Catalog 121, B
17. BALLARD, J.G. Hello America. London: Cape (1981). A futuristic novel of America and the American Dream by one of the few writers of fantasy and science fiction to successfully transcend the genre. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
18. BALLARD, J.G. Myths of the Near Future. London: Cape (1982). A collection of stories by the author of such genre-bending novels as Crash, The Atrocity Exhibition and The Crystal World, among others. The settings of these stories are as varied as his novels -- a decaying America, a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, a civil war in Britain in which the United States intervenes to fight the National Liberation, etc. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
19. BARRETT, Andrea. Lucid Stars. (NY): (Dell) (1988). The advance reading copy of her first book, which was published as a Delta paperback original. Trace rubbing at folds, else fine in wrappers. Barrett won the National Book Award for Ship Fever and Other Stories.
20. BARTH, John. Don't Count On It: A Note on the Number of the 1001 Nights. Northridge: Lord John Press, 1984. Printed an edition of 200 numbered copies; this is one of a small number of unnumbered copies designated "Presentation Copy" on the colophon, and signed by Barth. Fine, without dust jacket, as issued.
21. BAXTER, Charles. Through the Safety Net. (n.p.): Viking (1985). The uncorrected proof copy. A well-received collection of stories, which was the author's first book from a major trade publisher, after a couple of poetry chapbooks and a story collection from a university press. Fine in wrappers. In our experience, quite an uncommon proof.
22. BEATTIE, Ann. Perfect Recall. NY: Scribner (2001). A collection of stories. Inscribed by the author to another writer and, as such, a nice association copy. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
23. (BECKETT, Samuel). KNOWLSON, James. Samuel Beckett: An Exhibition. (London): Turret Books, 1971. The catalog of an exhibition of Beckett's works held at Reading University Library, with a foreword by A.J. Levanthal. This is the limited edition hardcover, one of 100 numbered copies signed by Beckett. Fine, without dust jacket, as issued.
24. BERGER, John. To the Wedding. NY: Pantheon (1995). The advance reading copy of this novel, a luminous addition to the body of AIDS literature. Fine in wrappers, encased in publisher's pictorial cardstock slipcase, and signed by the author.
25. BERGER, Thomas. The Feud. (NY): Delacorte/Lawrence (1983). Inscribed by the author to his publisher, Seymour Lawrence "with gratitude and affection" on May 1, 1983, the month of publication. Berger is the author of, among others, Little Big Man and Neighbors, both of which were made into notable Hollywood films. Fine in a mildly spine-tanned dust jacket slightly worn at the extremities; about near fine. A nice association copy.
26. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Signed by the author. Mildly spine-tanned; else fine in wrappers.
27. BERRY, Wendell. Nathan Coulter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1960. The first book, a novel, by this poet, novelist, essayist and activist, who has become one of the defining voices of our era as a critic of the excesses of our technology-infused lifestyle and the most well-known contemporary advocate of agrarian values. Signed by the author. Erasures to front flyleaf; else fine in a very good, spine-tanned dust jacket with long, internally tape-repaired tears along two folds. An attractive copy of an uncommon and important first book.
28. BERRY, Wendell. The Unforeseen Wilderness. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1971. An extended essay on Red River Gorge in the author's native Kentucky, heavily illustrated with photographs by Gene Meatyard, whose work is represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution, among others. Signed by the author. Previous owner name on verso of half-title, otherwise near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
29. BERRY, Wendell. The Kentucky River: Two Poems. Monterey: Larkspur, 1976. One of 1000 copies; this copy signed by the author in 1991. Fine in stapled wrappers.
30. BLOOM, Amy. Come to Me. (NY): HarperCollins (1993). Her first book, a collection of stories, two of which were included in The Best American Short Stories anthologies for 1991 and 1992. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket with blurbs by Dorothy Allison, Annie Dillard, Ursula LeGuin and Alice Adams. One of the most highly praised debut collections of recent years.
31. BLOOM, Amy. Love Invents Us. NY: Random House (1997). Her second book, first novel. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
32. BOWDEN, Charles. Killing the Hidden Waters. Austin: U. of Texas Press (1977). The elusive first book, nonfiction, by this heir apparent to Edward Abbey in his role as vociferous critic of the exploitation and despoliation of the natural resources of the desert Southwest. This volume addresses the issues surrounding the scarce water resources of the region, viewed through a historical perspective that highlights the early Native American tribes' ability to manage the resources in a sustainable manner. A fine copy in a very good, well-rubbed dust jacket with one small chip on the front panel. Scarce.
