Catalog 155, S-U
181. SALTER, James. Light Years. NY: Random House (1975). The uncorrected proof copy of what some consider his best book. Inscribed by the author and dated prior to publication. Title and publication information handwritten on spine; corner crease front cover; near fine in wrappers, with review slip laid in.
182. SALZMAN, Mark. Iron & Silk. NY: Random House (1986). The uncorrected proof copy of his highly acclaimed first book, a personal account of a trip to China to study with a martial arts master, and one of the more perceptive accounts by a Westerner both of contemporary China and of the traditions that underlie it. Made into an improbably well-received movie, for which Salzman wrote the screenplay and played himself. Light, partial cup ring to front cover, and a corner crease to the rear cover; near fine in wrappers.
183. SAYLES, John. Union Dues. Boston: Little, Brown (1977). The uncorrected proof copy of his second novel, which was nominated for the National Book Award. Sayles, the winner of a MacArthur "Genius Award," became better-known as an acclaimed film director than as a writer, but his most recent novel, A Moment in the Sun, has received substantial critical praise and renewed his reputation as an important novelist. Signed by the author. Very near fine in wrappers.
184. SCHAEFFER, Susan Fromberg. Falling. NY: Macmillan (1973). The uncorrected proof copy of her well-received first book, which was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 10 best novels of the year. Inscribed by the author. Covers dust-soiled; else fine in wrappers.
185. SEBOLD, Alice. The Lovely Bones. Boston: Little Brown (2002). The advance reading copy of her acclaimed second book, first novel, a story told from the point of view of a murdered girl and the surprise bestseller of the publishing season. After a modest first printing of 35,000 copies, rave reviews and word of mouth caused the book to go into numerous printings, with the result that the book sold more than two million copies in hardcover and stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year. The advance reading copy was distributed more widely than is usually the case for a first novel, and the responses it got caused the sales to go from 50,000 to over 500,000 copies in a couple of weeks. Made into a film directed by Peter Jackson. This copy is signed by the author. Fine in wrappers. Scarce signed.
186. SELBY, Hubert, Jr. Last Exit to Brooklyn. NY: Grove (1964). The uncorrected proof copy of his classic first novel, a grim story of the urban underbelly of contemporary society. A milestone of the literature of the Sixties, which signaled a new honesty about such subjects as drugs and sex, and did so with genuine compassion and humor. This novel was part of the publishing phenomenon that Grove Press became in the Sixties: after publishing such writers as Kerouac and Beckett in the Fifties, Barney Rosset began to issue previously-banned writers such as D.H. Lawrence, Henry Miller, and William Burroughs, and young writers like Selby and Alexander Trocchi, who were exploring previously forbidden subjects with a new frankness and openness. By the end of the decade this movement had helped rewrite virtually all of the rules about what was acceptable in the arts -- a societal sea change of almost inconceivable enormity in retrospect. Tall comb bound galleys; very near fine.
187. SETTLE, Mary Lee. The Love Eaters. London: Heinemann (1954). The uncorrected proof copy of the true first edition of her first novel, published in England prior to being issued in the U.S., despite her being an American writer. Settle is the author of the highly-acclaimed Beulah quintet, which is considered one of the finest sets of American historical novels ever written, and she also won the National Book Award for her novel Blood Ties. A very fragile proof, retaining wartime production standards: the front cover is printed on the verso of a Richard Aldington cover, a not-uncommon cost-saving phenomenon in post-war British publishing. Cocked, with small chip to upper rear corner; spine-tanned and covers beginning to separate there. Reviewer name (noted author and critic Oswell Blakeston) and address front cover. All told, a very good copy struggling to remain so. Rare. The first edition itself is scarce; we've never seen another proof copy.
188. SHEPARD, Sam. La Turista. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill (1968). The galley sheets of this play, Shepard's first full-length play and his second play to be published. Laid in are the galleys of Elizabeth Hardwick's introduction, dated 1967. At the time he wrote this, Shepard was a member of the counterculture rock band, the Holy Modal Rounders, which had a cameo appearance in the film Easy Rider. Shepard is most widely recognized these days as an actor, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as test pilot Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff; he won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for Buried Child and he has won eleven Obie awards and been nominated for two Tonys, for Buried Child and True West. He received the Gold Medal for Drama from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1992. Claspbound, front cover tanned and separating; rear cover has date and price and "DUPL NYPL." Front cover has the name of Paul Myers, curator of the Theatre Collection at the New York Public Library. Very good. A fragile and rare early state of this play by one of the most important playwrights of the latter half of the 20th century. The only copy we have seen.
