Catalog 108, H
137. HARUF, Kent. Plainsong. NY: Knopf, 1999. The uncorrected proof copy of the author's highly praised third novel, a National Book Award nominee. Fine in plain printed wrappers with publicity blurb stapled inside the front cover. Considerably scarcer than the advance reading copy of this title, which was issued in pictorial wrappers.
138. HEANEY, Seamus and MAHON, Derek. In Their Element. (Belfast): (Arts Council) (1977). Poems by two of the foremost contemporary Irish poets, one of them -- Heaney -- a Nobel Prize winner. Signed by Heaney in 1981. Cover corner creased; near fine in stapled wrappers.
139. HEANEY, Seamus. Beowulf. NY: Norton (2000). The uncorrected proof copy, in the form of bound 8 1/2" x 11" sheets, of Heaney's translation, which was published as part of The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Seventh Edition, although here it appears as a separate piece. Despite the copyright date, the publicity information laid in gives the publication date as November 1999 and touts the work's inclusion in the anthology as being its "world debut" -- i.e., preceding Farrar Straus & Giroux's issuing of it as a book. Fine in tapebound printed cardstock covers.
140. HEGGEN, Thomas. Mister Roberts. (Boston): (Houghton Mifflin) (1946). The uncorrected proof copy of this novel that became a bestseller and was the basis for the award-winning 1955 John Ford movie. Pencilled owner name; sunning to spine; cover weak along rear spine fold. Still very good in wrappers and custom clamshell box. An extremely scarce proof.
141. -. Same title, the first British edition. London: Nicholson & Watson (1948). Foxing to page edges; small tears at spine base; about near fine in a good, spine-faded, internally tape-repaired dust jacket. Although later than the U.S. edition, the U.K. edition appears to be considerably scarcer.
142. HEINLEIN, Robert. Waldo and Magic, Inc. Garden City: Doubleday, 1950. Two novellas by Heinlein, an early and important title by the author of Stranger in a Strange Land and Starship Troopers, among many others. Waldo involves a disabled main character who invents remote controlled prostheses to replace his useless physical body, and it became a model for future science fiction stories as well as a seminal work in the concept of teleoperations, now important in explorations of virtual reality and robotics and in studies of "telepresence" in cyberspace. Very near fine in a near fine, spine-tanned dust jacket with light wear at the crown. A very nice copy of this book -- Doubleday books from this era are notorious for being poorly made and usually turn up in poor condition.
143. HELLER, Joseph. Catch-22. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1961. Heller's first book, a humorous novel 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 both the basis for a well-received movie and also one of the novels that helped define the ethos of the 1960s -- funny, irreverent, and critical of established authority and bureaucracy. A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket faded on the spine and with some modest rubbing and edge wear. A very nice copy of one of the few books to be listed on each of the Modern Library, Radcliffe, Waterstone's and New York Public Library lists of books of the century.
144. HELLER, Joseph. Something Happened. NY: Knopf, 1974. The limited edition of the second novel by the author of the landmark book Catch-22. By general consensus, this is 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 -- if not so ground-breaking a success as his first book was. Nominated for the National Book Award. One of 350 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a near fine, mildly spine-tanned dust jacket, in a very good slipcase worn along one edge and beginning to crack along one seam.
145. HELPRIN, Mark. A Dove of the East and Other Stories. NY: Knopf, 1975. The uncorrected proof copy of his highly praised first book, a collection of stories, many of which originally appeared in The New Yorker. Staple front cover and a couple light stains to rear cover; near fine in wrappers. A very scarce proof, dating from the period (pre-1978) before proofs were widely recognized to be collectible and therefore were not as routinely funneled into the rare book market as they are today.
146. HELPRIN, Mark. Refiner's Fire. NY: Knopf, 1977. His second book, first novel. Inscribed by the author in 1984. Light corner bumping; near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
147. HELPRIN, Mark. "Now he had been riding since early morning..." Berkeley: Black Oak Books, 1991. A broadside excerpt from A Soldier of the Great War, printed on the occasion of a reading by the author. 7" x 14". Fine, and signed by the author.
