Catalog 118, N-P
183. NAIPAUL, V.S. The Middle Passage. NY: Macmillan, 1963. The first American edition of his first book on the Caribbean, where he was born. This was Naipaul's first book of nonfiction and, for all the critical acclaim that his fiction has received, it is probably as an observer of Western, Eastern and colonial societies, as reflected in his nonfiction and essays, that Naipaul has gained the stature he is accorded as a literate observer and commentator on contemporary social issues. Mild sunning to top edges; else fine in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket with moderate wear at and near both spine extremities.
184. NAIPAUL, V.S. Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion. NY: Macmillan (1963). The first American edition of his fifth book of fiction. Small spot to foredge; else fine in a very good, internally tape-repaired and price-clipped dust jacket. An attractive copy of one of his early novels.
185. NAIPAUL, V.S. The Overcrowded Barracoon. (London): Deutsch (1972). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of short nonfiction pieces, mostly from magazines and newspapers. Many of the pieces deal with his usual subject matter -- colonialism and dislocation in the Third World -- and there are also a number of essays on literary subjects. One of his scarcer titles even in the trade edition, the proof is quite uncommon; this is the only copy we've seen. Faintly spine-sunned; else fine in wrappers.
186. NAIPAUL, V.S. Guerrillas. NY: Knopf, 1975. The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of this novel that the reviewer for The New York Times Book Review called the best novel of the year. Spine label detaching; near fine in tall wrappers.
187. NAIPAUL, V.S. Among the Believers. NY: Knopf, 1981. The first of Naipaul's two controversial and acclaimed books on Islam and the spread of the religion through the non-Arabic countries of Asia, a movement about which Naipaul has been outspoken and highly critical for over two decades, claiming recently that the effect of Islam on India, the country of his ethnic heritage, has been "calamitous" and comparable to colonialism: "There has been no imperialism like that of Islam and the Arabs," he has written, and his books on Islam have taken pains to understand and explain the political rage that seems to accompany the kind of fundamentalist Islam that has been exported throughout the Third World. This is an account of Naipaul's travels through several Asian Islamic countries and his commentary on the Islamization of them. Signed by the author. Remainder mark; a near fine copy in a very good dust jacket.
188. NAIPAUL, V.S. Beyond Belief. NY: Random House, 1998. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of essays on the people of the Islamic world -- a follow-up to his earlier title, Among the Believers -- and in particular the influence of Islamic fundamentalism on their lives. Fine in wrappers.
189. NAIPAUL, V.S. Half a Life. (London): Picador (2001). The advance reading copy of his newest novel. Fine in wrappers.
190. -. Another copy. Very slight crown bump, else fine in wrappers, with a color photocopy of the cover art laid in.
191. -. Same title. The signed limited uncorrected proof of the British edition, according to the cover text, although this copy is not signed. Fine in wrappers.
192. NEIHARDT, John G. Black Elk Speaks. NY: Morrow, 1932. The autobiography of Black Elk, an Oglala Sioux holy man, as told to Neihardt, a poet with a long knowledge of, and strong sympathy for, the Plains Indian cultures. Illustrated with paintings by Standing Bear, a Minneconjou Sioux and friend of Black Elk. A seminal book: the paperback edition, circulating on college campuses in the 1960s, helped re-ignite the current interest in Native American cultures among non-Natives. The accessibility of the text, as recounted by Neihardt, helped the book become an underground classic at a time when an alternative religious paradigm was being avidly sought in the 1960s, as countercultural upheavals called into question the premises of Western civilization; it has since become a staple of multicultural studies. Offsetting to the front endpages from an article laid in; trace wear to the corners; a near fine copy in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket rubbed and fragile at the folds. A scarce book in the first edition and very uncommon in dust jacket.
193. NORDAN, Lewis. Welcome to the Arrow-Catcher Fair. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1983. His first book, a collection of stories that was issued simultaneously in hardcover and softcover. This is a review copy of the scarce hardcover issue; signed by Nordan. Very mild spine-fading; still fine in a fine dust jacket. A beautiful copy of a scarce first book.
