Catalog 156, E-K
38. (EGGERS, Dave). Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country. Kids' Letters to President Obama. (San Francisco): (McSweeney's)(2009). Students from the tutoring centers of 826 National wrote letters of advice to the newly-elected President Obama. Edited by Jory John. Signed by about a dozen of the student authors and by Dave Eggers, who, in his role as publisher, has signed in the back of the book. Hilarious letters, well-indexed, e.g., "Shoes, the avoidance of." Fine in wrappers, with two photos from the signing laid in.
39. ELIOT, T.S. Typed Letter Signed. 1935. Written to literary critic F.O. Matthiessen ("Matty"), "to put in a good word for the boy," Alfred Satterthwaite, at the behest of Satterthwaite's step-father, John Cournos. Satterthwaite was applying "for a scholarship on some foundation in which you [Matthiessen] are in a position of authority." Eliot puts in what good words he can ("although my knowledge of him is very meagre") and then switches subjects to Matthiessen's book, which, although unnamed, would have been The Achievement of T.S. Eliot: "Your book seems to have been earning commendations here, except from the critics in whose eyes the subject matter is enough to damn it. It is impossible for me to regard such a book objectively. All I can say is that I hope that much of what you say is true. By the way, that is a good point about Rose La Touche. Was that pure inspiration, or did we ever mention the subject in conversation?" He closes with a brief note about Ted Spencer and Bonamy Dobree. The letter is signed, "T.S. Eliot." Two pages, on Criterion stationery, typed on rectos only, with staple holes to the upper left corners, and folded in fourths for mailing; near fine. A good letter, with good literary and biographical content. Mailing envelope included.
40. ENDE, Michael. The Neverending Story. (n.p.): Doubleday (1983). The first state of the uncorrected proof copy of the American edition of this contemporary fantasy classic, basis for two movies. Shot from typescript, presumably the translator's, with holograph changes reproduced on most every page. 507 pages. There was a second state proof, 358 pages, that was typeset and incorporated changes indicated in this proof. Mildly spine sunned; near fine in wrappers.
41. EXLEY, Frederick. A Fan's Notes. NY: Harper & Row (1968). His first book, "a fictional memoir" and one of the defining books of the Sixties, which helped erase the line between nonfiction and serious literature. Winner of both the William Faulkner Foundation Award for best first novel and the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with minute shelf wear to the spine extremities.
42. (Film). GAINES, Charles. Stay Hungry. London: Chatto & Windus, 1973. The first British edition of his first book, a novel of bodybuilding in the New South that became Arnold Schwarzenegger's first major film release. The film also starred Jeff Bridges and Sally Field. Inscribed by Gaines in 1976. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
43. (Film). SAYLES, John and HOWARD, Ron. Apollo 13. Los Angeles: Imagine Entertainment, 1994. Photocopied screenplay, "Fourth Revised Draft August 6, 1994," with revisions dated through 9/3/24. (Revision pages, although stipulated in nine different colors, are here white.) Bradbound in printed cardstock covers. Signed by the director, Ron Howard. Near fine. Sayles is listed as the author, rewriting a script by William Broyles, Jr. and Al Reinert. Sayles apparently didn't get a final credit on the film; Broyles and Reinert did. After beginning his career as a novelist, Sayles turned to screenwriting, in part to help fund his directing projects. In 2010, he released his 17th feature film, Amigo; in 2011, he published his fourth novel, A Moment in the Sun.
44. (Film). WOOLRICH, Cornell as "IRISH, William." After-Dinner Story. NY: Lippincott (1944). A collection of six stories including "Rear Window," basis for the classic Hitchcock film starring Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. Also includes the story "Marihuana." A Queen's Quorum title, and a fragile wartime production, printed on thin, cheap paper. The first page of "Rear Window" (p. 145) has a hinge tear, affecting a couple of letters. Label remnants on front flyleaf; minor watermarks to lower rear board and lower corner of rear pages; a very good in a very good dust jacket with modest edge wear. A very presentable copy of one of the high spots of the mystery novel, according to "Ellery Queen."
