octavo (8 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches; 215 x 140 mm), 19, [1] pages, in stapled wrappers. With a compliments card laid in. Transcript of a speech by Ernst Lemmer, a German government minister, about the worsening refugee crisis. He notes that millions have fled the German Democratic Republic -- which he calls the Soviet Zone -- since 1949. He blames increasing "Sovietization" of the GDR and denies GDR assertions that West Germany is enticing people to leave. An interesting insight into West Germany's growing alarm about the tide of refugees from the GDR. The Communist regime, of course, would build the Wall less than three years later. SCARCE.OCLC shows about a dozen institutional holdings. Scarce in commerce. An interesting insight into West Germany's growing alarm about the tide of refugees from the GDR. The Communist regime, of course, would build the Wall less than three years later. SCARCE.CONDITION: Toning to edges, a few light… Read More

New York: New Century Publishers, 1950. First Edition. Gus Hall, national secretary of the Communist Party USA, denounces American foreign policy in Asia. Speaking at Madison Square Garden on June 28, 1950, Hall declared that the United States "has launched an undeclared shooting war against all the peoples of Asia and the Pacific." DETAILS: 24mo (5 x 3 1/2 inches; 126 x 88 mm), 15, [1] pages, in stapled, green and white wrappers (soft cover). CONDITION: Slight edge wear, internally bright and unmarked. Near Fine.

Paris: Victor Lecou, 1849. Later printing. 12mo (7 1/8 x 4 1/2 inches; 182 x 115 mm), [4], iv, 500 pages, in original morocco spine, titles in gilt, over marbled boards. A vigorous defense of private property and opposition to "communism," appearing in the immediate aftermath of the 1848 revolutions in Europe. The first edition appeared in 1848; our copy was published the following year. This is the first history of socialism (or communism) in any language, according to George Watson's "The Lost Literature of Socialism." Alfred Sudre (1820-1902) maintained that private property -- far from oppressing the poor -- was the best defense the poor had against oppression. Text in French. CONDITION: Some rubbing to boards and foxing to page edges. Very Good or better.

New York: Capitol Hill Press, 1972. Revised Edition. INSCRIBED by the author on the front end paper: "Many thanks - / to / Tom Moran / Herbert A. Philbrick / 1972." Philbrick's account of his nine years in the Communist Party working as a spy for the FBI. Originally published in 1950, the book was updated and reissued in 1972. It was also the basis of a television series in the mid-1950s called Three Lives. Foreword by Efrem Zimbalist Jr. 8vo, 306 pages. Red remainder mark on bottom page edges, light stain on rear pastedown. Otherwise Near Fine in a Very Good dust jacket that has some nicks, creases and rubbing as well as ownership signature on the front flap.

Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1965. First Edition.
Octavo, xii, 467 pages, in blue cloth (hard cover).
INSCRIBED by Walter Schneir on the front end paper: "To John J. Macbride / With best wishes / Walter Schneir." Dated August 1965 (the year of publication). A review of the trial and conviction of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg for espionage; the authors argue that the Rosenbergs had been framed.
CONDITION: Very Good, with top edge a bit soiled and crown of spine tapped, in a Very Good, unclipped dust jacket that's creased and has a couple small chips and some soiling on the rear panel.

New York: New Outlook Publishers and Distributors, 1977.
Pamphlet by longtime Communist Party USA writer Art Shields (1888-1988) in which he invites readers to join the Party. He gives an overview of Party history, accompanied by numerous black-and-white photos of Party luminaries. Scarce in commerce. PHYSICAL DETAILS: 9 1/4 x 7 inches; 235 x 176 mm), 16 pages, in stapled, illustrated wrappers (soft cover). CONDITION: Slight edge wear. Near Fine.

Berlin: Verlag Neues Leben, 1949. 5th Printing. Propaganda songbook for youth of the nascent East Germany.  12mo, pp. 301, [3], paper pastedown on boards. The pages are heavily age toned, due to the the poor paper stock. Several cracks in the hinges. Ownership inscriptions on front pastedown.

Paris: Editions Présence africaine, 1957. 12mo (7 1/16 x 4 1/2 inches; 180 x 113 mm), 15, [1] pages in stapled green-gray wrappers, with errata slip pasted to recto of lower wrapper (soft cover).A letter from the Martinique poet and politician Aimé Césaire to Maurice Thorez, secretary general of the French Communist Party. Césaire announces his resignation from the party, citing Stalin's crimes and the party's treatment of nonwhite people. Césaire's letter is dated October 24, 1956, one day after the start of the Hungarian Uprising against the Soviet Union and eight months following Nikita Khrushchev's "secret speech" documenting Stalin's crimes. "I think I have said enough to make it plain that it's neither Marxism nor Communism I repudiate; that the use certain people have made of Marxism and Communism is what I condemn," Césaire writes. "That what I want is that Marxism and Communism be harnessed into the service of colored peoples, and not colored peoples into the service of Marxism and… Read More

New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1958. First Edition.
SIGNED by J. Edgar Hoover on the front free end paper. A virulently anticommunist tract by the former head of the FBI.
"The Communist Party, USA, works day and night to further the communist plot in America," J. Edgar Hoover writes. With chapters on who are the Communists, why do people become Communists, and advice on how to identify and combat "dangerous subversives." An interesting relic from the 1950s Red Scare.
PHYSICAL DETAILS: Octavo (8 3/8 x 5 5/8 inches; 210 x 142 mm), x, 374 pages, in red cloth, titles to front board and to spine, in an illustrated dust jacket with the price ($5.00) unclipped.
CONDITION: Near Fine, with a bit of age-toning to the page edges. The dust jacket shows a few chips and a small tear along the top edge. There's also a 4-inch split along the edge of the front flap where it meets the front panel but it is still holding firmly in place.

