[COMMUNISM] [LABOR REFORM] LEONOV, Leonid; GORKY, Maxim

Soviet River

New York: Dial Press; Lincoln Mac Veagh, 1932. First American Edition. Octavo. 19.5cm. Original deep red cloth titled in black to spine, with embossed publisher's imprint to front board. Dustjacket. 383pp. Bumped to spine ends, with some minor wear to corners, some minor darkening to the cloth in places; internally clean, fore-edge untrimmed, top edge a trifle dusty; in the John Gram dustjacket with some toning to the spine panel, shallow chipping and loss to the spine ends (intruding upon the author's first name), and a short closed tear to the front upper front spine hinge. A good strong copy with some wear.

Leonov's novel of Soviet labor, centred around the building of an enormous factory; Sotstroy. Gorky provides the preface; the novel was notable at the time as an antidote to the image of the USSR as an enormous generator of plans, progress, noble artistic and industrial endeavor, and a shining beacon of energy. Leonov tends towards a more on the ground depiction of enthusiastic ineptitude, paranoia, and fanaticism. Bookplate of Alvin Kapusta to front pastedown, a Special Assistant for Soviet Nationalities at the US State Department, and a notable scholar of the Soviet Bloc, whose collections are housed at the Hoover Institution.

Price: $200.00

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