Catalog 144, M
127. MAMET, David. The Verdict. NY: Zanuck-Brown/Twentieth Century Fox, 1981. Final draft screenplay, dated November 23, 1981, with revision pages through January 18, 1982. The Verdict was directed by Sidney Lumet and starred Paul Newman, in what was viewed at the time as his finest performance in years and one of his best ever. The film was nominated for five Golden Globe awards and five Oscars, including Best Screenplay. Inscribed by Mamet in 1995. Laid in is a program and a ticket for a production of a Mamet play in 1995. Bradbound; fine in printed wrappers and custom clamshell case.
128. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Wildlife in America. NY: Viking, 1959. Matthiessen's first book of nonfiction, a survey of the effect of the Europeans on the fauna of North America and a classic in the field of conservation literature. Shortly after publication, the publisher reported that President John F. Kennedy had added the book to the White House's permanent library. Matthiessen was one of the first primarily "literary" authors to devote his energy to writing about ecological issues, eventually incorporating them and the political questions that they raise into his fiction in a way that set the stage for the generation of socially conscious writers to come. His interest in non-Western ways of perception and knowing -- drawn from tribal traditions as well as from the mystical heritage of the East -- combined with his social concerns raised the standard for serious, environmentally conscious writers of fiction and other literature. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing and a few small edge tears. A nice copy.
129. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Men's Lives. The Surfmen and Baymen of the South Fork. (n.p.): (Rock Foundation) (1986). A two-volume deluxe edition of Matthiessen's tribute to the fishermen of eastern Long Island and a way of life that, in the late stages of the 20th century, appeared to be irretrievably dying away. Matthiessen has spent much of his life on eastern Long Island, and once ran a charter fishing boat off the island, in addition to having worked for three years with commercial fishermen, so this sympathetic portrait is written from the perspective of one who has shared the life described. One of 500 numbered copies (although in all likelihood far fewer than 500 copies of this were ever produced). One volume, the text, is signed by Matthiessen. In addition to the second volume, of photographs, there is also an original print of one of the photographs from the book laid into a folding chemise and signed by the photographer, Adelaide de Menil. Never formally offered for sale, copies of this edition were given out to attendees of a $500-a-plate benefit dinner for the historical society attempting to preserve the record and legacy of the fishermen's lives. Modest foxing to the cloth and the front and rear blanks of each volume; near fine in a clamshell case. A similar edition, unsigned and without the signed print, was issued in a slipcase, and probably comprised most of the overrun of this edition -- i.e., a later issue, which was offered for sale via the University of Washington Press. One of the scarcest items in the Matthiessen canon.
130. McCANN, Colum. Hunger Strike. NY: Lenox Hill Bookstore, 2004. A single story by this acclaimed Irish writer, printed in an edition of 250 copies, 200 of which were for sale. Signed by the author. Fine in stapled wrappers.
131. McCARTHY, Cormac. The Orchard Keeper. (London) Andre Deutsch (1966). A review copy of the first British edition of McCarthy's first book. The verso of the jacket is stamped "For Publication on 10 Mar 1966 Andre Deutsch Ltd.," and the price of 25s is crossed through on the front flap, with the notation "5/2." Slight spine lean, spotting to top edge; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a little fading to the red spine lettering and a touch of wear to the crown. An uncommon book, but especially so as a prepublication copy.
132. McCARTHY, Cormac. No Country for Old Men. (London): Picador (2005). The uncorrected proof copy of the first British edition of this novel of drugs and violence set in the contemporary Southwest, which reads like a combination of his classic Blood Meridian and the work of Chuck Bowden -- the investigative reporter who has focused on the drug cartels of the borderlands between Mexico and the U.S. and chronicled the almost unimaginable violence of the drug culture there. Fine in wrappers. Proofs of McCarthy's books are quite uncommon.
133. McCARTHY, Cormac. The Road. (London): Picador (2006). The uncorrected proof copy of the first British edition of McCarthy's latest novel, published to enormous critical acclaim. Small, faint spot front cover; near fine in wrappers.
134. (McCARTHY, Cormac). "The Dark Waters" in The Sewanee Review, Vol. 73, No. 2. (Sewanee): (University of the South) (1965). Prepublication excerpt from his first novel, The Orchard Keeper, one of a very small handful of periodical appearances by McCarthy, and one of his earliest appearances in print. Spine-darkened, with light wear to the yapped edges; still near fine in wrappers.
