Product Description

Everybody knows the controversial 1962 film of The Manchurian Candidate starring Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury, even though it was taken out of circulation for twenty-five years after JFK’s assassination. Equally controversial on publication, and just as timely today, is Richard Condon’s original novel. First published in 1959, at the height of cold war paranoia, The Manchurian Candidate is a terrifying and suspenseful political thriller featuring Sergeant Raymond Shaw, ex-prisoner of war, Medal of Honor winner, American hero . . . and brainwashed assassin. Condon’s expert manipulation of the book’s multiple themes—from anticommunist hysteria to megalomaniacal motherhood—makes this one of the most entertaining, and enduring, books of the era.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #835635 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Amazon.com Review
Richard Condon's 1959 Cold War thriller remains just as chilling today. It's the story of Sgt. Raymond Shaw, an ex-prisoner of war (and winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor) who, brainwashed with the rest of his unit by a Chinese psychological expert during his captivity in North Korea, has come home programmed to kill. His primary target is a U.S. presidential nominee. Made into a controversial 1962 movie with Laurence Harvey, Frank Sinatra, and Angela Lansbury.

Review
The New YorkerBrilliant...Wild and exhilarating.

Review
The New YorkerBrilliant...Wild and exhilarating.

Customer Reviews

Should definitely be in print.
Had to read this book for a college class. ... This is an awesome book. It's a military psychological thriller in which some POW US soldiers are brainwashed and sent home; all programmed to do damage to the government when they get there. Given that the men are war heroes, it isn't hard for them to get a foot in the door where they can really wreak havoc. The plot twists around in ways too creepy to be believed, yet too familiar to be completely discounted...heh heh heh. It's definitely readable as a thriller, but does good double duty as a quasi sci-fi conspiracy novel, not to mention the informed and responsible portrayal of US military intelligence. I wanted to call it Kurt Vonnegut meets Tom Clancy, but that's not doing it justice. Maybe it's out-of-print because it couldn't find a niche. Or maybe THEY don't want you to read it.

McCarthyism, Cold War evils, and a mother from hell...
For a person who does not like your Cold War spy novels I must admit that The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon is one of those rare books I consider to be simply brilliant. It is concise, very well-written, and has a story which is absolutely incredible (well okay, by today's standards it might be considered a bit over-the-top).

In The Manchurian Candidate we have a US platoon in Korea (during the war) captured by Chinese/Russian scientists who brainwash them. One sargeant in particular is targetted to be their assassin on demand after the war. This fellow happens to have a power-hungry mother (..to be kind; she is truly vile) and her bozo husband who is modelled after the commie-hating Senator McCarthy. From here the story gets more complex and interwoven, with a truly shocking and brilliant ending.

Bottom line: upon finishing this book you'll say "boy, that was GOOD". Compulsory reading.

(compared with the film adaptation of The Manchurian Candidate, the novel is superior ... as is often the case. However the film does capture the essence of the book albeit in a somewhat diluted fashion.)

Absolutely Marvelous!
I first saw the equally good movie due to the AFI's 100 Greatest Movies rating. It looked like it might be interesting and I was amazed. The movie (made in 1961) directly assaulted McCarthyism and the red scare in a rather apocalyptic satire. This prompted me to seek out the book that the movie was based upon thinking that it could only be better, as books commonly are. Little did I know that the book could have been a companion to the movie and vice-versa. This was undoubtedly due to the fact that Richard Condon, the author, collaborated with the makers of the movie. The book provides insight that the movie couldn't possibly have put in including a heroine-addicted incest-loving rapist.

All around the political and social commentary in the story (I'm using story since I suggest that in order to get a good all around view of the author's vision one should both read the book and watch the movie, in either order.) carry the book beyond the author's masterful narrative. If you have any interest in suspense, intrigue, literature, or history this story is a winner.