New York: International Publishers, 1972. First Edition. Octavo (8 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches; 208 x 140 mm), 322 pages, green cloth, titles in silver to spine, in an unclipped, illustrated dust jacket (hard cover).
A collection of articles by the proudly Communist writer Mike Gold (1893-1967). Gold was probably best known for his regular column in the Daily Worker, "Change the World!" as well as his semi-autobiographical novel, "Jews Without Money." This collection features some previously unpublished articles, and some pieces from "New Masses" and other publications. Great polemics, sarcasm, and humor run throughout these articles.
CONDITION: Boards slightly bowed and rubbed, some soiling to top and fore edges and a few pages. Very Good or better in a Very Good dust jacket that has a bit of soiling and a few small tears.

Fullerton, California: Education Information, Inc., 1960. First Edition. Small Quarto (10 5/8 x 8 1/4 inches; 271 x 212 mm), 21 pages, in stapled illustrated wrappers A "second report on modern art" issued by Education Information, Inc., an Orange County, California, anti-communist outfit. The main highlight: the purported minutes of a Communist cell comprising artists and writers: "PROGRAM: Remove all inspiring and beautiful art from all exhibits and substitute degenerate art in its place....Keep rational art out of all public exhibits -- allow only empty or distorted art to be shown in museums, dealers' exhibits....Tie junk together and set it up as sculpture." There's plenty more in this vein. The woman who took these notes -- "a friend of truth and decency" -- supposedly mailed them to the right-wing sculptor Wheeler Williams, who was active in anticommunist politics. Williams provides a Foreword to the notes, saying he believes they're authentic. He says he shared the notes with colleagues and… Read More

New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Inc., 1957. First Edition.
Howard Fast explains his disillusionment and break with the Communist Party.
Octavo, 197 pages (hard cover). Near Fine in an unclipped, Very Good dust jacket that has a couple of small creases, tears and sunning. Overall, a beautiful copy.

Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Communist Party, n.d. [1941]. No edition stated. Single sheet of newsprint folded to create four pages of approximately 8 1/4 x 10 1/2 inches (211 x 266 mm). Rare announcement of a speech by Communist Party Chairman William Z. Foster in Los Angeles a little more than a month after Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The announcement appears at the beginning of a text in which the Party calls for the U.S. to spare no effort in defeating Germany: "There can be no peace for the peoples of the world without the complete destruction of Hitler and Hitlerism. Hitler fascism stands exposed as the greatest and main enemy of the peoples of the world."Prior to Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party strongly opposed U.S. involvement in World War II, maintaining that the fight between Germany and Britain was an imperialist war. Obviously, that policy changed 180 degrees following the German invasion of the USSR. An interesting look at how the Communist Party's… Read More

[Chicago?]: Ceskoslovenská národní rada v Americe [Czechoslovak National Council of America], 1956.
A scarce satirical guidebook to Prague written by a Czech-American author who lived in Czechoslovakia, highlighting the poor conditions under Communist rule. Want to know why the hotels are so expensive? (Translating from the Czech): You didn't realize what was included in the room price: free-of-charge eavesdropping on your phone, maybe even a secret camera, opening your mail without damaging the envelope and recording it in the police register, photographing your more important correspondence. Want to look around? Over here is the prison, over there is secret police headquarters, this is where Jan Masaryk was pushed out of a window to his death... Theres plenty more in this vein (text entirely in Czech). The author, Vlasta Vrázová (1900-1989), directed American relief work in Czechoslovakia in the years following World War II. In 1949, the Communist government held her for a week on espionage… Read More

[London?]: [Revolutionary Communist Party], [1966]. First Edition Thus. A scarce pamphlet published on the 10th anniversary of the Hungarian revolution. It includes material published in a 1956-57 edition plus additional material. The author, Gerry Healy, strongly denounces the Soviet invasion of Hungary and takes Western leftists to task for not supporting the workers' uprising. This edition was published as a "Newsletter Pamphlet" and includes considerable material on the uprising, an article on workers' councils (reprinted from the Newsletter of Nov. 12, 1966), and a useful chronology of events in Hungary and Eastern Europe. The Newsletter was a publication of Britain's Revolutionary Communist Party. Copies of the original publication are available in the antiquarian book trade, but this edition -- with additional material -- is much more scarce. PHYSICAL DETAILS: Small Quarto (9 1/2 x 7 1/4 inches; 241 x 185 mm), 20 pages, in stapled, illustrated wrappers (soft cover). CONDITION: Two old price… Read More