33. BOWDEN, Charles. Frog Mountain Blues. Tucson: U. of Arizona Press (1987). His third book, about the Santa Catalina mountains just north of Tucson, Arizona; in part an elegy, in part a warning against despoliation. Illustrated with photographs by Jack Dykinga, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer. Signed by both Bowden and Dykinga. Blurbs by Gary Snyder and David Rains Wallace, among others. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
34. BOWDEN, Charles. Red Line. NY: Norton (1989). Nonfiction, a haunting and grim view of the American Southwest that suggests a cross between Edward Abbey -- with his concern for the environment, specifically the desert southwest -- and Hunter Thompson, with his over-the-edge indulgence in various additives to normal brain chemistry. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
35. BOWEN, Peter. Coyote Wind. NY: St. Martin's (1994). The first mystery featuring Gabriel Du Pré, a mixed blood Montana cattle inspector turned detective. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
36. BOWLES, Paul. The Delicate Prey and Other Stories. (NY): Random House (1950). His second book published in the U.S., and first collection of stories. Inscribed by the author: "For Mary Robbins,/ Paul Bowles/ Tangier/ 11/IX/89." Robbins was a friend and neighbor of Bowles' biographer, Virginia Spencer Carr, and she accompanied Carr on several trips to Tangier and then housed Bowles when he traveled to the U.S. for surgery in 1994. Tiny tear to cloth at spine crown; tiny foredge tear to rear blank; slight acidification to page edges; and a faint ink line (apparently the same ink as used in the inscription) to the foredge; a near fine copy in a good, heavily spine-faded dust jacket with several small, internally tape-repaired edge chips. Trade editions signed by Bowles are uncommon: he seldom travelled away from North Africa and therefore was not easily accessible to readers or collectors.
37. BOWLES, Paul. The Spider's House. NY: Random House (1955). His third novel, about a group of Westerners adrift in the alien culture of Morocco, a subject he explored repeatedly and to great effect. Inscribed by the author: "For Mary Robbins/ Paul Bowles." Top stain faded; otherwise a fine copy in a very good, rubbed dust jacket with wear at the spine extremities.
38. (BOWLES, Paul). CHOUKRI, Mohamed. Tennessee Williams in Tangier. Santa Barbara: Cadmus, 1979. Of the limited edition of 226 copies signed by Bowles and Choukri, this is copy "B" of 26 lettered copies that were reserved for use of the publisher and author and were not for sale. A trifle edge-sunned; still a fine copy in self-wrappers, in a near fine, spine-tanned glassine dustwrapper. A rare state of this small but important volume: Bowles and Williams were longtime friends and collaborated in the 1940s on several dramatic productions, with Bowles providing the musical scores for Williams' plays.
39. (BOWLES, Paul). Photographs. NY: Scalo (1994). Photographs by Bowles, with an essay on his art by Simon Bischoff and the text of conversations between Bischoff and Bowles from 1989-1991. Inscribed by Bowles: "For Mary R./ best from/ Paul B./ Atlanta 2/VI/94." Quarto; fine in a fine dust jacket. An uncommon book, and extremely scarce signed or inscribed.
40. BOYLE, T. Coraghessan. Descent of Man. Boston: Little Brown (1979). His first book, a highly praised collection of stories, winner of the 1980 St. Lawrence Award for Fiction. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket with minuscule rubbing at the corners. A very attractive copy of an important debut.
41. BOYLE, T. Coraghessan. Budding Prospects. NY: Viking (1984). The uncorrected proof copy of this humorous novel of marijuana growing in the northern California wilds. For whatever reason, the trade edition of this novel is one of Boyle's least common titles; the proof is, as might be expected, considerably scarcer still. Signed by the author. One faint corner crease; else fine in wrappers.
42. BOYLE, T.C. Riven Rock. (NY): Viking (1998). Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
43. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. Willard and His Bowling Trophies. NY: Simon & Schuster (1975). The uncorrected proof copy of one of the novels from the middle period of Brautigan's career, when he was experimenting with different approaches to traditional "genre" novels, this one being subtitled "A Perverse Mystery." Near fine in wrappers. An uncommon proof.
44. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. The Tokyo-Montana Express. NY: Targ Editions (1979). An attractive limited edition of a portion of the book of the same name, which was published the following year. Short prose-poem vignettes, centered on the axis of the author's life in his later years, when he lived in Montana and traveled regularly to Japan. One of 350 copies signed by the author. Fine in a glassine dust jacket.
45. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. The Tokyo-Montana Express. NY: Delacorte (1980). A collection of short prose pieces, depicting stops on a mythical train route from Montana to Tokyo, imbued with Brautigan's characteristic gentle whimsy and humor. Signed by the author. Near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with wear at the corners and spine extremities. Books signed by Brautigan, who committed suicide in 1984, are fairly uncommon.
46. BROOK, Peter. The Empty Space. NY: Atheneum, 1968. The first American edition of this influential book on theater by the noted director. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. From the library of noted film critic Pauline Kael, with some clippings about Brook laid in with Kael's brief annotations.