45. FORD, Richard. A Piece of My Heart. NY: Harper & Row (1976). The first book by the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Independence Day. Inscribed by Ford to Kenneth Haxton, a founder of Levee Press in Greenville, Mississippi and the husband of novelist Ellen Douglas: "For Kenneth, after years of hoping to meet you, now, with pleasure. Richard." A little offsetting to endpages and foxing to page edges and a short spine crease; still near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a short edge tear and a little foxing, both at the rear spine fold. A nice literary association copy with significant Mississippi connections: Ford was born and spent his childhood there; Haxton lived there and founded an important small press, which published books by William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, and William Alexander Percy.
46. FORD, Richard. The Ultimate Good Luck. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981. The uncorrected proof copy of his second novel, a hardboiled thriller involving American expatriates in Mexico. Inscribed by the author. A bit of soiling and fading to spine; very good in wrappers with promotional sheet laid in. An uncommon proof, especially signed.
47. FORD, Richard. My Mother, In Memory. Elmwood: Raven Editions, 1988. A limited edition of this essay, a shorter version of which had appeared in Harper's. Issued in a total edition of 140 copies, of which only 40 were hardbound: 26 lettered copies and 14 presentation copies. This is one of 14 presentation copies signed by the author, with a frontispiece by noted artist Russell Chatham, hand-shaded and signed by Chatham as well. Although not called for, this copy is signed twice by Ford, once on the colophon and once on the half-title. Designed and printed letterpress by Carol Blinn at Warwick Press. Hand-bound in quarter leather and decorated paste paper over boards. Very slight bowing to boards; near fine.
48. GALCHEN, Rivka. Atmospheric Disturbances. NY: FSG (2008). The advance reading copy of her first novel, one of the most highly praised of the year, with comparisons to Murakami and Borges, among others. Winner of the William J. Saroyan International Prize for Fiction. Fine in wrappers. Uncommon in the advance issue.
49. GARRETT, George. King of the Mountain. NY: Scribner's (1957). The first book, a collection of stories, by a prolific writer who influenced a generation of students that passed through the Hollins College writing program, including Annie Dillard, Lee Smith and Madison Smartt Bell. Inscribed by the author: "For ____ with love, hope & faith/ this early effort" and signed "George Garrett." Mild offsetting to endpages; else fine in a near fine, lightly rubbed dust jacket with slight edge wear.
50. GASS, William. In the Heart of the Heart of the Country. NY: Harper & Row (1968). His second book, a collection of stories. This copy belonged to Geoffrey Wolff, who reviewed the book for Newsweek. Several instances of his underlining (in pencil) in the text, and a full page of Wolff's notes (also in pencil) on the front pastedown. Mottling to cloth; very good in a very good dust jacket, with foxing to verso and rear flap fold.
51. GASS, William H. Willie Masters' Lonesome Wife. NY: Knopf, 1971. The first trade edition of his third book, a novella. Published three years after the Northwestern/TriQuarterly limited edition. This copy belonged to the writer Geoffrey Wolff and bears his underlinings and several marginal notes and comments; Wolff has also numbered most of the pages. Edge-sunning to cloth; near fine in a near fine, mildly rubbed dust jacket with several tiny edge tears and folds to the front flap. An interesting look at a writer**and a careful reader**annotating the work of another good writer.
52. GIOVANNI, Nikki. Gemini. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill (1971)[1972]. A review copy of this memoir, which was nominated for the National Book Award. Inscribed by the author in 1973 to Burt and Korby Britton. Burt Britton was one of the founders of Books & Company, an important New York City bookstore from the 1970s until it closed in 1997. Britton was an avid reader, collector and supporter of writers, and he assembled, among other collections, a collection of writers' self-caricatures that was published in a 1976 book entitled Self-Portrait. Giovanni was one of the contributors to that book; Britton's collection was later sold at auction. Fine in a near fine, moderately spine-faded dust jacket, with review slip laid in. Although the copyright date is printed as 1971, the review slip gives the publication date as January 5, 1972.
