Shanghai, 1927, and revolution is in the air. As the city becomes caught up in violence and bloodshed, four people's lives are altered inexorably: idealist and intellectual Kyo Gisors, one of the leaders of the Communist insurrection, who is also trying to deal with his own marital strife; Ch'en Ta Erh, an assassin and terrorist brutalized by killing; Baron de Clappique, a French gambler, opium dealer and gun runner; and Russian revolutionary Katov, who calmly watches events unfold, until he has to make the ultimate sacrifice. Each of these men must try to resolve their personal conflicts amid political turmoil, conspiracy and betrayal. Man's Fate, first published in 1933 and now reissued as a Penguin Modern Classic, is a gripping story of conflict, free will and our power to shape our destiny.

Iconoclastic study of the meanings of art in which the author designs a new set of categories for the artistic process and views artists and their work from a unique point of view."

As explosive and immediate today as when it was originally published in 1933, Man's Fate (La Condition Humaine), an account of a crucial episode in the early days of the Chinese Revolution, foreshadows the contemporary world and brings to life the profound meaning of the revolutionary impulse for the individuals involved. As a study of conspiracy and conspirators, of men caught in the desperate clash of ideologies, betrayal, expediency, and free will, Andre Malraux's novel remains unequaled.

Translated from the French by Haakon M. Chevalier

Following Pablo Picasso's death in 1973, Andre Malraux was summoned by Jacqueline Picasso, the artist's widow, to her home at Mougins in the South of France. There, surrounded by Picasso's powerful last paintings "painted face to face with death," and his art collection destined for the Louvre, Malraux recollected Picasso's rebellious life and the metamorphosis of his art. In "Picasso's Mask," Malraux's memories, at once personal and historical, evoke Picasso as a private man and as a legendary artistic genius. For over half a century, Andre Malraux (1901-1976) was intimately involved in French intellectual life, as philosopher, novelist, soldier, statesman, and secretary for cultural affairs. Malraux knew Picasso well, and here recollects a number of his conversations with the painter. In rich, evocative, and memory-filled prose, he has written an inspiring and moving reminiscence. "Picasso's Mask" is one of the most profound works in Malraux's remarkable oeuvre.