Catalog 132, H-I
104. HAMMETT, Dashiell. The Dain Curse. NY: Knopf, 1929. His second novel, which again features the Continental Op. Hammett himself spent time working as a Pinkerton detective, or "operative," which no doubt helped ensure the authority of his first-person narrative voice. Some light staining on the rear cover; small bookstore stamp front endpaper. A very good copy of an uncommon book, lacking the very scarce dust jacket.
105. HAMMETT, Dashiell. The Maltese Falcon. NY: Knopf, 1931. His third and most famous novel, which was recognized immediately upon publication as the greatest American detective novel of all time, and is still considered a timeless classic; a Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone title. Basis for a 1931 film as well as the 1941 John Huston movie, with Humphrey Bogart, which was selected as #23 of the American Film Institute's 100 best movies of the century. Small bookseller's label rear pastedown; faint staining on upper front cover wrapping around to spine; bit of wear at heel. A very good copy of one of the great novels of the 20th century.
106. HAMMETT, Dashiell. The Thin Man. NY: Knopf, 1934. The fifth and last novel by the author of The Maltese Falcon, among others. The Thin Man introduced Nick and Nora Charles as the detective protagonists of the novel. Lighter and more humorous than Hammett's earlier hardboiled novels, it was made into a movie in 1934 with William Powell and Myrna Loy that was successful enough to spawn no fewer than five sequels. Fading at extremities of cloth, as is common with this title, but overall a tight, near fine copy, lacking the rare dust jacket.
107. HANLEY, James. Men in Darkness. NY: Knopf, 1932. An advance copy of Men in Darkness bound in flexible boards and consisting of "Narrative," the collection's first story, running 117 pages, and the first eight pages of "Feud," the second story, which ran to nearly 80 pages in the finished book. The paper covering the boards is split at the joints; else near fine without dust jacket, as issued. An interesting example of a publishing phenomenon particular to the era.
108. HARINGTON, Donald. The Cherry Pit. NY: Random House (1965). A review copy of the first novel by this Arkansas writer who has been called "America's greatest unknown writer." This story is set in Little Rock, where the author grew up. Most of his later novels have been set in the fictional Arkansas town of Stay More, based on Drakes Creek, where the author spent his summers as a child. Signed by the author. Faint foredge foxing; slightly cocked; near fine in a fine dust jacket, with publisher's review slip laid in. A very nice copy of an important first book.
109. HARRISON, Jim. Plain Song. NY: Norton (1965). Harrison's first book, a collection of poems. This is the scarce hardcover edition, one of 1500 copies; it was also issued simultaneously in wrappers. This copy has a small scuff on the copyright page over the word "First" in the first edition statement (not the first copy we have seen thus); otherwise it is a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket sunned on the rear panel and foxed on the verso.
110. HARRISON, Jim. Locations. NY: Norton (1968). Harrison's second collection of poetry, which precedes his first novel by two years. This is the hardcover issue; there was a simultaneous paperback. 1250 copies of the hardcover were done, making it scarcer than even his elusive first book, Plain Song. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket with trace rubbing to the spine lettering.
111. HARRISON, Jim. Legends of the Fall. (NY): Delacorte Press (1979). The one-volume trade edition of this collection of three novellas, which was also published in a three volume trade edition and a signed limited edition. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with trace edge sunning. Two of the three novellas in this collection, the title piece and "Revenge," were made into Hollywood movies.
112. HARRISON, Jim. Natural World. A Bestiary. (Barrytown): Open Book (1982). Poems and a preface by Harrison, and sculpture by Diana Guest. A limited edition, one of 350 copies of which only 100 were for sale. Signed by Harrison and Guest. Very scarce. This is the first copy we have handled, despite having had most Harrison rarities at least once, and often several times, over the years. A fine copy without dust jacket, as issued.
113. (HARRISON, Jim). Five Blind Men. Fremont: Sumac, 1969. An anthology of poetry by Harrison, Dan Gerber, George Quasha, J.D. Reed and Charles Simic, printed by the Sumac Press, which Gerber and Harrison jointly operated. Harrison's contribution is "In Interims: Outlyer." Of a total hardbound edition of 126, this is one of 26 lettered copies signed by the authors. Fine without dust jacket, as issued. Scarce: precedes Harrison's first novel.
114. (HARRISON, Jim). "Cabin Poem" in Lord John 10. Northridge: Lord John Press, 1988. An impressive anthology celebrating ten years of the Press's existence, collecting pieces by twenty-six contributors written expressly for this volume. Including, and signed by, Harrison, John Updike, Raymond Carver, James Crumley, Ray Bradbury, William Everson, Tess Gallagher, Joyce Carol Oates, James Purdy, Derek Walcott, former President Gerald Ford, and many others. This is the deluxe edition, one of only 75 copies quarterbound in leather. A tiny bit of shelf wear to the corners of the spine, otherwise fine, without dust jacket, as issued. One of the most elaborate projects of its kind, and notable for the inclusion of original pieces rather than collecting previously published ones.
115. HAZZARD, Shirley. The Great Fire. NY: FSG (2003). Her first novel in more than a decade. Winner of the National Book Award as well as the Miles Franklin Award, Australia's most prestigious literary prize. Fine in a fine first issue dust jacket, without the Anita Shreve blurb or mention of the Today show.