47. BROWN, Frederic. Space on My Hands. Chicago: Shasta (1951). A collection of science fiction stories by the author of Night of the Jabberwock, The Screaming Mimi and The Fabulous Clipjoint, among others. Signed by the author. Small marks next to several of the stories on the Table of Contents page; some offsetting to spine cloth; still near fine in a near fine dust jacket with mild tanning to the spine lettering. A very nice copy. Books signed by Brown are uncommon.
48. BROWN, Rosellen. The Autobiography of My Mother. Garden City: Doubleday (1976). The uncorrected proof copy of her third book and first novel. Warmly and extensively inscribed by the author in the year of publication: "____/ How Gerda would love you/ (for your enthusiasm, your vigorous/ devotion)! Whether or not you'd/ want to be loved by Gerda is/ another story)./ But for now I, who made/ Gerda, love you. I hope that's/ sufficient.../ Rosellen." Partial title written on the lower page edges; glue residue showing on front label; very near fine in tall wrappers. An uncommon proof, and a nice inscription.
49. BROWN, Rosellen. Tender Mercies. NY: Knopf, 1978. A review copy of her second novel. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
50. BROWN, Rosellen. Civil Wars. NY: Knopf, 1984. A well-received novel of the early Sixties and the Civil Rights Movement, which won the Kafka Award for the best novel by an American woman in 1984 and was also a factor in Brown's being chosen by Ms. magazine as one of its twelve women of the year. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine, spine-faded dust jacket with a tear at the upper edge of the rear panel.
51. BURGESS, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. London: Heinemann (1962). The true first edition of Burgess' alarming and controversial view of a future beset by violence, technological excess and authoritarianism, made into a classic film by Stanley Kubrick in 1971. Small stain page 101; near fine in a mildly spine-sunned dust jacket with expert restoration to the crown and a small chip replaced at the lower edge of the front panel. A nice copy of the first issue book (black binding) in the first issue jacket (16s price). The ending was changed for the American edition published a year later, and the last chapter was left out. The Kubrick movie was based on the text of that edition, and it was not until much later that the book was re-released with the original ending restored.
52. BURROUGHS, William S. Naked Lunch. NY: Grove Press (1959)[c. 1962]. The first American edition and first hardcover edition. Naked Lunch was not published in this country until three years after its original publication in Paris, and then only after a number of high-profile literary figures argued its case as a novel of great literary merit and import. It was published by the maverick publisher Barney Rosset, of Grove Press, in a tiny edition of 3500 copies -- a smaller number than was done of the scarce French paperback edition in 1959. Several faint ink notations to text and rear flyleaf; near fine in a good dust jacket with several small chips and one long edge tear from the upper front spine fold. A presentable copy of a modern classic.
53. BURROUGHS, William S. Exterminator! NY: Viking (1973). Inscribed by the author in 1995. Trace rubbing to spine letters; else fine in a fine dust jacket. A beautiful copy of this book, one of the key Burroughs titles from this period in his career.
54. BURROUGHS, William. The Western Lands. (NY): (Viking) (1987). The third volume in the trilogy that includes Cities of the Red Night and The Place of Dead Roads. Inscribed by the author in 1995. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
55. BUSCH, Frederick. I Wanted a Year Without Fall. London: Calder & Boyars (1971). The author's first book -- a novel that has never been published in the U.S. despite Busch now having had a dozen or so books published here. Trace foxing to top edge; else fine in fine, price-clipped dust jacket. Uncommon.
56. BUSCH, Frederick. Breathing Trouble and Other Stories. (London): Calder & Boyars (1973). His second book which, like his first, was never published in this country. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
57. BUSCH, Frederick. Domestic Particulars. (NY): New Directions (1976). His fourth volume of fiction, but only his second to be published in this country. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
58. -. Another copy. Inscribed by the author to a well-known author and critic: "To Richard Gilman/ with devoted admiration -/ Frederick Busch." Pages faintly acidified, else fine in a near fine dust jacket.
59. BUSCH, Frederick. Girls. NY: Harmony Books (1997). The advance reading copy of this novel. Busch has been a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award twice, and for the National Book Critics Circle Award once. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers.
60. BUTLER, Robert Olen. Sun Dogs. NY: Horizon (1982). The second novel by the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain. This novel is a thriller set in the northern Alaskan wilderness that is both a highly readable page-turner and a powerful novel of ideas. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with, as usual, a slight bit of rubbing.
61. BUTLER, Robert Olen. Countrymen of Bones. NY: Horizon (1983). His third novel, set in New Mexico during the development of the atomic bomb. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
62. -. Another copy. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
63. BUTLER, Robert Olen. They Whisper. Huntington: Cahill (1994). A limited edition and the true first edition, preceding publication of the trade edition by one day. Of a total edition of 150 copies, this is one of 26 lettered copies signed by the author. Quarter leather in slipcase. Fine. Butler's first signed limited edition.
64. -. Same title. NY: Henry Holt (1994). The first trade edition, which followed the limited edition by one day. Signed by the author and dated in 1997. Fine in a fine dust jacket.