Penguin Modern Classics: The Moon Is Down

In this remarkable novel of human courage and defiance, Steinbeck celebrates democracy and the power of the individual against tyranny.A North European country has been invaded. In one small town the people’s intitial confusion crystallizes into a silent, sullen anger that gradually undermines the conquerors until they too come to know what fear means. The Moon is Down had extraordinary impact as Allied propaganda in Nazi-occupied Europe. Despite Axis attempts to suppress it (in Fascist Italy, mere possession of a copy of the book was punishable by death) thousands of copies circulated throughout Europe, bearing witness to the power of ideas in the face of terror and brutality.