Catalog 177

NY, Roaring Brook Press, (2012). In 1961, Charlayne Hunter was one of two Black students at the University of Georgia; in the mid-Sixties, she was the first Black female writer at The New Yorker, prior to a career that included The New York Times, The MacNeil Lehrer Report, NPR, and CNN. This book begins with Obama's inauguration and then flashes back to the years 1959-1965, concluding with the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication to a prominent couple, active in Democratic politics and philanthropy. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#036569] SOLD

Boston, Little Brown, (1987). The tale of how a cat won over Amory (and went on to meet Cary Grant, Walter Cronkite, George C. Scott, etc.). Blurbs by Bea Arthur and Doris Day, among others. Warmly inscribed by the author to a couple, "Jimmy & Gloria, with admiration and love" in the month prior to publication. With an autograph note signed laid in, in which he invites the recipients to a "small (I promise)" publication party, and reminds them he's still a dog person, "especially about your dogs" -- written on Beverly Hills Hotel stationery. The recipients were likely Jimmy Stewart and his wife Gloria McLean, who were famous for their affection for their dogs: Stewart once recited a poem he wrote about his golden retriever Beau on the Johnny Carson show, which famously brought his host and many of the audience members to tears. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. [#036656] $350

Chapel Hill, Algonquin Books, 2010. The 2011 John Burroughs Medal winner. A surprisingly fascinating memoir of a woman's debilitating illness being eased by the companionship of a snail. Basis for the award-winning 2019 short film, narrated by Daryl Hannah and starring Ariela Kuh and Neohelix Albolaris (the snail). Signed by the author, "ETB," with a sketch of a snail on the move. Fine in a very near fine, lightly edge-rubbed dust jacket. First printings are scarce; signed copies much more so. [#036657] $250

(NY), Morrow, (2010). The friendship between an eagle who can't fly and a man with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. A tale of injury, illness, and redemption. Blurbs by Stacey O'Brien and Susan Richards, among others. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#036658] $125

NY, Ballantine Books, (2014). Author Jon Katz brings a sick donkey to his farm in upstate NY, where he begins to learn (empathy, compassion, friendship) from him. Signed by Katz. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#036659] $125

Boston, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, (2018). "A memoir in thirteen animals," by the acclaimed naturalist, with lessons from a dog, a pig, a weasel, an octopus, a spider, an emu, etc., several of whom have been the subjects of entire books by her in the past. Illustrated with drawing at each chapter heading, and with photographs of the author with most of the book's subjects at various times and places over the years. Also with an annotated bibliography of ten books "For Further Reading" that inspired the author "to embark on a career of studying the lives of animals and writing about the natural world -- including works by Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, Barry Lopez, Farley Mowat, and others. Signed by the author on a tipped-in leaf. Fine in a dust jacket with a small mark on the rear panel blacking out the price, otherwise fine. [#036660] $200

Boston, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. A Morgan named Georgia becomes Richards' lifeline out of a bad marriage and a decade of drinking. Blurbs by Stacey O'Brien, Abigail Thomas, Rita Mae Brown, and others. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine, slightly edge-rubbed dust jacket. [#036661] $125

(San Francisco), Third World Communications, 1972. Edited by Janice Mirikitani, this anthology brought together work by "Third World people of Asia, Africa, and the Original Americas," including "A Scarlet Woman" by Ntozake Shange and "Custer Lives in Humboldt County" by Janet Campbell Hale, both appearances being prior to the authors' first books. Stamp of The Institute for the Study of Labor & Economic Crisis on the title page and inked-out address of the "Women's Library" inside the front cover. Spotting to covers; still very good in wrappers. 30 copies in OCLC. A landmark volume, and scarce now. [#036626] $250

(London), Macmillan, (1977). A science fiction anthology from the 1960s, featuring Philip K. Dick, Kurt Vonnegut, J.G. Ballard, Thomas Disch, Frederick Pohl, Roger Zelazny, Michael Moorcock, and others. Edited by Harry Harrison and Brian Aldiss, with a 12-page introduction by Aldiss. Aldiss, in addition to being a science fiction writer is also a historian of the field, with his book Billion Year Spree being the standard history of the field up to the early 1970s. Faint foredge foxing; near fine in a near fine dust jacket. The least common title in this series, especially in the original hardcover edition. [#036543] $250

NY, Epstein & Carroll, (1961). Juster's wildly successful first book, a now-classic fantasy adventure tale illustrated by Juster's housemate at the time, Jules Feiffer. This copy is inscribed by Juster to the founder of a literacy nonprofit -- "Lovely to be one of your books" -- and is also signed by Feiffer. Slight spine lean; small spot to upper spine; possible pencil markings at the lower edge of the text block. Still a near fine copy in a good, supplied, price-clipped dust jacket with internal and external tape repairs. [#036570] $3,500