148. HIAASEN, Carl. Sick Puppy. NY: Knopf, 2000. The uncorrected proof copy of his latest South Florida mystery, which had an announced first printing in the trade edition of 200,000 copies. Fine in wrappers.
149. HILLERMAN, Tony. The Fly on the Wall. NY: Harper & Row (1971). Hillerman's second book and one of his only mysteries that is not a Navajo tale. This story is set among political reporters in a fictional state capitol; Hillerman himself had been, according to the publisher, "a longtime political reporter." This is a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with some light rubbing near the spine extremities. An attractive copy of an early novel by Hillerman, long before he became a bestselling author.
150. HILLERMAN, Tony. Dance Hall of the Dead. NY: Harper & Row (1973). His fourth book and his second mystery featuring Navajo tribal detective Joe Leaphorn. Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel of the Year. Hillerman's tribal mysteries were unprecedented when he began writing them: the closest antecedent -- novels that used the mystery format to explore issues of cultural identity -- were probably the Australian Aboriginal novels of Arthur Upfield. Hillerman's success reinvigorated the detective form and opened it to a new generation of writers featuring detectives who not only plied their trades in different locations but brought to their jobs a much wider variety of qualifications than the tough-but-sensitive he-man types of earlier years. The wave of female protagonists that has swept the mystery field can be seen as part of this trend, as can the ethnic detectives of such writers as Walter Mosley. Hillerman's novels are now both critically acclaimed and bestsellers upon publication, with first printings running into the hundreds of thousands. While the size of the first printing of this title is not known, there were probably something like 5000 copies printed, many of which would have gone directly to libraries. This copy has a tiny, meaningless dot on the top edge and is otherwise fine in a very near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with a little loss of crispness at the spine extremities. A very attractive copy of an early and increasingly scarce award-winning novel. Signed by the author.
151. HILLERMAN, Tony. Listening Woman. NY: Harper & Row (1978). His fourth Navajo mystery, again featuring Joe Leaphorn, and again preceding the point at which Hillerman's novels became bestsellers. Fine in a dust jacket with one closed edge tear, else fine.
152. HILLERMAN, Tony. Hunting Badger. (NY): HarperCollins (1999). The advance reading copy of his most recent novel, featuring Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, his two contrasting Navajo Tribal Police officers. Fine in wrappers.
153. HIMES, Chester. A Case of Rape. NY: Targ Editions (1980). A novel by this African-American expatriate writer, author of the acclaimed series of hard-boiled mystery novels, set in New York City's Harlem ghetto and featuring Coffin Ed Johnson and Gravedigger Jones, probably the first African-Americans to be featured in a mystery series. This was published as a limited edition, one of 350 copies signed by the author. Because Himes spent most of his adult life living in France, and was therefore largely inaccessible to his American reading public, books signed by him are uncommon. Fine in a near fine glassine dustwrapper.
154. HOFFMAN, Abbie. Woodstock Nation. NY: Vintage (1969). The hardcover edition of Hoffman's homage to the Woodstock Festival and its implications, heavily illustrated with photographs and graphics. Hoffman, who had earlier written Revolution for the Hell Of It, was a founder of the Yippies -- a politically active counterculture movement that favored direct action -- and one of the most prominent East Coast counterculture celebrities from 1967 on. Fine in a fine dust jacket. An uncommon title in the hardcover edition -- it was simultaneously issued in paperback in much larger numbers aimed, presumably, at the "youth market" -- and it is especially scarce in fine condition.
155. HOOKER, Richard. MASH. NY: Morrow, 1968. The extremely elusive first edition of this novel, which was the basis for one of the defining films of the Sixties as well as for the long-running TV series. Stamped "Give & Take" on the front flyleaf, with a removal abrasion there; otherwise near fine in a dust jacket with a bit of dampstaining to the edges, some discoloration on the rear panel and a couple internal tape repairs; about very good.