Assignment: Bucharest

This story, written by an American diplomat who served in Romania from 1947 to 1950, during the time of the Communist takeover of the country, relates the author’s experiences as director of a Western information program in the Communist-controlled country. Originally published in 1950 in German as Die Schatten Werden Laenger, under the pseudonym Ray Stanley, the novel was transparently autobiographical and an unforgiving indictment of a government with which the United States maintained diplomatic relations.

Although written in the form of a novel, the book is a factual description of the events surrounding the Communist takeover of Romania. Important events as Maniu’s arrest and trial, which Dunham attended, are carefully described. Indeed, his insightful descriptions of Romanian personalities give this book its enduring importance.

The book is enriched by an introductory study by Ernest H. Latham, Jr., a noted historian and himself a former American diplomat in Romania during the years of the Communist regime. In it, Latham discusses the life and career of Dunham and the importance of the book as an account of the history of Romania during these fateful years.