The Ugly American is Homer Atkins, a plain and plain-spoken man, who has been sent by the U.S. government to advise the Southeast Asian country of Sarkhan on engineering projects. When Atkins finds badly misplaced priorities and bluntly challenges the entrenched interests, he lays bare a foreign policy gone dangerously wrong.

First published in 1958, The Ugly American became a runaway national bestseller for its slashing exposé of American arrogance, incompetence, and corruption in Southeast Asia. In linked stories and vignettes, the book uses gripping storytelling to draw a devastating picture of how the United States was losing the struggle with Communism in Asia.

Vintage paperback copy from Fawcett Crest Books published in 1966. Covers feature full color illustrations. Binding is secure and tight, text block edge is red toned. There is some underlining of the text, otherwise text is clean and complete. Some tanning to pages consistent with age.