53. (Grateful Dead). MOUSE, Stanley. Ice Cream Boy, Signed. [1972]. Stanley Mouse's original sketch for the back cover of the Grateful Dead's album "Europe '72," first titled "Overthere." Signed by Mouse. Shows an early version of "Ice Cream Boy"**who became an iconic figure after the album came out**and the original title, which is written above the figure as "OVERTHERE" (one word) and below him as "OverThere." In this pencil sketch, "Ice Cream Boy" has a plain, two-button shirt, which was changed to a checkered shirt in the final version. To the lower right is a lips and tongue design, resembling that of John Pasche's Rolling Stones design of 1971, but without teeth. The Stones' logo was voted the greatest band logo of all time in an online poll in 2008, the same year Ice Cream Boy appeared on Converse sneakers. An early and significant sketch of a key icon of one of the most enduring rock bands of the 1960s, by an artist who was at the forefront of the renaissance of graphic poster art that took place in San Francisco in the 1960s and early 1970s. In addition to numerous posters, Mouse also designed and drew the cover for Workingman's Dead, the first Grateful Dead album to achieve significant commercial success. 8 1/2" x 11". Several light (coffee?) stains, one corner torn; very good.
54. HELLER, Joseph. Catch-22. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1961. Heller's first book, a black comedy of World War II and military life whose title has become a part of the language, signifying a contradictory set of instructions or constraints. This book was a finalist for the National Book Award**won that year by Walker Percy's The Moviegoer, another first novel**and it was both the basis for a well-received movie and was one of the novels that helped define the ethos of the 1960s**funny, irreverent, and critical of established authority and bureaucracy. Signed by the author. Topstain orange; jacket unfaded. A touch of fading to the cloth; neat bookplate removal shadow on front pastedown; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a closed, arced tear across the lower spine and rear spine fold. One of the few books to be listed on each of the Modern Library, Radcliffe, Waterstone's and New York Public Library lists of the great books of the 20th century.
55. HELLER, Joseph. Something Happened. NY: Knopf, 1974. His second novel, published more than a decade after his landmark first book, Catch-22. General critical consensus holds that this was a better novel than its predecessor**in terms of the writing, the plot structure, the extent to which it holds together and "works" as a novel**albeit not nearly as ground-breaking a success as his first book, nor with the kind of cultural impact that book had. This copy is particularly notable in that it is inscribed by Heller, prior to publication, to Maurice Dolbier, whose review in the Herald Tribune was in great part responsible for the success of Catch-22: "To Maurice Dolbier, with sincere good wishes to you and much gratitude still for your very favorable review of Catch-22. Joseph Heller. 9/4/74." Dolbier had called Catch-22 "a wild, moving, shocking, hilarious, raging, exhilarating, giant roller-coaster of a book." Heller's words, in the preface to the 1994 edition of Catch-22: "...had it not been for Dolbier, there might not have been the [New York] Times. Two weeks afterward, and probably only because of Mr. Dolbier, the book was described with approbation in the daily Times by the reviewer Orville Prescott, who predicted it would not be forgotten by those who could take it and called it: A dazzling performance that will outrage nearly as many readers as it delights. The rest, one might say is history." Very near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a tiny nick near the spine title. Something Happened was nominated for the National Book Award. A fine literary association, preserving a small but significant piece of literary history.
56. (Hell's Angels). BARGER, Ralph "Sonny." Ridin' High, Livin' Free. (NY): Morrow (2002). A memoir by the longtime leader of the Oakland chapter of the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang. Inscribed by Barger to S. Clay Wilson, the underground cartoonist famous for his artwork featuring biker gangs and assorted underground characters. Fine in a fine dust jacket with a Sonny Barger trading card laid in. A wonderful association copy: Wilson's extravagant and lurid depictions of bikers, pirates and other outlaws are among his most emblematic images, and his most famous character, the Checkered Demon, is frequently found riding a chopper, often on his way to battle those same bikers. Wilson, who was one of the key artists of Zap Comix in the 1960s and ‘70s, was cited by R. Crumb as a key influence, the one who opened his eyes to the idea that nothing was off-limits or taboo, and that anything could be a subject of his comic art.
57. HELLMAN, Lillian. Scoundrel Time. Boston: Little Brown (1976). The third volume of memoirs by the acclaimed playwright, this one focusing on the period of the McCarthy era and the House Un-American Activities Committee. This copy belonged to the writer Geoffrey Wolff and bears his underlinings and marginal comments throughout: the comments are on content, on what Hellman is saying rather than how. Slight spine lean and foxing to top edge; near fine in a very good dust jacket with several short edge tears, a small degree of spine fading, and a fold to the front flap.
58. (HEMINGWAY, Ernest). HAMILL, Peter and ARONOWITZ, Alfred G. Ernest Hemingway. The Life and Death of a Man. NY: Lancer (1961). Hamill's first book, a paperback original, an "instant" biography of Hemingway published just after he committed suicide. Signed by Hamill, whose writing career has now spanned five decades and earned him, among other honors, the Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Owner name inside front cover; pages browning as usual; near fine in wrappers. A nice copy of an uncommon, early book, seldom found signed.
59. HILLERMAN, Tony. The Fly on the Wall. NY: Harper & Row (1971). Hillerman's second book, a mystery set among political reporters in a fictional state capitol; Hillerman himself had been, according to the publisher, "a longtime political reporter." This is one of his only mysteries that is not a Navajo tale. Inscribed by the author to a Harper & Row sales rep: "To ___ _______ again - In hopes he can have similar success unloading this one, Regards, Tony Hillerman." Hillerman's first book, The Blessing Way, was published in 1970 and although he was a completely unknown author and the book had an unusual subject matter for the time**a murder mystery set on an Indian reservation, and involving an Indian policeman as its protagonist**it had sold well enough to go into at least five printings in the first year and be resold for a paperback edition. Clearly Hillerman was hoping for similar success here, although it would be more than a decade before he experienced much in the way of additional commercial success for his novels. Slight spine lean; very near fine in a near fine, mildly spine and edge-sunned dust jacket with slight wear to the spine extremities.
60. HILLERMAN, Tony. Chee's Witch. Norfolk: Crippen & Landrau, 2002. The first separate appearance of this story first published in 1986 in The New Black Mask 7. Here published in an edition of 1000 copies, coinciding with Hillerman receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Malice Domestic Convention. Fine in stapled wrappers.
61. HILLERMAN, Tony. The Shape Shifter. (NY): HarperCollins (2006). The advance reading copy of this mystery featuring retired Navajo police officer Joe Leaphorn, part of a series going back to 1970 that redefined and reinvigorated the mystery genre, turning it into a venue for exploring social and cultural issues as well as police procedures themselves. Fine in wrappers. Oddly uncommon: while Hillerman advance copies usually abound, this is only the second copy of this one we have seen, and we've heard of only one other, which came from Hillerman himself. Often, when a writer achieves bestsellerdom the publisher cuts back on advance copies, as they are no longer needed to promote the author or help guarantee the success of his book; that would appear to be the case here**that only a handful of these were created, and distribution was extremely limited.
62. IRVING, John. Setting Free the Bears. NY: Random House (1968). The first book by the author of such bestsellers as The World According to Garp and A Prayer for Owen Meany, among others. Unlike his later books which, after Garp, sold literally hundreds of thousand of copies**millions, if one includes the paperback sales**this book sold slightly over 6000 copies in two hardcover printings. Signed by the author. Spotting to top stain, foredge, and boards; still near fine in a near fine dust jacket with dampstaining near the lower spine that is mostly visible on verso. With two tickets laid in to a Vancouver, B.C. reading by Irving in 1989, which is presumably where the book was signed.
