The Ugly American.

LEDERER, William J. and Eugene Burdick.

Item Number: 139228

New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1958.

First edition, early printing of this classic work. Octavo, original half cloth. Presentation copy, lengthily inscribed by both authors on the half-title page, “For the ——– whose Beverly, the lovely New Zealander, in the true sense of the expression, is spreading international goodwill all over USA with much aloha from both Bill Lederer” and “Wow! What can I say? Except the man is right. affectionately, Bud Burdick.” Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Alan Haemer.

First published in 1958, The Ugly American became a runaway national bestseller for its slashing exposé of American arrogance, incompetence, and corruption in Southeast Asia. In linked stories and vignettes, the book uses gripping storytelling to draw a devastating picture of how the United States was losing the struggle with Communism in Asia.