The Moon Is Down (1942)
"By Ten-Forty-Five It Was All Over. The Town Was Occupied, the Defenders Defeated, and the War Finished."
Steinbeck, John. The Moon Is Down. New York: Viking Press, 1942.
Octavo. Hardcover. 1st Edition.
First edition, second state, of Steinbeck's novel about an unnamed country under occupation, written at the height of World War II. In fewer than 200 pages, Steinbeck presents a novel about living in an invaded country--the heroes, the traitors, and the occupying forces. While the novel was based on Norway during World War II, Steinbeck's intention was to create a universal picture of war and its human cost. This is the second state without period between "this" and "talk" on page 112, printer's name on copyright page, and broken "m" on rear flap. While some dealers refer to this as the second printing, copies of the second printing have a statement to that effect on the copyright page and do not have the "First Published" statement. Contemporary owner signature. Book fine, price-clipped dust jacket near-fine with only light wear to extremities and mild toning to spine. A crisp copy.