Sensation Fair

(price-clipped) [minor shelfwear only to book, a bit of discoloration to endpapers in gutters; the jacket, unfortunately, has a couple of large chips at the top of the front panel (one of which extends across the top of the spine and a bit into the rear panel), with considerable wear, a number of tears, and some additional paper loss at several places; we will of course provide a new mylar jacket protector, to hold the poor thing together and prevent further damage]. This scarce memoir is "the record of [the author's] first thirty years; of his amusing boyhood attempts at writing, crime detection, and journalism; of his amazing scoops which spread consternation in every Chancellery of Central Europe; of his keen sense of detection and knowledge of criminal methods which led to the apprehension of murderers, robber gangs, and spies; of his enormous curiosity and his nose for news which smelled out stories where his colleagues had found nothing. More than a personal story, this book shows fresh glimpses of that lost world, the Austria-Hungary of the Hapsburgs, in the persons of the thieves and prostitutes, the journalists and writers, the politicians and princes that throng its pages." Kisch (1885-1948) began his journalistic career in 1906, on a German-language newspaper in his native Prague; he began writing a regular column in 1910 and soon became a local celebrity, exhibiting a particular interest in the downtrodden citizens of the city, with a literary style and social consciousness said to have been inspired by Emile Zola, Charles Dickens, and others. This memoir, as noted, covers just his first thirty years and therefore takes place largely in Prague. He was radicalized by his service in the Austrian Army during World War I; he deserted from the army in 1918 and became involved in left-wing politics, soon becoming a committed communist, living in Berlin although he remained a Czech citizen. He was a fierce opponent of Hitler and the Nazis (which landed him briefly in prison in the wake of the Reichstag Fire, prior to being booted out of Germany). His activities as both a journalist and an operative of the Communist International took him around the globe throughout the 1930s, and during World War II he lived primarily in Mexico (having been refused entry to the U.S.), where he was living when he completed this book.

Product Info

Publisher: Modern Age Books

Year: (c.1941)

Type: Used

Binding: Hardcover

First Edition

Seller Info

ReadInk

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Country: United States