The Manchurian Candidate

Everyone knows the controversial 1962 film of The Manchurian Candidate starring Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury, even though it was taken out of circulation for 25 years after JFK's assassination. Equally controversial on publication, and just as timely today, is Richard Condon's original novel. First published in 1959, The Manchurian Candidate is Condon's riveting take on a little-known corner of the cold war, the almost sci-fi concept of American soldiers captured, brainwashed, and programmed by their Chinese captors to return to the states as unsuspected political assassins. Condon’s expert manipulation of the book’s multiple themes – from anticommunist hysteria to megalomaniacal motherhood – makes this one of the most dazzling, and enduring, products of an unforgettable time. This classic of cold war paranoia includes a new introduction by Pulitzer Prize winning author Louis Menand.

Library Journal

Condon's story of a soldier brainwashed by the Chinese to assassinate a presidential candidate was well received upon its publication in 1959, but both the book and its 1962 film adaptation disappeared after JFK's murder. Decades later, any fan of political thrillers will enjoy this one. A forthcoming feature film remake starring Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep also will boost readership. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Born and raised in New York City, Richard Condon began writing fiction in his forties. He had previously worked in the movie business for more than twenty years as a press agent for Walt Disney productions, putting in time at nearly all of the major studios. In addition to The Manchurian Candidate — a work that many feel disturbingly foreshadowed the assassination of both President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert — he wrote numerous bestsellers, including Prizzi's Honor and Prizzi's Family. He died in 1996.