NY, Scholastic Book Services, (1963). The first printing of the first book in the 29 book series, the last being published posthumously, 49 years after this one, in 2012. Solving mysteries (or, revealing enough clues so that the reader can solve them) with his dependable sidekick (and bodyguard) Sally Kimball, Encyclopedia Brown was a mainstay of Scholastic Book Services' outreach into schools in the 1960s; a comic strip appeared in the '70s; an HBO series appeared in the '80s. Sobol received a special Edgar Award for the book series from the Mystery Writers of America in 1976. Pages age-toned; shallow creasing to the front cover; corner crease and one small chip to the rear cover. About very good in wrappers. Uncommon in the first printing. [#036571] $275

Washington, DC, Island Press, (2009). The authors point to the already (even then) rising seas, the accompanying denials, and the inevitability of an increasingly inland future. Inscribed by Pilkey: "To ___/ From one sea level guy to another!" Study notes in ink on rear free endpaper, otherwise fine in a fine dust jacket. [#036629] SOLD

(n.p.), National Book Foundation, (1997). An 8-page pamphlet printing an interview with DeLillo by Diane Osen, upon the publication of the BOMC edition of Underworld. Covers two questions on DeLillo's becoming a writer, and another dozen specific to Underworld itself. After his National Book Award for White Noise, and the string of great novels that followed, DeLillo was considered one of the great American novelists of the second half of the 20th century, with Underworld widely considered to be his masterpiece. Fine in stapled wrappers. [#036545] $125

NY, Scribner, (2005). His third published play. Inscribed by the author. This is the first printing of what was to be a simultaneous softcover issue, but we've found no indication (other than an assigned ISBN) of there ever having been a hardcover printing. Fine in wrappers. Scarce signed. [#036546] $250

NY, Penguin Press, 2019. Warnings about democracy from before the Capitol attack, before the (second) invasion of Ukraine, and during the (first round of) tariffs on China (one effect of which was China ending its domestic ownership rules for auto companies, benefiting Tesla). Inscribed by Diamond, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professor at Stanford University. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#036547] $250

NY, Riverhead Books, 2020. Gessen, a non-binary Russian-American journalist sentenced, in abstentia, to 8 years in a Russian prison for speaking out about atrocities in the war in Ukraine, here cogently skewers both the form and the function of the first Trump presidency. Signed by the author in 2022. Gessen had published the viral essay, "Autocracy: Rules for Survival," in The New York Review of Books two days after the 2016 election. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with a blurb by Timothy Snyder. Uncommon signed. [#036572] $250

Chicago, University of Chicago Press, (2018). How democracies decay (via attacks on checks and balances, the free press, opposition parties, and individual rights, along with a growing centralization of power, etc.), and strategies for democracy's defense (Congress, the judiciary, science, society, etc.). Rational arguments from the time of the first Trump administration. Signed by both authors. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#036548] $200

(NY), Open Field, (2023). A political memoir by one of only two Republicans to serve on the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection. Signed by Kinzinger. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#036630] $150

NY, Abrams, (2020). Graphic novel artists illustrate the stories of ten people affected by their time at GITMO, a place that serves as a model for the tendency of democracies to jettison the very principles they are claiming to defend. Edited and inscribed by Mirk, and with an introduction by Omar El Akkad, author of One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#036631] $200

Washington, DC, American Psychological Association, (2019). Moghaddam, an Iranian-born professor of psychology at Georgetown, explores the recent global decline in democracy. Although published during Trump's first term, the index entry alone alludes to the continuing story ("assault on American press; Charlottesville neo-Nazi rally; dismissal of scientific findings; etc.). Inscribed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#036632] $150

NY, Simon & Schuster, (2000). Expanding on his 1995 Journal of Democracy essay, Putnam examines the decline in America's civic engagement and the ensuing loss of "social capital," covering both the causes and the ramifications, which include growing isolation and a concomitant loss of trust in people, in institutions, and in a democratic government. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication, apparently to married economists. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Rare signed. [#036549] SOLD

NY, Crown, (2016). The subversion of democracy via gerrymandering, judicial activism, "Citizens United" and the rise of Super PACs, restrictive voting laws passed at the state level, etc., as seen from the politically pivotal year of 2016. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#036573] $150

(New Delhi), Hamish Hamilton/Penguin, (2009). Essays by the Booker Prize winning author of The God of Small Things, an examination of rising wealth disparity, corporate power, religious majoritarianism, cultural nationalism, neo-fascism, and an unaccountable judiciary, in India. Inscribed by the author in New Delhi in the year of publication. In recent decades Roy has been known at least as much for her writings and activities as a political and social activist as for her literary writing. She was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize in 2004, and her two most recent volumes prior to this one were both nonfiction. This is the first Indian edition. Fine in a fine dust jacket with a small (Indian) bookstore label at the lower edge of the rear panel. [#036574] $250

