Catalog 155, V-Z
212. (Vietnam). FITZGERALD, Frances. Fire in the Lake. The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam. Boston: Little Brown (1972). The uncorrected proof copy of her massive and controversial book, the first book from a general trade publisher to give voice to the Vietnamese side of the story of the war. A bestseller, a Book-of-the-Month club selection, winner of both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize; one of the most notable books of the Vietnam war and one of the first to examine policy, strategy, and tactics from a human perspective rather than a primarily geopolitical one, and as such one of the books that helped define how Vietnam would be viewed by future generations, and what the "lessons of Vietnam" would be, even for the military. "$12.50 July" and "July list" written on front cover. Near fine in wrappers. An important book, and an uncommon proof.
213. (Vietnam). HASFORD, Gustav. The Short-Timers. NY: Harper & Row (1979). The uncorrected proof copy of his first book, a novel that was made into the landmark movie Full Metal Jacket by Stanley Kubrick. A short, grim book, it has been called one of the most powerful to come out of the war and the movie was equally stunning in its portrayal of the brutalization of the recruits who were being sent to war, both before they went and after they arrived. This is the presumed first state, with two pages printed upside down. Hint of spine-fading, else fine in wrappers.
214. (Vietnam). HASFORD, Gustav. The Phantom Blooper. NY: Bantam (1990). The uncorrected proof copy of his second novel, a sequel to The Short-Timers, with several of the same characters, including the title character. Tiny white specks to rear (red) panel; else fine in wrappers.
215. (Vietnam). HERR, Michael. Dispatches. NY: Knopf, 1977. The uncorrected proof copy. Herr, reporting for Rolling Stone and Esquire from Vietnam, was -- along with such now-legendary figures as Tim Page, Sean Flynn and Dana Stone -- among the first of the young writers to bring the sensibilities of the 1960s and the conventions of the New Journalism to the "first rock-and-roll war." Herr sent back a riveting series of dispatches, legendary at the time and now viewed as classics of war reporting. His pieces, written largely in the words of the grunts (GIs) he visited, shattered the official picture of an orderly progression to the war and helped define the "credibility gap" that made Vietnam war reporting so different from that of earlier conflicts. This book was reprinted in its entirety in the Library of America volume on Vietnam war reporting. Near fine in tall wrappers, with slight spine lean and notes in two hands written on the front cover and a staple there, also an "H" written on the bottom page edges. One of the scarcest proofs of its era and one of the most important books in its field.
216. (Vietnam). LITTLE, Loyd. Parthian Shot. NY: Viking (1975). The uncorrected proof copy of his first novel, winner of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation Award. Set in Vietnam in 1964 among a group of Green Beret advisors in a small Vietnamese hamlet. "Senior Center Library" stamps to all page edges; else fine in wrappers. The published price was changed from the price indicated on the proof. Not a proof we have seen often.
217. (Vietnam). MAYER, Tom. The Weary Falcon. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1971. The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of short stories by a writer who went to Vietnam twice, in 1966-67 and again in 1969, both times as a reporter. Mayer had published a well-received collection of stories seven years earlier, and he had been a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford's writing program, which had also graduated such writers as Larry McMurtry, Robert Stone, Ken Kesey, Tillie Olsen, Wendell Berry, and others. Short, potent stories of the war, and one of the most accomplished, and least common, of the literary offerings on Vietnam. Spiralbound proof, printed from galley sheets. Covers unevenly sunned, with a few small stains to the rear cover; very good. The book itself is somewhat uncommon, having been published at the height of public antipathy toward the war. The proof is rare.
218. (Vietnam). WOLFE, Michael. Man on a String. NY: Harper & Row (1973). The uncorrected proof copy of his first book, a suspense novel centered on a journalist in Vietnam. Quarto; tapebound. Small tear at crown; else fine. An unusual format, used by Harper during the early 1970s and suggestive of very few copies having been done. Nominated for an Edgar Award.
219. VONNEGUT, Kurt. Wampeters, Foma & Granfalloons. (NY): Delacorte (1974). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of essays, speeches and opinions. Spine slightly faded; near fine in wrappers. An uncommon proof, both because it dates from a time when proofs were not often preserved, and seldom migrated to the rare book market, and because books of nonfiction and collections of short pieces usually had fewer proofs done for them than novels did, presumably based on the somewhat self-fulfilling notion that they would receive less reviewer attention.
