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Upton Sinclair
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Presidential Mission (The Lanny Budd Novels) Kindle Edition

by Upton Sinclair (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 269 ratings
America is at war, and Lanny Budd risks life and limb from North Africa to Moscow on behalf of the Allied cause in this “absorbing” historical novel (The New York Times).

Members of the German high command believe that American art expert Lanny Budd is sympathetic to their cause, but since 1938 he has been an undercover agent working for President Franklin Roosevelt. Now, in 1941, the United States has been pulled into the fray by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and Lanny’s services are required more than ever.

In Algiers he must convince the French troops to stand with the Allies in advance of the Axis invasion. A meeting in Moscow, intended to sway Communist despot Joseph Stalin, precedes Hitler’s disastrous decision to invade Russia. Over the course of the next two years, Lanny faces death at virtually every turn as his important presidential missions carry him from the sands of the African desert to the bomb-blasted streets of Berlin.
 
Presidential Mission is the electrifying eighth chapter of Upton Sinclair’s Pulitzer Prize–winning dramatization of twentieth-century world history. An astonishing mix of adventure, romance, and political intrigue, the Lanny Budd Novels are a testament to the breathtaking scope of the author’s vision and his singular talents as a storyteller.
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  1. Book 8 of 11
    The Lanny Budd Novels
  2. Print length
    986 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Open Road Media
  5. Publication date
    January 19, 2016
  6. File size
    5.6 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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There are 11 books in this series.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the Lanny Budd Novels
“These historical novels engulfed me in the thrilling and terrible imperatives of history. . . . Sinclair’s historical acumen and his calculations about powerful institutions—government, press, corporations, oil cartels and lobbyists—remain remarkably shrewd and often prescient.” —The New York Times

“Few works of fiction are more fun to read; fewer still make history half as clear, or as human.” —Time

“When people ask me what has happened in my long lifetime, I do not refer them to the newspaper files and to the authorities, but to [Upton Sinclair’s] novels.” —George Bernard Shaw

“A great and well-balanced design . . . I think it the completest and most faithful portrait of that period that has been done or will likely be done.” —H. G. Wells

About the Author

Upton Sinclair (1878–1968) was a Pulitzer Prize–winning author, activist, and politician whose novel The Jungle (1906) led to the passage of the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. Born into an impoverished family in Baltimore, Maryland, Sinclair entered City College of New York five days before his fourteenth birthday. He wrote dime novels and articles for pulp magazines to pay for his tuition, and continued his writing career as a graduate student at Columbia University. To research The Jungle, he spent seven weeks working undercover in Chicago’s meatpacking plants. The book received great critical and commercial success, and Sinclair used the proceeds to start a utopian community in New Jersey. In 1915, he moved to California, where he founded the state’s ACLU chapter and became an influential political figure, running for governor as the Democratic nominee in 1934. Sinclair wrote close to one hundred books during his lifetime, including Oil! (1927), the inspiration for the 2007 movie There Will Be Blood; Boston (1928), a documentary novel revolving around the Sacco and Vanzetti case; The Brass Check, a muckraking exposé of American journalism; and the eleven novels in the Pulitzer Prize–winning Lanny Budd series.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B018V77HRC
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (January 19, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 19, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5.6 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 986 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 269 ratings

About the author

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Upton Sinclair

Upton Sinclair

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Upton Beall Sinclair, Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American author who wrote nearly 100 books and other works across a number of genres. Sinclair's work was well-known and popular in the first half of the twentieth century, and he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1943.

In 1906, Sinclair acquired particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle, which exposed conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry, causing a public uproar that contributed in part to the passage a few months later of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act. In 1919, he published The Brass Check, a muckraking exposé of American journalism that publicized the issue of yellow journalism and the limitations of the “free press” in the United States. Four years after publication of The Brass Check, the first code of ethics for journalists was created. Time magazine called him "a man with every gift except humor and silence." He is remembered for writing the famous line: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon him not understanding it."

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
269 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers appreciate the book's wealth of historical information about World War II, with one noting its relevance to present-day situations. Moreover, the book receives positive feedback for its readability, with one customer mentioning it held them captivated for months. Additionally, customers enjoy the mystery elements, with one review highlighting its blend of humor and intrigue.

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12 customers mention "Historical content"12 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the historical content of the book, praising its wealth of solid information about European affairs during World War II, with one customer noting its relevance to present-day situations.

"...It is brilliant, educational, sprinkled with historical events without getting dry or focusing on the military/battle aspects...." Read more

"...the personal experiences of the presidential agent and teaches the history of that period in a detailed way from an unusual perspective...." Read more

"This whole series is a great history lesson in the affairs of Europe during the pre WWI era through WWII...." Read more

"Lots of twists t raveling through fascinating times and territories ...." Read more

12 customers mention "Readability"12 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging, with one mentioning it held them captivated for months, and another noting it can be read as a standalone.