194. NUNN, Kem. Tapping the Source. NY: Delacorte (1984). Nunn's powerful first novel, set in the surfing subculture of Southern California. Nominated for the National Book Award. Signed by the author in 1988. Light corner bumping; else fine (without remainder speckling) in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with blurbs by Elmore Leonard and by Robert Stone, who compares it to "the best of Raymond Chandler and James Crumley."
195. O'BRIEN, Flann. The Third Policeman. NY: Walker and Company (1967). The first American edition of the second book by the author of the comic masterpiece At Swim Two Birds, a classic that has been compared to Joyce and was a Burgess 99 title. This book was written the year At Swim Two Birds was issued, 1939, but it was not published until almost 30 years later, after the author had died. Fine in a price-clipped dust jacket.
196. O'BRIEN, Tim. Friends and Enemies. Arizona: Synaesthesia Press, 2001. Two stories from O'Brien's award-winning collection The Things They Carried, bound back-to-back and printed in an edition of 125 copies, of which this is one of 99 numbered copies in saddle-stitched wrappers. Illustrated by noted artist Fritz Scholder and signed by the author and the artist. Fine. Just published, and likely to be one of the scarcest O'Brien titles in coming years, as a result of the small limitation. At the list price:
197. O'CONNOR, Robert. Buffalo Soldiers. NY: Knopf, 1993. One of the most highly praised first novels of the year, a black comedy of the peacetime army that was compared to Catch-22 and "Sergeant Bilko on scag." O'Connor was chosen, on the strength of this volume, as one of the Granta 20. Fine in a fine dust jacket. J.G. Ballard and James Ellroy blurbs, among others.
198. ONDAATJE, Michael. The English Patient. (London): Bloomsbury (1992). The British, and true first, edition of his Booker Prize-winning novel, basis for the Academy Award-winning film. Small spot on rear board; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
199. -. Same title. NY: Knopf, 1992. The first American edition. Signed by the author. Two pages edgetorn; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
200. PAGANI, Dalia. Mercy Road. (NY): Delacorte Press (1998). Well-received first novel. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
201. PATTERSON, James. The Thomas Berryman Number. Boston: Little, Brown (1976). His first book, winner of the Edgar Award for Best First Mystery novel, and a very scarce title, particularly compared to his later novels which have been bestsellers upon publication with first printings running into six figures. This copy is inscribed by the author on the title page: "This novel was turned/ down by 31 publishers/ and then won an Edgar./ Who knew?" Fine in a near fine dust jacket with light wear at the upper edge of the rear panel. A very nice copy of an uncommon first book.
202. PELECANOS, George P. A Firing Offense. NY: St. Martin's (1992). His first book, a mystery novel featuring Nick Stefanos and depicting with gritty realism the underside of Washington, D.C., away from the politicians and white collar commuters. Signed by the author. One of the most interesting new arrivals in the hard-boiled detective genre -- a worthy successor to Jim Thompson and David Goodis -- and one of the most sought after first mysteries of recent years. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
203. PELECANOS, George P. Nick's Trip. NY: St. Martin's (1993). His second and scarcest book, again featuring Nick Stefanos and his friends and relatives, and again a novel in which the city of Washington is as much a character as the protagonists themselves, and the characters' family histories and connections are as much a part of their current situations as the events that drive the plot. Signed by the author. Fine in dust jacket.
204. PELECANOS, George P. Shoedog. NY: St. Martin's (1994). A review copy of his third novel, a departure from the Nick Stefanos series. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
205. PELECANOS, George. Down by the River Where the Dead Men Go. NY: St. Martin's (1995). His fourth novel and his third to feature Nick Stefanos. The first printing was reported as 4000 copies. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
206. PELECANOS, George. The Big Blowdown. NY: St. Martin's (1996). His fifth book, this one a departure from both the Nick Stefanos stories which comprised three of his earlier novels and from the contemporary milieu of all four books. This is set in Washington, D.C., in the early years after the Second World War and is, in part, a prequel to the earlier novels, featuring the parents and grandparents of the characters in his other novels. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
207. PELECANOS, George P. King Suckerman. Boston: Little, Brown (1997). His sixth book, set in Washington, D.C. in the mid-1970s, and involving characters who are related to those in The Big Blowdown and who cross paths with characters from his Nick Stefanos novels. Reportedly being made into a movie by Sean "Puffy" Combs. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
208. PELECANOS, George P. The Sweet Forever. Boston: Little, Brown (1998). The first trade edition of this novel, again set in Washington, D.C., and involving some of the same characters from his earlier books. Signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf. Fine in a fine dust jacket with the publisher's "autographed copy" label.