135. McELROY, Joseph. A Smuggler's Bible. NY: Harcourt Brace World (1966). A review copy of the first book by this writer who has been compared, as a stylist and innovator, to Thomas Pynchon, William Gaddis and Don DeLillo. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a couple short, closed corner tears. Unlike most copies of this book, the spine of the dust jacket is still bright red and unfaded. Review slip laid in. An attractive copy of one of the important literary debuts of the 1960s.
136. McELROY, Joseph. Hind's Kidnap. NY: Harper & Row (1969). His second novel. Bookplate front pastedown, mild foxing to cloth; near fine in a very good, mildly edgeworn dust jacket with a price sticker shadow on the front panel and several short edge tears on the rear panel.
137. McELROY, Joseph. Ancient History: A Paraphase. NY: Knopf, 1971. His third book. Foxing to faded top stain; near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
138. McELROY, Joseph. Lookout Cartridge. NY: Knopf, 1974. His fourth book. Faint top edge foxing; very near fine in a fine dust jacket.
139. McELROY, Joseph. Plus. NY: Knopf, 1977. An intellectual science fiction novel of a disembodied brain circling the earth as part of a solar energy experiment. Mild page edge foxing; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
140. McELROY, Joseph. Women and Men. NY: Knopf, 1987. His magnum opus. Foxing to top edge; slight pull to massive text block; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
141. -. Same title, the limited edition. (n.p.): Ultramarine, 1987. One of 99 numbered copies signed by the author. Quarterbound in leather and paste paper boards, using the publisher's first edition sheets. Faint foxing to top edge; else fine.
142. McELROY, Joseph. The Letter Left to Me. NY: Knopf, 1988. Faint top edge foxing and small bookstore stamp lower flyleaf; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
143. McELROY, Joseph. Actress in the House. Woodstock: Overlook Press (2003). A novel. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
144. McGUANE, Thomas. The Sporting Club. NY: Simon & Schuster (1969). His first book. McGuane was the first of the contemporary writers who have turned the state of Montana into a latter-day American Bloomsbury, with perhaps the highest per capita concentration of writers anywhere in the country. Faint foxing to top edge and slight indent to upper board; near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
145. McGUANE, Thomas. The Bushwhacked Piano. NY: Simon & Schuster (1971). His second book, winner of the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, for a novel of "considerable literary achievement." Faint foxing to top edge; fine in a near fine dust jacket with a short closed edge tear at the lower front panel.
146. McGUANE, Thomas. Panama. NY: FSG (1978). Fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket with a crease on the front flap.
147. McGUANE, Thomas. Nobody's Angel. NY: Random House (1982). A review copy of the hardcover edition of this novel of the contemporary West. Unlike McGuane's earlier books, this title was published simultaneously in a hardcover edition and a trade paperback. The paperback seems to have had a considerably larger printing and gotten much wider distribution. Foxing to top edge, else fine in a fine dust jacket with publicity sheet laid in.
148. McGUANE, Thomas. Something to be Desired. NY: Random House (1984). Foxing to top edge; else fine in a near fine dust jacket with wear at the crown.
149. McGUANE, Thomas. Keep the Change. Boston: Houghton Mifflin (1989). Faint foxing to top edge; else fine in a fine dust jacket.
150. McMURTRY, Larry. Terms of Endearment. NY: Simon & Schuster (1975). McMurtry's sixth novel, which was the basis for the 1983 movie that won five Academy Awards and was nominated for six more. A novel of contemporary Texas, this copy is inscribed by the author: "For ___ -- I still like this one best, Larry McMurtry." Pages browning as is common with this title; remainder stripe bottom edge; otherwise fine in a near fine dust jacket.
151. McMURTRY, Larry. Lonesome Dove. NY: Simon & Schuster (1985). His breakthrough book -- an unusual term to apply to a novelist who had had the kind of critical and commercial success that McMurtry had had by this time (his books had won a number of awards and four of his novels had been made into films), but the success of this book, which was a huge bestseller and the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, elevated McMurtry to a new level. Basis for the acclaimed and award-winning television miniseries. Pull to the text block and spine; else fine in a fine dust jacket. Laid in is a 2001 autograph letter signed by McMurtry to a book collector, offering advice on the value of Cold Mountain, and commenting on the supposed "issue point" in the first edition. Folded for mailing; else fine, with envelope.