189. SHIELDS, Carol. The Stone Diaries. Toronto: Random House (1993). The uncorrected proof copy. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Orange Prize, and Canada's Governor General's Award; shortlisted for the Booker Prize -- perhaps the most highly decorated novel of the last two decades, or more. Signed by the author. Fine in wrappers.
190. SILKO, Leslie Marmon. Laguna Woman. Tucson: Flood Plain Press (1994). The uncorrected proof copy of the second edition, 20 years after the first, handmade by the author and inscribed by Silko "with love," with the dedication hand-written on the copyright page and numbered "Uncorrected Proof Copy #5" in her hand. Illustrated by Silko, including artwork not in the original edition, and with an afterword to this edition that does not appear in the first edition. Fine in saddle-stitched wrappers with cover art affixed. With hand-addressed mailing envelope.
191. SMITH, Mark. The Death of the Detective. NY: Knopf, 1974. The uncorrected proof copy of this novel, a sprawling, highly literary detective novel set in Chicago, which was nominated for the National Book Award. It was recently reissued in a series by Northwestern University Press focusing on "neglected books" of substantial literary merit. Among its advocates, this novel is viewed as one of the great books of 20th century American literature. Foxing to page edges and a bit of bleed through of binder's glue near the spine. Very good in tall wrappers. An uncommon proof.
192. SONTAG, Susan. Death Kit. NY: FSG (1967). The uncorrected proof copy of her second novel. Copiously annotated, sometimes quite critically, other times effusively, by novelist Frederick Tuten, who reviewed the book. Spiral-bound; very good in wrappers. Scarce in an advance issue, and an interesting "association copy," as it were.
193. STEPHENSON, Neal. Zodiac. NY: Atlantic Monthly Press (1988). The uncorrected proof copy of the second novel by the author of Snow Crash and The Diamond Age, both of them powerful science fiction novels depicting a dark cyber-future, which have earned the author a large and passionate following, as well as substantial critical acclaim. This book, which was only issued in softcover, is a humorous ecological thriller, the author's first venture into technological issues. Modest staining and sunning to the covers, with tears at both spine extremities; only good in wrappers, but a scarce proof of an early book by an important author. Proofs of softcover publications tend to have smaller printings and more limited distribution than proofs of trade hardcovers.
194. STERN, Richard Martin. Tangled Murders. NY: Pocket Books, 1988. Bound galleys of this paperback original: a Johnny Ortiz mystery, by a journeyman writer who won an Edgar Award for his first novel, The Bright Road to Fear. An unusual format for a proof -- 8 1/2" x 14" -- more than four times as large as the trim size of the published book. Tape-bound; printed on rectos only; near fine.
195. STONE, Robert. Dog Soldiers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin (1974). The uncorrected proof copy of his second novel, winner of the National Book Award and one of the best novels to link the impact of the Vietnam war on American society in the Sixties to the dark side of that era -- the official corruption and the underside of the drug experiences of a generation. This is the second issue proof, in gold-brown wrappers with a publisher's letter to booksellers reproduced on the front cover. Fine.
196. STONE, Robert. Children of Light. NY: Knopf, 1986. The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of his fourth novel. This is Stone's Hollywood novel -- an eerie tale of an actor/screenwriter and a psychotic, drug-dependent actress, with echoes of both King Lear and Kate Chopin's The Awakening, both of which are also among the plot elements. A harsh look at the underside of Hollywood's glamour, written after Stone had had two less-than-satisfying experiences with the Hollywood adaptations of his first two books, A Hall of Mirrors and Dog Soldiers, filmed respectively as WUSA and Who'll Stop the Rain? Inscribed by Stone to another National Book Award-winning writer and his wife: "For ___ & ___ with admiration and respect -- my deepest esteem/ Robert Stone." Some dustiness and rubbing to covers, with a bit of spine-fading; very good in wrappers, in custom folding chemise and slipcase. A very nice association copy.
197. STONE, Robert. Bear and His Daughter. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. His first collection of stories, spanning the years 1969 to 1997. Bound galley sheets; 8-1/2" x 11"; tapebound in cardstock covers. Presumably produced for in-house use only; we've never seen any indication of these having been distributed outside the publishing house. Fine.
198. STOPPARD, Tom. Travesties. London: Faber and Faber (1975). The uncorrected proof copy of this play that won the Tony Award for best play as well as the New York Drama Critics Award, awards also won by his play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in 1968. Travesties was also named Best Comedy of the Year by the Evening Standard in the U.K. Fine in wrappers.
