Vietnam and The Sixties, The Sixties 1
408. ACOSTA, Oscar Zeta. The Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo. (San Francisco): (Straight Arrow) (1972). First book by the iconoclastic Chicano lawyer who was characterized so vividly in Hunter Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. A legendary and elusive figure who later disappeared, Acosta remains a quintessential character of the Sixties -- a gonzo lawyer plying his trade out there on the edge of political unrest, social turmoil, and the personal weirdness induced by overindulgence in psychedelia. Fine in fine dust jacket.
409. ADAMS, Walter. The Test. NY: Macmillan (1971). Nonfiction account of the author's nine-month tenure as President of Michigan State University during a period of intense political upheaval and student protest in the late Sixties. Fine in near fine dust jacket with a short edge tear and minor wear at the spine crown.
410. (ALPERT, Richard). BABA RAM DASS. From Bindu to Ojas. (San Cristobal): (Lama Foundation) (1970). First edition of Alpert's enormously popular autobiography and guidebook to enlightenment, Be Here Now, and his first publication as Ram Dass. 1/300 copies, softbound quarto printed on brown paper (missing the color mandala tipped to front cover), bound with rope. Together with the supplementary pamphlets Painted Cakes Do Not Satisfy Hunger, Our-Story/My-Story/Your-Story/His-Story, Cookbook for a Scared Life and a Long-Playing record. Also included are: four folded sheets printing spiritual aphorisms and three large folded posters with photographs of gurus and deities; a solicitation envelope ("We have run out of green energy"); a list of upcoming events dated March 11, 1971; a printed card quoting Meher Baba; and a handwritten postcard from Shree Gurudev Siddha Yoga Ashram. All items in fine condition in worn original mailing box printed with mandala designs.
From Bindu to Ojas is a landmark of the counterculture: the very scarce first edition of the first successful attempt to bring a version of oriental mystical philosophy to a large western audience. Its success laid the foundation for further, similar efforts by others, and opened the floodgates for wide acceptance of diverse philosophies and viewshelping to instigate the present-day concerns with multi-culturalism and cultural diversity as well as fostering what has come to be known as the "New Age" movement. In truth, it can be argued that no other single book was as pivotal in helping East meet West, and Alpertwho was Timothy Leary's partner in the early Harvard experiments with LSDprobably had a more profound effect on contemporary culture with this book than his more famous colleague had with his "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out" exhortation.
411. (Anarchism). BOOKCHIN, Murray. Post-Scarcity Anarchy. (NY): Anarchos (n.d.) [c. late 1968]. Offprint from Anarchos #3. The very scarce first separate edition of Bookchin's influential essay, which envisioned a utopian society growing out of the material abundance of the postwar era. Fine in stapled wrappers.
412. (Anthology). Green Flag. (San Francisco): City Lights (1969). No. 3 of the Journal for the Protection of All Beings, published in the wake of the People's Park protests in Berkeley in May, 1969. Richard Brautigan, Gary Snyder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and many others. Some cover soiling; near fine in stapled wrappers.
413. (Anthology). The High School Revolutionaries. NY: Random House (1970). Essays on political and social matters by radicalized high school students. Remainder mark front flyleaf and slight foxing to top edge; else fine in near fine dust jacket with one 3" diagonal corner tear on the rear panel.
414. (Anthology). Mark in Time. SF: Glide (1971). Contributions by and photographs of Richard Brautigan, Gary Snyder, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Kay Boyle, Ishmael Reed, and many others. Oblong quarto, heavily illustrated. Fine in near fine, lightly edgeworn dust jacket.
415. (Anthology). All Stars. