Kapuściński in Translation
Ryszard Kapuściński’s work has appeared in translation in more than forty languages and has been published in dozens of countries. Our records currently hold 140 foreign editions in 27 languages — from the Penguin and Vintage English editions, through Anagrama in Spain and Feltrinelli in Italy, to Vietnamese, Persian and Basque printings.
English-language editions
Almost all of Kapuściński translated into English is the work of three teams of translators: William R. Brand and Katarzyna Mroczkowska-Brand, who brought over the early classics; Klara Glowczewska, who translated the later books for Knopf and Penguin; and Antonia Lloyd-Jones and Diana Kuprel for the two most recent titles.
The Emperor (Cesarz)
| Year | Publisher | Country | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich | USA | 978-0-15-128680-5 |
| 1984 | Vintage Books | USA | 978-0-394-72255-5 |
| 1989 | Vintage International | USA | 978-0-679-72203-6 |
| 2006 | Penguin Modern Classics | UK | 978-0-14-118814-5 |
Translated by William R. Brand and Katarzyna Mroczkowska-Brand. The 1983–1989 American editions carry the subtitle Downfall of an Autocrat. See the book’s page and the summary and analysis.
Shah of Shahs (Szachinszach)
| Year | Publisher | Country | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | USA | — |
| 1992 | Vintage / Knopf Doubleday | USA | 978-0-679-73801-3 |
| 2006 | Penguin Modern Classics | UK | 978-0-14-118815-2 |
Translated by William R. Brand and Katarzyna Mroczkowska-Brand. See the book’s page and the summary and analysis.
The Shadow of the Sun (Heban)
| Year | Publisher | Country | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Alfred A. Knopf / Vintage | USA | 978-0-375-70895-4 |
| 2002 | Penguin Books | UK | 978-0-14-028262-3 |
Translated by Klara Glowczewska. The British edition carries the subtitle My African Life. See the book’s page and the summary and analysis.
Travels with Herodotus (Podróże z Herodotem)
| Year | Publisher | Country | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Alfred A. Knopf | USA | 978-1-4000-4338-1 |
| 2008 | Penguin Books | UK | 978-0-14-103552-3 |
| 2008 | Vintage International | USA | 978-0-307-27786-5 |
Translated by Klara Glowczewska. See the book’s page and the summary and analysis.
Imperium
| Year | Publisher | Country | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Granta Books | UK | 978-1-86207-032-9 |
| 1995 | Vintage Books | USA | 978-0-679-74886-9 |
| 2007 | Granta Books | UK | 978-1-86207-877-6 |
Translated by Klara Glowczewska. See the book’s page and the summary and analysis.
Another Day of Life (Jeszcze dzień życia)
| Year | Publisher | Country | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich | USA | 978-0-15-607590-4 |
| 2001 | Vintage / Knopf Doubleday | USA | 978-0-375-72600-2 |
| 2010 | Penguin Modern Classics | UK | 978-0-14-118813-8 |
Translated by William R. Brand and Katarzyna Mroczkowska-Brand. See the book’s page and the summary and analysis.
The Soccer War (Wojna futbolowa)
| Year | Publisher | Country | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Granta Books | UK | 978-1-86207-171-5 |
| 1992 | Vintage / Knopf Doubleday | USA | 978-0-679-74448-9 |
| 2012 | Granta Classics | UK | 978-1-78378-027-7 |
Translated by William R. Brand. See the book’s page and the summary and analysis.
The Other (Ten Inny)
| Year | Publisher | Country | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Verso Books | UK / USA | 978-1-84467-271-0 |
| 2018 | Verso Books | UK / USA | 978-1-78663-670-0 |
Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. See the book’s page and the summary and analysis.
Nobody Leaves: Impressions of Poland (Busz po polsku)
| Year | Publisher | Country | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Penguin Press | USA | 978-0-525-43315-8 |
| 2019 | Penguin Books | UK | 978-0-141-98983-5 |
Translated by Diana Kuprel. Kapuściński’s 1962 debut, published in English more than half a century later. See the book’s page and the summary and analysis.
The other languages
Beyond English, the largest bodies of translation recorded here are:
| Language | Editions | Language | Editions |
|---|---|---|---|
| German | 14 | Serbian | 3 |
| Italian | 13 | Ukrainian | 3 |
| Spanish | 12 | Vietnamese | 3 |
| Dutch | 9 | Greek | 3 |
| Portuguese | 9 | Slovenian | 2 |
| French | 9 | Chinese | 2 |
| Catalan | 5 | Finnish | 2 |
| Persian | 5 | Turkish | 2 |
| Slovak | 5 | Danish, Croatian, Basque, Bulgarian, Romanian, Estonian, Lithuanian | 1 each |
| Swedish | 4 | ||
| Czech | 3 |
Notable among them are the Spanish editions from Anagrama, the Italian ones from Feltrinelli, the Persian translation of The Emperor, the Basque Christ with a Rifle on His Shoulder from Katakrak, and the Chinese The Emperor (皇帝, Huangdi), whose translator has written about how the project came about.
Individual records for each of the 140 editions — with covers, print details and links — are catalogued in the Polish version of this section.