152. McMURTRY, Larry. When the Light Goes. NY: Simon & Schuster (2007). The uncorrected proof copy of his sequel to Duane's Depressed. Fine in wrappers.
153. McPHEE, John. The Pine Barrens. NY: FSG (1968). His fourth book, one of his scarcest, and a classic of this kind of reporting: McPhee covers history, natural history, and biography, and in so doing reveals in depth a previously all-but-hidden corner of the world, a wilderness in the heart of the eastern Boston-Richmond megalopolis that occupies one-quarter of the state of New Jersey and is as large as Grand Canyon National Park. Small stain to foredge; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with an offcenter fold and one internally tape-mended edge tear.
154. -. Another copy. Signed by the author. Top stain faded and slight spine lean, else fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with a closed edge tear at the lower front gutter and a faint shallow stain there that is only readily apparent on verso.
155. McPHEE, John. Pieces of the Frame. NY: FSG (1975). Second printing of this collection of short pieces. Inscribed by the author at Christmas, 1983, on behalf of a friend and "running mate" of McPhee's. Fine in a fine dust jacket and, because of its perfectbound construction, uncommon in this condition.
156. McPHEE, John. The John McPhee Reader. NY: FSG (1976). Collects sections from McPhee's first dozen books, along with an introduction by William Howarth and a checklist of McPhee's writings, which includes a number of unattributed "Talk of the Town" pieces from The New Yorker. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with faint dampstaining at the base of the spine. A surprisingly uncommon McPhee title, and an important title for McPhee collectors in the bibliographic information that it contains.
157. (McPHEE, John). "The Headmaster" in The New Yorker. (NY): (New Yorker Magazine), 1961. The first appearance of this profile of the Headmaster of Deerfield Academy, which became McPhee's second published book. Covers tenuously connected; but, at the moment, near fine in stapled wrappers.
158. (McPHEE, John). "The Encircled River" in The New Yorker. (NY): (New Yorker Magazine), 1977. Two volumes of the magazine, which together print what was later published as the first third of Coming into the Country, which became McPhee's "breakthrough" book (a bestseller, a selection of the Book of the Month Club): after its publication McPhee was a well-known writer whereas before it he had basically been an obscure "literary journalist." Covers tenuously connected on the first issue; near fine; the second issue is fine.
159. (McPHEE, John). "Riding the Boom Extension" in The New Yorker. (NY): (New Yorker Magazine), 1980. Slight rubbing to rear cover; still fine.
160. McPHERSON, James Alan. Hue and Cry. Boston: Atlantic-Little Brown (1969). The uncorrected proof copy of this African-American author's first book, a collection of stories that defied the mold of late 1960s black writing by refusing to yield to the easy temptation to substitute political diatribe for literary accomplishment and postured anger for real, human feelings. McPherson's second collection, Elbow Room, won the Pulitzer Prize and together these two volumes stand as high spots of African-American writing of the postwar era. Label residue to lower wrappers; else a fine copy. An extremely scarce proof: the only copy we've ever seen.
161. -. Same title, the first British edition. London: Macmillan (1969). Fine in a lightly soiled, price-clipped dust jacket; near fine.
162. MICHENER, James. Tales of the South Pacific. NY: Macmillan, 1947. Folded and gathered sheets of his classic first book, which won the Pulitzer Prize. With "Publication Date Jan 28 1947" rubber-stamped on the title page. Mild acidification to sheets and a bit of dampening to first blank; a very near fine set, laid into a fair dust jacket, edge-chipped where the edges have overhung the pages, and with wear, rubbing, and chipping to the spine. Extremely scarce: Michener's first book is uncommon even in the first trade printing; we have never seen another set of these sheets or any other prepublication copy.
163. MILLER, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. NY: Viking, 1949. By consensus the most important play by one of the leading American playwrights of the postwar era. A modern classic and winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Signed by the author. Cocked, with sunning to the upper board edges; a very good copy in a near fine dust jacket with wear to the crown.
164. MILLER, Walter. A Canticle for Leibowitz. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1960). The first British edition of his first book, a classic of contemporary fantasy which won the 1961 Hugo Award and is considered by many the most important post-nuclear-holocaust novel of the nuclear age. Called by David Pringle, in Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels, "one of the greatest works of modern science fiction." In England, Kingsley Amis chose this as his "book of the year." A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with a couple of lamination scratches to the rear panel. Uncommon in nice condition.