Description
1955 edition. Hardcover has some minor wear along the sides, scuffs marks and small stains. No dust jacket. Spine has some wear on the top and bottom. Pages are clean and the binding is secure. Paperback cover has significant wear along the sides, scuffs, large creases and bending. Spine has some reading creases and wear on top and bottom. Pages have minor wear but largely are clean and the binding is secure.
This well-worn copy of “The Sunlit Ambush” by Mark Derby offers a fascinating glimpse into the tumultuous period of the French Indochina War. Published in 1955, just a year after the decisive Battle of Dien Bien Phu, Derby’s novel provides a gripping, fictionalized account of the conflict from the perspective of both French and Viet Minh forces. As an American journalist embedded with the French military, Derby witnessed firsthand the intense jungle warfare and the growing determination of the Viet Minh to expel colonial powers from Vietnam. Despite its age and wear, this copy remains a valuable artifact, capturing the zeitgeist of a pivotal moment in Southeast Asian history that would ultimately lead to the escalation of American involvement in the region. Collectors and readers interested in the literary depiction of 20th-century anticolonial struggles will appreciate Derby’s vivid prose and his nuanced portrayal of the complex ideological and cultural divides that defined the conflict.
