Signed, Nikos Kazantzakis - Ο Καπετάν Μιχάλης (Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος) Freedom or Death, Second Edition, Dust Jacket - 1955

A highly collectible copy of Nikos Kazantzakis’ landmark novel Ο Καπετάν Μιχάλης (Freedom or Death), signed and personally dedicated by the author.

Published by Difros, Athens, 1955, this is the second Greek edition, the first to include the subtitle “Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος” (Freedom or Death)—the title under which the novel became internationally known.

Book details

Author: Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957)

Title: Ο Καπετάν Μιχάλης (Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος)

Publisher: Difros, Athens

Year: 1955

Edition: Second edition

Pages: 489

Binding: Original soft binding

Original dust jacket illustrated by Georgios Varlamos

Signed and dedicated by Nikos Kazantzakis

About the book

Captain Michalis is one of the most important novels of modern Greek literature. Deeply influenced by Kazantzakis’ childhood in Crete, the novel makes extensive use of Cretan idiom and dialect, preserving the spirit and language of the island’s revolutionary past.

The protagonist embodies the uncompromising struggle for freedom that defined the Cretan uprisings against Ottoman rule. The title is widely understood as a tribute to Kazantzakis’ father, Michalis Kazantzakis, himself a leader of a guerrilla resistance group—an interpretation the author later confirmed in Report to Greco.

The subtitle “Freedom or Death” derives from the Greek national motto (Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος), famously associated with the Greek War of Independence and Cretan resistance. In later English editions, the novel appeared as Freedom or Death (US) and Freedom and Death (UK), reflecting the author’s deliberate and symbolic alteration of the phrase in the book’s closing words.

About the author

Nikos Kazantzakis is the most internationally recognized Greek writer of the 20th century, known for Zorba the Greek, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Report to Greco. A philosopher, traveler, and literary visionary, he was nominated nine times for the Nobel Prize in Literature and remains the most translated Greek author worldwide.

Condition

Very good condition, considering age.
Dust jacket preserved.
Please refer to the photos for detailed condition assessment.

Shipping

Carefully packaged and shipped with tracking.