63. IRVING, John. The World According to Garp. NY: Dutton (1978). His fourth novel, and his breakthrough book, which went into numerous printings and became a multi-million copy bestseller and a National Book Award winner in its paperback release. Basis for the well-received movie. The first printing of Garp was 35,000 copies**far larger than any of Irving's previous novels but far short of any of the books that came later: his next novel, The Hotel New Hampshire, had a 100,000 copy first printing and since then all his books have had first printings well into six figures. Inscribed by the author to a former student of Irving's at Wyndham College, and although the inscription is not dated it was reportedly signed on the night before publication at a reading in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is hard to remember, but before Garp John Irving was a little-known literary writer, not a major, bestselling author. That he was giving a reading on the night before publication in a town like Northampton, MA, rather than New York City or San Francisco is in keeping with that fact. Foxing to top edge; narrow edge sunning at spine; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a bit of foxing to verso and modest wear to the crown.
64. JACKSON, Shirley. Hangsaman. NY: Farrar Straus Young (1951). Her third book, second novel, and her first book to be published after the acclaim, and controversy, surrounding "The Lottery"**both the story itself and the collection it gave its name to. Age-toning to pages, slight bowing to boards, and a couple small nicks to the spine extremities; still near fine in a very good dust jacket with rubbing to the folds and several tiny chips and closed edge tears. Also corner clipped on the upper front flap, with the price ($3.00) stamped in the lower corner.
65. JACKSON, Shirley. Contract for Nine Magic Wishes. NY: Crowell-Collier, 1961. A much-amended contract for Crowell-Collier to publish Jackson's 1963 children's book Nine Magic Wishes. Signed by Jackson and initialed by her ten times in the margins of the changes. 8 1/2" x 16" printed on both sides, folded in fourths for filing; near fine, with a couple of corner creases. Together with a 1962 letter from the publisher to Jackson's agent that includes an inadvertently omitted clause: this letter is also signed by Jackson. Folded for mailing, with staple holes to the upper margin; also near fine. An interesting glimpse at the process of bringing this work to print**a much more complicated affair than one might have supposed.
66. JOHNSON, Charles. Being & Race. Black Writing Since 1970. (London): Serpent's Tail (1988). Literary criticism by the National Book Award winning author of Middle Passage, including essays on the field in general as well as on specific authors, including Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, David Bradley, Ernest Gaines, and others. Fine in a near fine, mildly rubbed dust jacket.
67. JOHNSON, Denis. Angels. NY: Knopf, 1983. The National Book Award-winning author's first novel, a tale of drifters that is reminiscent of the noir fiction of Robert Stone. Inscribed by Johnson to his then-wife: "This book is foor, I mean for, because I love you so much, my wife Lucinda from now until the seas dry up and my head falls off, because you are my #1 angel...Denis (Mr. Johnson)." A couple flecks of foxing to the top edge; narrow strips of sunning to the spine ends; very near fine in a fine dust jacket. A spectacular inscription in an important first novel, and a beautiful copy of a book that is surprisingly hard to find in fine condition and also signed. In a custom clamshell case.
68. JOHNSON, Denis. The Name of the World. (NY): HarperCollins (2000). One of an unspecified number of copies of the first edition that has been signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf. This copy belonged to John Updike, who has written about 125 words in the margins and on the rear endpaper, in pencil, while crafting his review of the book, which was published with the title of "Dog's Tears," first in The New Yorker, and then collected in Due Considerations. Fine in a fine dust jacket, in a custom clamshell case.