209. PELECANOS, George. Shame the Devil. Boston: Little, Brown (2000). His eighth novel, featuring Dmitri Karras, a friend of Nick Stefanos and a character in several of the earlier books. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
210. PELECANOS, George P. Right as Rain. Boston: Little, Brown (2001). His highly praised new book, again set in the poor neighborhoods of D.C., but featuring a new cast of characters. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
211. POWERS, Richard. Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance. NY: Morrow (1985). One of the most highly praised first novels of recent years -- a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and winner of the Rosenthal Award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters for a book of "considerable literary achievement." Tiny random dot to top edge; fine in a very near fine dust jacket.
212. POWERS, Richard. Prisoner's Dilemma. NY: Morrow (1988). His second novel. Fine in a very mildly spine-sunned dust jacket.
213. POWERS, Richard. The Gold Bug Variations. NY: Morrow (1991). His third novel, a dazzling display of verbal pyrotechnics which once again earned him high praise, award recognition, and comparisons with the best of the postmodern writers such as Pynchon. Like his first book, a nominee for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Winner of Time magazine's Book of the Year award. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
214. POWERS, Richard. Operation Wandering Soul. NY: Morrow (1993). His fourth novel, a technically brilliant and highly moving story of wounded children in an age that can barely recognize them, let alone heal them. A finalist for the National Book Award. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
215. POWERS, Richard. Galatea 2.2 NY: FSG (1995). His fifth book which, like his first and third, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. A moving novel about artificial intelligence and the nature of consciousness, Galatea 2.2 drew high praise from John Updike -- not normally a great fan of postmodern wordsmiths -- in a glowing review in The New Yorker. Fine in dust jacket.
216. POWERS, Richard. Gain. NY: FSG (1998). Fine in a mildly rubbed dust jacket.
217. PRICE, Reynolds. A Long and Happy Life. NY: Atheneum, 1962. The advance reading copy of his first book, winner of the William Faulkner Foundation Award for best first novel. Signed by the author. Mild spine creasing; else fine in yellow wrappers. With a Eudora Welty blurb that does not appear on the published book.
218. PROULX, E. Annie. Heart Songs. NY: Scribner (1988). Her first book of fiction, a collection of short stories. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
219. PROULX, E. Annie. Postcards. NY: Scribner's (1992). A review copy of her second book of fiction and first novel. Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with publisher's promotional sheet laid in.
220. PROULX, Annie. The Shipping News. NY: Scribner (1993). Her third work of fiction and second novel, which won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize -- a rare literary double. It has since been made into a movie, directed by Lasse Hallström, who directed The Cider House Rules and What's Eating Gilbert Grape, among others. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
221. PROULX, E. Annie. Accordion Crimes. (NY): Scribner (1996). Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Laid in is a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" broadside with Proulx's description of the invention of the two-row button accordion. Fine.
222. PROULX, Annie. Close Range. (NY): Scribner (1999). A collection of "Wyoming Stories," one of which, "The Half-Skinned Steer," was selected for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories of the Century. This collection was voted one of the best books of the year by The New York Times Book Review. Signed by the author and by the illustrator, William Matthews, who contributes a color frontispiece and several other color illustrations for the stories. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
223. PYNCHON, Thomas. The Crying of Lot 49. NY: Bantam (1982). The 21st printing of the Bantam paperback edition of his second novel. Inscribed by Pynchon inside the front cover in 1986. Mild fading and slanting to the spine; modest cover creasing; about near fine in wrappers. Pynchon, along with J.D. Salinger, is one of the most reclusive American authors, and books signed by him are exceedingly scarce.
224. PYNE, Daniel. Pacific Heights. Los Angeles: Bauer Benedek (1987). Photocopied screenplay for the spooky thriller directed by John Schlesinger, who also did The Day of the Locust, Marathon Man, The Falcon and the Snowman and others. In an agency binder, with a cover letter from the agency to a novelist laid in. Fine.