The Case of Nikola Petkov

Recently there appeared in this country a novel by Thomas McGonigle with a curious title: The Corpse Dream of N. Petkov. This work is based upon very real events: the trial and execution in September 1947 of Nikola Petkov, the man who at that time best represented the Bulgarian people's aspirations for democratic freedoms. Forty years have passed since those infamous events, and we do well to speak of them, even though few Americans know much of Bulgarian history and fewer still are acquainted with the Petkov case. But in reality, Petkov's death tells us a good deal about ourselves, since the United States was involved in the case.