69. JONES, Shane. The Nightmare Filled You With Scary. (Fayetteville): (Cannibal Books)(2009). One of 150 numbered copies of this chapbook collection of prose poems by the author of Light Boxes, an unusual novel that generated substantial literary buzz when, after being published in a tiny underground edition of 500 copies, Spike Jonze picked up the film rights to it and it was reprinted in a large mainstream edition by Penguin Books. Apparently the film project has been dropped, but the book gained a much wider audience from the process than would otherwise have been the case. This chapbook, published the same year as the original edition of Light Boxes, is even scarcer than that book and seldom shows up on the market.
70. JOYCE, James. Autograph Letter Signed. 1925. Written to Lloyd Morris on June 3, and accepting an invitation for the following evening. Joyce had just moved into a new flat at 2 Square Robiac, off 192 rue de Grenelle, which would prove to be the Paris address at which he lived the longest, staying there until 1931. Since he moved in in "early June," according to his biographer, this must have been one of his first days there. Lloyd Morris was an expatriate American essayist and author of critical works on Edward Arlington Robinson and Irish poetry, among other subjects, and later in life he wrote a series of volumes on American history and culture. His 1943 book, A Threshold in the Sun, recounts a visit to Carnac that Morris and his mother took together with Joyce and Nora Barnacle in 1924**the year before this letter. Signed, "Sincerely yours, James Joyce." Notepaper folded in half to 5 1/2" x 7" and halved again; near fine. Matted and framed with hand-addressed mailing envelope to 11 1/2" x 18 1/4". Autograph material by Joyce is scarce.
71. (KESEY, Ken). Millers' Log 1953. Springfield: Springfield High School, 1953. Kesey's high school yearbook, from his senior year. Inscribed by Ken Kesey to junior Stephen Morrison: "To a friend from a friend all the luck in the world. '53. Ken." Kesey is pictured in a number of places in the yearbook: as a member of the Senior Council; as "social promotor" [sic; also prescient, given Kesey's later cultural role]; in his senior picture; as "most talented"; in the Debate Club; in the Varsity "S" club for lettermen promoting the betterment of athletics; performing (shirtless) in the play "Submerged" (Kesey is mentioned but not pictured as a member of the Thespians); as crowned the king of the "Frosty Fantasies" annual winter party; in the student body play "Dear Ruth"; as court nominee at the P.E. Festival; as a Senior player for Varsity football and in the team picture (Kesey played "outstanding ball in the Miller line, [and] gained a berth on the All-District second team"); on the wrestling squad (more shirtlessness); and lastly as a senior on the wrestling squad, with the caption, "Ken Kesey, the 'Hooded Terror,' was perhaps just what the name indicates. Ken took third in District 6, first in Big Six, and third in State. He won 17 out of 20 matches during the season and wrestles in the 178 class." As this was Morrison's yearbook, it is has the customary hundred or so inscriptions from friends in addition to Kesey. Padded covers are rubbed, particularly at the corners. Still, a very good copy, and extremely uncommon to find signed by Kesey; we have never seen another one, although he must have signed plenty of them. But with a senior class of less than 200 students and six decades having passed since their graduation, the number that will have survived this long is probably very small.
72. (KESEY, Ken). One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. NY: HBO/Cannon Video, (n.d). A VHS tape of the 1975 Academy Award-winning movie based on Kesey's novel. Signed by Kesey on the case, over the picture of Jack Nicholson, who himself won an Academy Award for the lead role. The fact that it is signed over the photo of Nicholson may be a statement on Kesey's part: he was known to have hated the casting of Nicholson as McMurphy and reportedly even considered having his own name taken off the movie in protest. He had thought that a more physically imposing actor, such as Gene Hackman, would have been more appropriate than Nicholson. Kesey's son, Zane, said that this was the only copy of the movie he had ever heard of being signed by his father, because of how thoroughly unhappy with the film he was. Fine in a very good, rubbed case, with a small sticker removal abrasion. Needless to say, scarce signed.
