(London: Hamish Hamilton, 1961).

FIRST EDITION. This is a collection of Camus’ political writings, published one year after he died. A fascinating collection, many of his topics are quite relevant to issues today. They include discussions of Algeria, Hungary, and the death penalty. His analysis of Spanish fascism evokes thoughts surrounding many contemporary issues as well: that of the French in forgetting their complicity with the Nazis and the roots of Spanish fascism; the rabid anti-communism of the Cold War that blinded people to injustices elsewhere; the recognition of totalitarianism in whatever guise it appears; and the cooperation of the Church in Franco’s Spain. Camus’ critical and analytic abilities are of the highest order and well worth reading.
Camus was both an interesting political figure of his time and one of the most significant authors of the twentieth century (he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957). These two facts are reflected in this volume, which highlights his commitment to human rights: “Again and again throughout his too-short life, Camus spoke out wherever the issue was human freedom against ignorance--for the fighters against tyranny in Spain and Hungary--as a bulwark of reason in the conflict in his native Algeria.” [dustjacket] However, “Over and above intellectual or political leadership, he provided the moral guidance the postwar generation needed. By remaining flagrantly independent, he could speak out both against the Russian slave-labor camps and against U.S. support of Franco’s Spain. By overcoming the immature nihilism and despair that he saw as poisoning our century, he emerged as the staunch defender of our positive moral values...” [Justin O’Brien]. Item #34795

First Edition. 8vo, publisher’s original red crimson cloth, lettered in gilt on the spine, in the pictorially decorated dustjacket. xi, 198 pp. A very fine copy in a fine dustjacket.