220. WALKER, Alice. Meridian. NY: HBJ (1976). The uncorrected proof copy of her second novel, about a young black woman coming of age during the Civil Rights movement, as Walker herself did. In this version, the final three sections follow a different order from the published version. Proof sheets bound in cardstock covers with a black tape spine. It is likely that very few copies were prepared thus. Mild edge sunning, two stray pen marks; else fine. Scarce.
221. WALKER, Alice. Good Night Willie Lee, I'll See You in the Morning. NY: Dial (1978). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of poems, preceding her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple, and printed in small quantities. Cardstock covers bound with a black tape spine, a format that suggests few were created. Slightly dusty with a small rear corner crease; else fine.
222. WALLACE, David Foster. Infinite Jest. Boston: Little Brown (1996). The advance reading copy. A huge book (nearly 1100 pages), which impressed many critics and readers with its scope and its satirical critique of popular culture as well as with the author's erudition. There were reportedly 1000 copies of this issue sent out for promotional purposes. This copy is signed by the author. Fine in wrappers. The author's magnum opus; when he committed suicide in 2008 he had published only two novels -- his first book, The Broom of the System, and this one. His other books were collections of short pieces, including nonfiction. Nonetheless, he was widely viewed as one of the leading American writers, largely on the basis of the impact of this novel.
223. WALLACE, David Foster. A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. Boston: Little Brown (1997). The uncorrected proof copy of this collection of essays and other short pieces. Textual variations exist between this and the published version. The piece "Joseph Frank's Dostoevsky" only appears in the proof; it was later published in Consider the Lobster. Very slight spine sunning; else fine in wrappers.
224. -. Another copy. Publicist's card stapled to front cover; slight spine sunning, else fine in wrappers.
225. WALLACE, David Foster. The Pale King. NY/Boston: Little Brown (2011). The advance reading copy of his posthumously published unfinished novel. Fine in wrappers. Remarkably uncommon for such a recent book, especially one that received as much attention, both pre- and post-publication, as this one did.
226. WATERS, Frank. Book of the Hopi. NY: Viking (1963). The uncorrected proof copy of this landmark volume relating the worldview of the Hopis, as compiled by Waters from the tales of thirty Hopi elders. A matter of some controversy after the fact -- some people have questioned the authenticity of the material or the qualifications of those who provided it -- this book nonetheless was profoundly influential in the Sixties, as one of the seminal volumes bringing some version of a Native American perspective and ethos to the mainstream society. This was a counterculture classic and a staple on college campuses in the late Sixties and early Seventies, thus contributing to the general push toward a more multicultural society, as well as contributing to the increasing consciousness of environmental issues, as the Hopi are depicted as living in closer harmony with the land and the natural world than was the case in mainstream American society. A bit of corner creasing and dust soiling to covers; near fine in ringbound cardstock covers. A scarce proof.
227. WELCH, James. The Death of Jim Loney. NY: Harper & Row (1979). The uncorrected proof copy of the second and perhaps scarcest novel by this award-winning Native American author. Very good in wrappers.
228. WELCH, James. The Indian Lawyer. NY: Norton (1990). The uncorrected proof copy. Inscribed by Welch to another writer, "with good memories of good times." A read copy: spine slanted, with a small tear at the spine base and uneven sunning; very good in wrappers. Scarce signed, and a nice association copy.
229. WELSH, Irvine. Trainspotting. London: Secker & Warburg (1993). The uncorrected proof copy of his first novel, highly acclaimed upon publication and later the basis for the phenomenally successful movie that became a cultural milestone of the 1990s. The first edition of this book is scarce -- preceding the movie and its associated cultural uproar by a couple of years, it was issued in a hardcover edition reported at only 600 copies; the proof, needless to say, is many times scarcer; we have seen it only a handful of times. This copy is signed by Welsh. Shallow corner creases; almost fine in wrappers.
