As soon as it first appeared in 1953, this novel by the great Saul Bellow was hailed as an American classic.

Augie, the exuberant narrator-hero, is a poor Chicago boy growing up during the Great Depression.
A “born recruit,” Augie makes himself available for a series of occupations, then proudly rejects each one as unworthy.
His own oddity is reflected in the companions he encounters—plungers, schemers, risk-takers, and “hole-and corner” operators like the would-be tycoon Einhorn or the would-be siren Thea, who travels with an eagle trained to hunt small creatures.

This Penguin Classics edition, with an introduction by celebrated writer and critic Christopher Hitchens, makes a literary masterpiece available to a new generation of readers