199. STOPPARD, Tom. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and Professional Foul. London: Faber and Faber (1978). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of two one-act plays, the first of which was written with the composer Andre Previn, in which the music was an integral part of the action of the play. Fine in plain wrappers. A scarce proof.
200. TAN, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. NY: Putnam (1989). The advance reading copy of her first novel, which was a surprise bestseller and went into over 30 printings in its first year. Made into a well-received film by Wayne Wang in 1993. Tan co-wrote the screenplay, which was nominated for a BAFTA, Writers Guild, and USC Scripter award. Spine-faded; near fine in wrappers.
201. TAYLOR, Peter. Presences. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1973. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of seven one-act plays, which in its trade edition is probably Taylor's scarcest work. A bit of handling apparent to wrappers; short tear to heel and one lower corner crease; still near fine.
202. TAYLOR, Peter. A Summons to Memphis. NY: Knopf, 1986. The uncorrected proof copy of the second novel, and first in 36 years, by this Southern writer who was renowned as a master of the short story. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Signed by the author in the month of publication. Hint of a bump to the crown; still fine in wrappers. With a note to the recipient of the proof from a Knopf representative, indicating that the author had requested she send him this proof. Uncommon signed.
203. THEROUX, Paul. Saint Jack. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1973. The uncorrected proof copy of his sixth book, set in Malaya during the Vietnam war. It was on the strength of this and a handful of other books set in southeast Asia that Theroux came to be considered one of the most eloquent chroniclers of the dissolution of colonialism in the Third World. Basis for a 1979 film by Peter Bogdanovich, for which Bogdanovich won an award at the Venice Film Festival. Mild spine and edge-sunning. Top edge cut at a bit of a slant. Still very near fine in wrappers. Uncommon.
204. THOMPSON, Hunter S. The Proud Highway. NY: Villard (1997). An advance copy, the first issue proof, of Volume One of "The Fear and Loathing Letters," printing Thompson letters from 1955-1967. 8-1/2" x 11" sheets, tapebound in cardstock covers. Slight corner bumps; else fine. There was an advance reading copy of this title in pictorial wrappers, which is common; an uncorrected proof copy in perfectbound white wrappers, which is uncommon; and this issue, preceding both, which is scarce.
205. TREVOR, William. Lovers of Their Time and Other Stories. London: Bodley Head (1978). The uncorrected proof copy. This copy was sent out for review to John Fowles: Fowles' blindstamp appears on the title page and a note to Fowles from the Literary Editor of The Irish Press is laid in. The copy has been read (presumably by Fowles): two spots to front cover; spine slanted with some sunning; pages acidifying. About very good in wrappers.
206. TYLER, Anne. The Clock Winder. NY: Knopf, 1972. The uncorrected proof copy of her fourth book. Scarce: only the second copy we've ever seen, and we've never seen any earlier proofs of hers on the market. Literary agency stamp to half title and final page of text. Spine slanted and creased; some foxing to covers and page edges; still at least very good in wrappers and protected by a custom clamshell case.
207. UPDIKE, John. Bech is Back. NY: Knopf, 1982. The uncorrected proof copy of the second of his humorous books featuring writer Henry Bech, an Updike alter-ego. Inscribed by the author. Uneven sunning to the front cover; near fine in wrappers. Proofs signed by Updike are fairly uncommon.
208. UPDIKE, John. The Witches of Eastwick. NY: Knopf, 1984. The uncorrected proof copy of Updike's suburban fantasy, made into a well-received and award-winning movie with Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer. Chosen by British critic David Pringle as one of the hundred best fantasy novels of the postwar era. This is the first issue proof, which contains passages that were not in the later proof or in the published book. Fine, in red wrappers.
209. UPDIKE, John. Due Considerations. NY: Knopf, 2007. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of essays and criticism, his third such collection. Includes essays, reflections, criticism and reviews, introductions he wrote to others' books, art criticism, a six-page introduction, and more. A bulky text, nearly 700 pages, with a lower corner crease on the rear cover; near fine in yellow wrappers, with the cover art bound in.
210. UPDIKE, John. The Maples Stories. NY: Knopf/Everyman's Library (2009). The advance reading copy (labeled "uncorrected proof") of the first collected edition of Updike's 18 Maples stories (seventeen of which were first published in Too Far to Go). Fine in glossy gold wrappers, with the cover art bound in.