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SNOW, EDGAR: : RED STAR OVER CHINA

LONDON.VICTOR GOLLANCZ LTD.,1937 [LEFT BOOK CLUB EDITION.].

ISBN No ISBN.

UK,8vo wraps,1st edn.[The author was unavailable to read the proofs of this the ORIGINAL and first draft of this title,and as such,DOES NOT include the text revisions made in the subsequent revised 1939 and 1944 edns.At the time it was regarded as a journalistic 'scoop' in 1937,and has since become a historical classic.The best-known section of the book is Mao's autobiography as related to Snow,which is still one of the most important documents on that subject.Another important section is the graphic description of the Long March.] VG. No owner inscrptn.Publisher's lightly grubbed,original,limp orange size-glazed linen-backed paper covers with black lettering to front+spine/backstrip; with negligible shelf-wear,bumping,creasing to edges and corners.Slight lifting and curling of linen/paper at both head+foot of spine/backstrip with some miniscule loss but lettering almost unaffected - spine with vertical wrinkles due to production binding process of glueing the covers to signatures drying/shrinking - no other nicks tears or splits present.Top edges lightly aged/toned but without foxing/ spotting,fore-edges present as slightly cleaner but with some minimal,sporadic foxing/spotting; contents generally bright and clean - some random but minimal, sporadic blemishes and some random accidental,uniform,corner tips' creases scattered within the text body.UK,8vo wraps,1st edn,8-464pp [paginated] includes contents list/table,Pts 1-12 comprising 57 chapters,full description list of photographs - 16pp ccontemporary b/w photographs in 1 block,between pp224/ 25 - and an index; plus [unpaginated] front+rear free endpapers,half-title+title pages,a dedication,an acknowledgement,publisher's note and illustrations information all to same page,a with b/w regional map of Red Army route of its Long march to its verso and individual Pts separator pages. Visually the exterior appearance is acceptable for a book of it's age and nature,i.e. a SCARCE ephemeral item,and even internally,the book is also in a legible,and acceptable condition/state of preservation and presentation.It is only the noted faults described that prevent a higher grading. The Book Club's choice for October,1937 in the second year of its existence.It is Snow's account of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that was written when it was a guerilla army and still obscure to Westerners.Along with Pearl S. Buck's 'The Good Earth' (1931),it was the most influential book on Western understanding of China as well as the most influential book on Western sympathy for Red China in the 1930s.It recounts the months that he spent with the Chinese Red Army in 1936. Snow uses his extensive interviews with Mao and the other top leaders to present vivid descriptions of the Long March,as well as biographical accounts of leaders on both sides of the conflicts,including Zhou Enlai,Peng Dehuai,Lin Biao,He Long and Mao Zedong's own account of his life. In his 1966 biography of Mao,the American Sinologist Stuart R. Schram wrote that 'Red Star Over China' was irreplaceable in learning about Mao's early years and that despite "many errors of detail",it remains "by far the most important single source regarding his life" and offered important insights into "Mao's own vision of his past". The 'LEFT' BOOK CLUB was founded in May 1936,lasting until November,1948 and was a key left-wing institution of the late 1930s and into the late 1940s in Britain. It was set up by publisher Victor Gollancz, supporters include Stafford Cripps,the socialist campaigner John Stracey,and the Labour academic Harold Laski.It published a series of around 250 books over these twelve years,to revitalise and educate the British Left.The club's aim was to "help in the struggle for world peace and against fascism". Aiming to break even with 2,500 members,it had 20,000 within the first year and by 1939 it was up to 57,000,however membership declined during the war years and the Club was defunct by Nov.,1948.The LBC was one of some of the first book clubs in the Britain and,as such,played an important role in the evolution of the country's book trade.Despite its pro-Communist line,the Club's socialist propaganda and education probably ultimately strengthened the Labour Party and contributed to its victory in the postwar election of 1945. The books and pamphlets with their distinctive covers—orange for paperback (1936–1938) and red for hardback (1938– 1948) editions—bore the legend "NOT FOR SALE TO THE PUBLIC" and sold for 2s 6d to members.Many titles were available for sale only in the LBC edition,with monthly 'choices' received by all members; there were also reprints of current socialist and 'progressive' classics for members to buy. The volumes covered history,science, reporting and fiction and a range of other subjects,but always from a left-leaning perspective. The advent of paper rationing at the onset of the war meant that the club was restricted to just one monthly title.To replace the book club's additional choices and augment the LBC selections,Gollancz launched the "Victory Books" series,a series of shorter monographs available to the general public.These included two of the biggest selling publications of the entire War period: Guilty Men (July 1940) by "Cato" (Michaael Foot,Frank Owen and Peter Howard) and Your MP. (1944) by "Gracchus" (Tom Wintringham). Please contact seller, for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch, especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/CAnada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.

UK,8vo wraps,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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