A World of Difference.

First edition, first impression of this science fiction novel by the poet and leading Soviet historian Robert Conquest (1917-2015).

Though best known for his academic work revealing the extent of Stalin's terror campaign, and his literary friendships with Larkin and Amis, Conquest was also a science fiction fan and had been a member of the Interplanetary Society since the 1940s. Together with Amis he edited the sci-fi anthology Spectrum, and the two also co-authored a novel, The Egyptologists (1965) (Guardian obituary August 5, 2015). The present novel, on government mind control, was surely inspired by Conquest's work on the Soviet Union.

First edition; 8vo; top edge of text block darkened, a few tiny spots to the other edges of the text block, partial toning to free endpapers; original black cloth, titles to spine in cream, a very good copy in the rubbed, toned, and creased jacket with some small chips and short splits; 192 pp.