73. KING, Stephen. Salem's Lot. Garden City: Doubleday, 1975. Later printing of his second novel, with Q41 code on page 439. Inscribed by King in 1980 to the horror writer Stanley Wiater: "For Stanley ** With good wishes and much respect. Keep writing; you're good, and will crack through. Best, Stephen King 11/1/80." As a writer, editor, interviewer and anthologist, Wiater has won the Horror Writers of America's Bram Stoker Award three times. Wiater's Gahan Wilson-designed bookplate on front pastedown, the only bookplate Wilson ever designed; foxing to edges of text block; near fine in a very good, third issue ($7.95, "Father Callahan") dust jacket with shallow wear to the spine extremities. A nice association copy of an early edition of an early King novel.
74. KING, Stephen. Danse Macabre. NY: Everest House (1981). A review copy of his first book of nonfiction, a survey of the horror field in movies, television and books. Inscribed by King to Stanley Wiater, himself one of the leading chroniclers of the field, in books, radio and television: "Hope you had a bloody good time with this." Wiater's bookplate on front flyleaf; fine in a very near fine dust jacket with slight edge wear. Review slip and promotional sheet laid in, with Wiater's notes on one sheet indicating where he had found errors in the book.
75. KING, Stephen. Bag of Bones. (NY): Scribner (1998). A review copy of this novel that was positioned by his publisher as more of a mainstream novel and love story than the kind of horror novel the author is most famous for. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication to the writer Stanley Wiater and his wife. Wiater's bookplate front pastedown; slight corner tap; else fine in a very near fine dust jacket, with promotional material laid in.
76. KNOWLES, John. A Separate Peace. London: Secker and Warburg 1959. The author's scarce and indifferently manufactured first book, a classic and influential coming-of-age novel. Filmed once theatrically (in 1972 with Parker Stevenson) and twice more for television. This copy is inscribed by Knowles: "To ___ ** the editor who saved my first article for Holiday, here is my first book, which will have to save itself ** With affection, Jack." Knowles wrote an article for Holiday about Phillips Exeter Academy, which he attended in high school, and it received high praise, leading him to take a job as an assistant editor at the magazine. When his novel A Separate Peace, which was based on his time at Exeter, was published to great acclaim, Knowles was able to leave Holiday to pursue writing full time. Tape residue rear flyleaf and general modest foxing, otherwise a near fine copy, with recipient's signature on the front free endpaper; in a very near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with shallow chipping to the crown. A nice inscription and a significant association copy of an important and scarce first novel.
77. KOSINSKI, Jerzy. The Painted Bird. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965. His highly praised first novel, and first book published under his own name, a powerful tale of a young Polish boy trapped during German occupation in World War II. This copy belonged to Geoffrey Wolff, who has written two comments on the front flyleaf. First issue, with an extraneous line at the top of page 270; near fine in a very good dust jacket with a chip to the lower edge of the rear panel.
78. KOSINSKI, Jerzy. Steps. NY: Random House (1968). Kosinski's second novel, a collection of related vignettes and the second book published under his own name, after the highly acclaimed The Painted Bird. This title won the National Book Award. Reviewed in the New Leader by Geoffrey Wolff, to whom this copy belonged. With Wolff's underlinings and marginal comments throughout, most along the line of "pointless," "grotesque," "incredibly cruel." Wolff's review was one of several that, while conceding that the book was extraordinarily well-written, challenged its morality. David Foster Wallace, however, wrote "Only Kafka's fragments get anywhere close to where Kosinski goes in this book, which is better than everything else he ever did combined..." Apart from the reviewer's marks, the book is fine in a near fine, dusty dust jacket.
79. KRAKAUER, Jon. Where Men Win Glory. The Odyssey of Pat Tillman. NY: Doubleday (2009). Nonfiction, about Pat Tillman, a successful professional football player who turned down a $3.6 million NFL contract to enlist in the military after the events of 9/11. Tillman was killed in Afghanistan by "friendly fire," information about which the military kept from his family for an extended period of time, all the while using him as a propaganda. Krakauer wrote the bestsellers Into Thin Air and Into the Wild, among other books. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.