Doctor Zhivago

by Boris Pasternak

Hardback, with dust jacket in good condition. This edition published 1959.

This book was banned in 1950s Russia for its unflattering portrayal of communism. It was published in 1957 in Italy and Pasternak was offered the Nobel Prize in 1958 - but had to reject it because of the angry response of the Russian government. The CIA, however, set about promoting the book far and wide in response to the Russian ban. The story around this book has been well documented, but you have to start with the book itself.