230. WILHELM, Kate. Oh Susannah! Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982. The author's copy of the galley sheets of this fantasy novel, with her holograph corrections throughout. Mostly small changes, which were then reviewed by a copyeditor. With a notation on the front page that the corrections had been transferred to the master. Printed on rectos only, on cheap proofing paper, 12-1/2" x 9-1/2", folded once. Modest edge wear, but overall very good. A unique item. Together with a copy of the first edition. Wilhelm's 1976 novel, Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, was a Nebula Award nominee and won the 1977 Hugo Award; her 1979 novel, Juniper Time, is one of David Pringle's hundred best science fiction novels.
231. WILLIAMS, Thomas. The Moon Pinnace. Garden City: Doubleday, 1985, 1986. Two states of the uncorrected proof copy. The first is shot from typescript and reproduces extensive holograph corrections, and leaves visible a substantial amount of text that was excised from the finished book. Foxing to spine and edges of text block; very good in wrappers, with praise for Williams' previous books on the back cover. The second state is typeset. Sunning to spine and staining to covers; good in wrappers, with blurbs about this Williams title by John Irving (a longtime friend), Carolyn Chute, and others on rear cover. Williams won the National Book Award in 1975 for his novel The Hair of Harold Roux. For both:
232. WILSON, Edmund. Memoirs of Hecate County. Garden City: Doubleday Doran, 1945. The uncorrected proof copy of this novel, his first. A very fragile production: tall sheets from galleys, bound in plain brown wrappers. Spine cocked and wrappers edgeworn; overall, only good but an exceptionally scarce state of this book, the only copy we have ever handled, and dating from an era when the production of bound proofs was still a novelty, and not something that publishers did routinely. Wilson was one of the dominant literary figures of his era but he published little fiction; this proof of his first novel, which was published in 1946 but then banned in the U.S. for a dozen years because of its "vivid scenes of sexual commerce between men and women," as a 1960 New York Times article put it, was the first appearance of this controversial work by an important American writer.
233. WOLFF, Tobias. Ugly Rumours. London: Allen & Unwin (1975). The uncorrected proof copy of his first book, a novel set in Vietnam, about a Special Forces lieutenant and a sergeant serving as advisor to a Vietnamese Infantry Division. Not published in this country, and the author has pointedly refused to list it among his "previous publications" on his later books or allowed it to be reprinted. His memoir, In Pharaoh's Army, alludes somewhat disparagingly to the novel he was writing while he was serving in Vietnam, presumably Ugly Rumours. Wolff is one of the most highly regarded short story writers in America, winner of the PEN Faulkner Award, and his memoir This Boy's Life was made into a memorable movie. A novel by him on the pivotal event of his generation -- the Vietnam war -- is a notable contribution to contemporary literature, regardless of the author's opinion of its quality. The first printing of the trade edition was reported to be only 1000 copies, most of which will have gone to libraries; the proof is considerably scarcer. This copy is signed by Wolff. Very good in wrappers with a couple tiny chips and some mild staining and spine creasing. We've only seen this proof twice before, only once signed.
234. WOOLF, Virginia. Granite & Rainbow. London: Hogarth Press, 1958. The uncorrected proof copy of Woolf's essays on the art of fiction and biography. Modest foxing to the edge of the text block; near fine in wrappers. Uncommon proof.
235. YATES, Richard and STYRON, William. Lie Down in Darkness. Watertown: Ploughshares Books, 1985. Yates's screenplay of Styron's novel. This is an advance copy consisting of 8 1/2" x 11" sheets. Velobound; fine. With two letters from the publisher laid in, one announcing the book, the second correcting the ISBN number given in the first letter. An extremely scarce item; probably only a small handful were produced; and an important item, linking two of the preeminent American writers of their generation.
236. ZUSAK, Markus. The Book Thief. NY: Knopf, 2006. The advance reading copy of the first American edition of this novel, reviewed by Janet Maslin in The New York Times with the opening sentences: "Markus Zusak has not really written Harry Potter and the Holocaust. It just feels that way." Together with a first trade edition, and also together with "The Book Thief Word Dominoes Game," a dozen cardstock dominoes printed on the reverse with words ("Predicament," "Basement," etc.) and featuring an 8-step set of instructions for using the game to spark discussion after the book has been read. The Knopf edition features a Domino-themed dust jacket. All items fine.