116. 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 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 bit of offsetting to endpages and mild fading to top edge of cloth; very near fine in a near fine dust jacket with small corner chips and minor rubbing. 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.
117. HILL, Pati. The Snow Rabbit. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1962. Her first book, a collection of poems. Warmly inscribed by the author "...with fond memories of 39 Berkshire where I always sleep so well under the billowing blue eiderdown..." Fine in a near fine, slightly rubbed dust jacket, with publisher's wraparound promotional band. With fourteen full page woodcut illustrations by Galway Kinnell.
118. HUGHES, Richard. A High Wind in Jamaica. London: Chatto & Windus, 1929. Hughes's most famous novel, which has recently been reissued, with the publisher proclaiming it the greatest novel of the 20th century. With his unsentimental description of childhood in this story of a group of children kidnapped by pirates, Hughes effectively rewrote the standards by which novels involving children have been judged in the modern era. It is hard to imagine, for example, Lord of the Flies without A High Wind in Jamaica as a predecessor. This is the limited edition, one of 150 numbered copies signed by the author, of a total edition of 157. Spine-faded; near fine without dust jacket, as issued. A very attractive copy of one of the high spots of 20th century literature.
119. HUNTER, Stephen. The Master Sniper. NY: Morrow, 1980. The first novel by the bestselling thriller writer, who is also a film critic for the Washington Post. Several of Hunter's titles involve snipers, including a trilogy about a Vietnam War-era U.S. sniper. This title focuses on a German SS sniper in World War II, and the OSS agent assigned to thwart him. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
120. HUXLEY, Aldous. Words and Their Meanings. Los Angeles: Jake Zeitlin (1940). An essay on language, attractively printed in a limited edition by the Ward Ritchie Press for Jake Zeitlin, the famous Los Angeles bookseller. One of 100 hardbound copies signed by the author; the rest of the edition was issued in wrappers. A thin book, with light splaying to boards; else fine in a near fine dust jacket with one closed edge tear at the upper front spine fold. A very attractive copy.
121. (Iran/Contra Affair). Report of the President's Special Review Board. (Washington, D.C.): (President's Special Review Board) (1987). Known as "the Tower report," this was the most significant report of the Reagan presidency, summarizing the events that came to be known as the "Iran-Contra scandal" and that led to the resignation of Reagan's White House Chief of Staff, Donald Regan, and the convictions, later overturned, of Oliver North and Admiral William C. Poindexter. A source for conspiracy theorists ever since, the report characterized a White House gone out of control, with a detached and disinterested President and a staff that neglected to keep him in the loop on several of the largest and most critical foreign policy issues of the time, not to mention the U.S. responses to them. Notwithstanding the recent outpouring of affection for Reagan, manifested just after his death, the image that the Tower report painted of him tended to stick over the years, and colored his legacy. The extra-legal maneuverings of the White House staff, including Vice President George H.W. Bush and various members of the National Security Council, helped reestablish the idea, left over from Watergate and the early 70s, that government was unreliable and untrustworthy -- itself a legacy that underlies, and informs, political debate in this country to this day. This copy of the report is signed by John Tower, Edmund Muskie and Brent Scowcroft, who prepared it. Light rubbing; near fine in wrappers. A landmark historical document.
122. 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 printings. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with just a strip of mild sunning at the lower edge and foredge. A very nice copy.
123. IRVING, John. The 158-Pound Marriage. NY: Random House (1974). His third novel. Fine in a near fine dust jacket creased on the front flap and with a small nick to the crown.
124. IRVING, John. The World According to Garp. NY: Dutton (1978). His fourth novel and breakthrough book, which went into numerous printings, became a multi-million copy bestseller and a National Book Award winner in its paperback release. A fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with just a couple of shallow scratches to the lamination. An attractive copy of a book that seldom turns up in fine condition.
125. -. Another copy. Inscribed by the author: "For Wayne [Warga], following a very nice lunch on a very nice day./ Cambridge.../ 18 May 1981/ John Irving." A nice association: Warga was a mystery novelist, with a series of bibliomysteries to his credit, featuring former-CIA-courier-turned-rare-book-dealer, Jeffrey Dean. He was also a reporter and TV writer. A fine copy in a very near fine dust jacket with a touch of rubbing to the front panel and slight fading to the red letters on the spine. Signed copies of what is probably Irving's most famous novel turn up infrequently -- the author has been reticent, at best, about signing books for more than a decade now -- and seldom appear in fine condition, as this one is.
126. -. Another copy. Slightly cocked; a very good copy or better in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing to the front panel. Signed by the author.
127. IRVING, John. My Movie Business. London: Bloomsbury (1999). The first British edition, which precedes the U.S. edition, of this account of his career involvement with the movies, from thirteen years of working on the screenplay for The Cider House Rules (for which he won an Oscar) to trying, unsuccessfully, to get Setting Free the Bears made into a film. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a soft vertical crease to the spine.
128. ISHERWOOD, Christopher. Goodbye to Berlin. NY: Random House, 1939. The first American edition of this semi-autobiographical collection of stories and vignettes of the Bohemian society of pre-Hitler Berlin. A Connolly 100 title. Near fine in a good dust jacket with a bit of staining visible on verso, some light, internally tape-repaired edge chipping, and very fragile spine folds.