The Apprentice (Libby novel)
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| Author | Lewis Libby |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Thriller |
| Publisher | Graywolf Press; St. Martin's Thomas Dunne Books; St. Martin's Griffin |
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Publication date
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August 1996 (Graywolf); rpt. February 2002 (Thomas Dunne Books); December 2005 (Griffin) |
| Media type | Print (Hardback; Trade paperback; Paperback) |
| Pages | 239 pp. and 256 pp. [various] |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 35254119 |
| 813/.54 21 | |
| LC Class | PS3562.I163 A86 1996 |
The Apprentice is a novel by Lewis Libby, former Chief of Staff to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, first published in hardback in 1996, reprinted in trade paperback in 2002, and reissued in mass market paperback in 2005 after Libby's indictment in the CIA leak grand jury investigation. It is set in northern Japan in winter 1903, and centers on a group of travelers stranded at a remote inn due to a smallpox epidemic. It has been described as "a thriller ... that includes references to bestiality, pedophilia and rape." It is the first and only novel that Libby has written.
After being published in hardback by Graywolf Press (St. Paul, Minnesota) in August 1996 (now out of print), it was published as a trade paperback by St. Martin's Thomas Dunne Books in February 2002, and then reissued as a mass market paperback reprint of 25,000 copies by St. Martin's Griffin imprint in December 2005, after Libby's indictment that October, as a result of the CIA leak grand jury investigation.
In 2002, during an interview on Larry King Live promoting his novel's first publication in paperback, King asked Libby: "Are you a novelist working part-time for the vice president?" Libby told King, "Well, I've never quite figured that out. ... I'm a great fan of the Vice President. I think he's one of the smartest, most honorable people I've ever met. So, I'd like to consider myself fully on his team, but there's always a novel kicking around in the back somewhere." After hearing a brief plot summary, King wondered why Libby had set the novel in Japan, and Libby responded:
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