NY, Metropolitan Books, (2019). Signed by the author, who is a Canadian-American documentary filmmaker ("What is Democracy?) and activist. Taylor tackles issues such as the decline of democracy and democracy's connection (or disconnection) to corporate wealth, financial inequality, freedom, inclusion, conflict, coercion, and environmental degradation. If democracy means rule by the people, what does it mean to rule and who counts as the people? Fine in a fine dust jacket, with blurbs by Rebecca Solnit and Naomi Klein, among others. [#036633] $200

NY, Metropolitan Books, (2001). Ehrenreich's best-known work, a report on attempting to live solely on the paychecks of a series of minimum wage jobs in different American cities. Inscribed by the author. Underground journalism by the political activist, reminiscent of George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London, more than 60 years earlier. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with blurbs by Studs Terkel and Naomi Klein, among others. [#035844] SOLD

Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill, (1942). The apparent dedication copy of this early novel of how an average American man devolved into fascism. From the New York Times review: "It is very likely that the next few years will bring us much fiction about the disease of fascism that is corroding so large a part of the green earth. A wave in the coming tide, albeit a small one, is this volume by John Burgan on the making of an American Fascist." This title's dedication reads: "This Book Is For Wanda." Below, it is inscribed by the author, "who is the only one who knows all that is in it and all that is not. With my love, Jack/ Sept. 7, 1942/ Washington D.C." John "Jack" Burgan was a "newspaperman" and magazine editor. Born in 1913, he married Wanda Smith in 1939 and died in a plane crash in 1951 at the age of 38. Offsetting to the endpages; a near fine copy in a good dust jacket with shallow edge chipping but fragile along the folds. The rear panel is fully dedicated to Burgan's own pitch for Americans to buy war bonds. A scarce wartime publication; 14 copies listed in OCLC, no other copies available online. [#036634] $375

(n.p.), (n.p.), ca. 1989-1993. A treatise by Bissette on a cycle of 1970's-era Italian horror films featuring cannibalism in the Amazon, Malaysia, and New Guinea. 80+ pages of computer printout, tapebound in cardstock covers. The front cover has a hand-written suggested date ("1993?"), but page 74 is dated 1989. Bissette is well-known for his work on Saga of the Swamp Thing in the 1980s; publishing the horror anthology Taboo into the early 90s; and co-editing Comic Book Rebels with Stanley Wiater in 1993. Since 2005 he has edited and published the film journal Green Mountain Cinema, with this manuscript being indicative of his longtime interest and expertise in the field. Stamp of another writer inside the front cover; the covers are soiled and lightly scented (cologne?); very good; the pages of text are near fine. [#036576] $1,500

Beverly Hills, Guild-Hartford Publishing, (1972). Uncommon novelization of the Paul Naschy horror film, a classic B-movie by the actor/director who was called "the Spanish Lon Chaney" and was awarded Spain's Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts in 2001. Arthur Scarm is reportedly Leo Guild, who has been called "the worst pulp novelist ever" and, according to one writer "[t]his is a Holy Grail of weird books, full of disgustingly described graphic violence and cheesy erotica. This has absolutely nothing to do with the story of the film that this is supposedly based upon, and this book is something completely devoid of cultural value, which is why it is so much fun." Another writer said it "has the reputation among aficionados as the most craptastically awful book ever written," and a third one compared it to such "overhyped classics" as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Odyssey, Beowulf, etc.," saying, "I have read over 5000 books and I have only enjoyed two of them. This is one..." A minor classic, perhaps sui generis, and quite scarce. Stamp of another horror writer inside the front cover; narrow, blended dampstaining at the foredge of the front cover; general light rubbing. A good copy. [#036577] SOLD

NY, Random House, (1972). The uncorrected proof copy of Irving's second book. An uncommon proof, preceding his breakthrough novel, The World According to Garp, by six years and dating from a period when proofs were not commonly collected, so few likely survived. Spots and a small black mark on the half-title page; spots and some creasing to covers; very good in wrappers. This is the earliest John Irving proof we've seen; we've never seen a proof of his first book, Setting Free the Bears. His latest novel, Queen Esther, a sequel to perhaps his best-loved novel, The Cider House Rules, has just been published. [#036635] $750

NY, Henry Holt, (2022). One of our leading environmental activists, after turning 60, turns his attention to the prior half century to explore the breakdowns in "American patriotism, American faith, and American prosperity," and wonders what may be worth saving. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#036550] SOLD