These Are the Russians (1943)
"For My Friend, Colleague and Companion Alfred Eisenstaedt": Extraordinary Copy of Richard Lauterbach's These Are the Russians, Inscribed by Him to His Friend and Fellow LIFE Journalist, the Acclaimed Photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt
Lauterbach, Richard E. These Are the Russians. New York and London: Harper & Brothers, 1945.
Octavo. Hardcover. 2nd Edition.
Second edition of this collection of a journalist's observations about the Russians and Ukrainians in World War II, including the Battle of Leningrad, mentions of Nazi atrocities, and insights into the Soviet character, inscribed by author Richard Lauterbach to his friend and LIFE magazine colleague, the famous photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, with whom he wrote a story on Japan in the immediate aftermath of the war. When Richard Lauterbach made a second visit to the Soviet Union in 1944, he found a country transformed by war. Instead of focusing on economics, politics, or the military, Lauterbach focused on meeting and talking to people from Leningrad to Novosibirsk. In his travels, Lauterbach managed to capture something of the spirit of the Russian people and gained access that few other journalists did. This book offers a record of all that he saw--from the tragedy of Leningrad to the German atrocities at Majdanek. Lauterbach, like, many of his era, believed in large parts of the Soviet dream, largely due to a lack of information about the real state of affairs. For example, he visited Katyn, was fed the Soviet PR, and died before ever finding out the truth. Nevertheless, Lauterbach had the advantage of being on the ground in Russia during some of the most tumultuous years of the war. His writings from this era are terribly valuable to any student of Russia or World War II and are still cited today. The book is a marked second edition and has the code E-U, meaning May 1945. This copy is inscribed by the author, Richard E. Lauterbach, to his friend and the acclaimed photographer, Alfred Eisenstaedt: "For my friend, colleague, and companion Alfred Eisenstaedt, in memory of our wonderful trip to Japan--Richard E. Lauterbach, New York, N.Y., August 6, 1946." Lauterbach and Eisenstaedt both worked for LIFE magazine and collaborated on a Japan piece in 1946. An iconic photograph of Eisenstaedt (a rather small man) sitting on the knee of a Japanese sumo champion was shot by Lauterbach. Eisenstaedt was a pioneering photojournalist, known for his skill at photographing difficult subjects with great naturalism, such as in his well-known photograph of a soldier kissing a woman in Times Square on V-J Day. His Japan photographs are considered to be some of his best from that era. Lauterbach died in 1950 from polio, at just 36 years old, making this inscription a rare snapshot of his brief post-war life and friendship with Eisenstaedt. Book about-fine, dust jacket extremely good with only shallow chipping to extremities and mild toning to spine. A wonderful copy with an unparalleled inscription.