"...It has held me captivated for months. Lanny Budd is an American raised in Europe, who becomes an art expert and an international spy...." Read more

"...Series and just gets better. I forgot how really the books are, each one on its own way." Read more

"...A must read for anyone who is not only looking for an excellent series to read, but is also fascinated with this critical time in world history." Read more

"Though on the whole, a good read, I did not like the episodes inside Germany with Hitler and Goering. It sounded too artificial and fabricated...." Read more

3 customers mention "Mystery"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the mystery elements of the book, with one mentioning it combines humor and intrigue, while another describes it as a great spy story.

"...the lead up to WWII... and the events thereof... but the series makes room for surprises, too ...." Read more

"...The book has both hurmor and mystery and does everything very well." Read more

"...It is a capsule of the past. It is also a great spy story." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • HockeyFan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Lanny Budd series is captivating and surprisingly relevant for today's world.
    Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    How did I never hear about Upton Sinclair's Lanny Budd 11-novel series until this year? It has held me captivated for months. Lanny Budd is an American raised in Europe, who becomes an art expert and an international spy. The series spans the period right before WWI and goes through WWII. Winning the peace is as important as winning the war, and the war is not just the military World World, but the war between the classes, between the haves and the have-nots. The novels illustrate how business and political philosophies clash and make for much turmoil. Lanny is a scion of corporate America, who develops his own moral conscience concerning the appropriate uses of wealth. The novel is peopled with resistance leaders and thinkers from East and West alike, ordinary workers, leisure class aristocrats, leading scientists, and world leaders like Hitler and FDR. Lanny moves amongst them all, sort of like an intellectual Forrest Gump, showing us their thoughts and actions. There is a sense of inevitability in the lead up to WWII... and the events thereof... but the series makes room for surprises, too . It is surprising relevant for today's world, where our leaders use the same tools of propaganda and rhetoric to reach the minds of today's workers and attempt to exploit or correct the gap between rich and poor. It is brilliant, educational, sprinkled with historical events without getting dry or focusing on the military/battle aspects. What can one person do to leave an imprint on the world, to shape it in accordance with their conscience? Read this series to find out.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Robert
    4.0 out of 5 stars great
    Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    This the second time reading theLanny Budd. Series and just gets better. I forgot how really the books are, each one on its own way.
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  • WarrenJS
    5.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent book in the Lanny Budd series
    Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This is another volume in the Lanny Budd series that covers the period from before WWI to after WWII. It takes you along the personal experiences of the presidential agent and teaches the history of that period in a detailed way from an unusual perspective. A must read for anyone who is not only looking for an excellent series to read, but is also fascinated with this critical time in world history.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Jill
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Reading
    Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    This whole series is a great history lesson in the affairs of Europe during the pre WWI era through WWII. Although fictional, many of the people and events are real. A note of warning: Upton Sinclair was a socialist, as is the main character, so you're getting that viewpoint. Also, there are many phrases in the various languages of Europe which are not translated in the text. It's somewhat annoying, but doesn't take away from the story line.
    One person found this helpful
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  • LEE
    5.0 out of 5 stars Twists and turns . . . cloak-and-dagger . . . this is the world of Lanny Budd.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    As the US enters the war, Lanny Budd’s role as the President’s special agent becomes less secretive as he has to tell some of his friends, family, and others of his mission in order to keep them out of harm’s way. Those that he confides in tell Lanny Budd that they’ve suspected he wasn’t who he claimed he was, i.e., an art expert, or that he was a friend of the Nazis and Fascists. Lanny Budd also has to tell US and British Intelligence, members of the French Resistance, etc. that he is a Presidential Agent. With more people knowing his secret role, the more endangered Lanny Budd becomes as he continues his secret missions into the heart of Nazi Germany.

    In the PRESIDENTIAL MISSION (Book 8), the Allied invasion of North Africa becomes a focal point for Lanny Budd. He is tasked with spreading misinformation about “Operation Torch”. You might have some prior knowledge of the military side of the invasion, but PRESIDENTIAL MISSION is a little known “who’s who” of French North Africa military leaders, politicians, businessmen, etc. and the deep and complicated division and animosity within and among the French. The placating of French in North Africa by the Allies before and after the invasion was much more difficult than I realized before reading PRESIDENTIAL MISSION.

    The one thing that I truly enjoy about the Lanny Budd series is that Upton Sinclair will include colorful and detailed travelogues of places. At times, I thought I was reading a book by Paul Theroux. In the PRESIDENTIAL MISSION, Upton Sinclair takes the reader on a sightseeing tour of 1941 North Africa, Germany, Sweden, and Florida.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Sekhar Banerjee
    4.0 out of 5 stars An OK read - nothing to write home about
    Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Though on the whole, a good read, I did not like the episodes inside Germany with Hitler and Goering. It sounded too artificial and fabricated. So also Lanny’s parachute escape and landing in the desert - it was absolutely amateurish and was not expected from an author of his repute.
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  • Robert B Shapiro MD
    5.0 out of 5 stars presidential mission
    Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Lots of twists t raveling through fascinating times and territories . Lanny Budd is pretty thin as a character and sells his economic beliefs constantly which become monotonous.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Nigel Barron
    5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another good book in the Lanny Bud series
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 20, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Purchased as a gift. All arrived on time and as described. Yet another good book in the Lanny Bud series.
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