Battle Hymn of China (1943)
"I Still Had One Great Job to Do–To Tell America the Truth About China,
How the Chinese Had Fought and Were Still Fighting"
Smedley, Agnes. Battle Hymn of China. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1943.
Octavo. Hardcover. 1st Edition.
First edition of this history of war-torn China, written by the longest serving foreign correspondent in wartime China, with a folding frontispiece map of China, in the very rare dust jacket. American activist and communist Agnes Smedley was a respected journalist who earned distinction as the longest-serving reporter--male or female--in war-torn China. Reporting on the Chinese Civil War and the Second Sino-Japanese War, Smedley spent much of her time embedded with Chinese troops. She became a leading voice for the Chinese Communist cause, offering her opinions to well-regarded media outlets. Smedley was also known as one of the most productive spies of the 20th-century, working as a triple agent on behalf of the Communists in China, India, and the USSR. After the war, General MacArthur publicly accused her of espionage. She spent the remainder of her life being dogged by the FBI until she died in 1950. Battle Hymn of China offers valuable first-person reportage on cities throughout China both before and during the Second World War. Book generally fine, very rare price-clipped dust jacket with only minor wear to extremities. A beautiful copy.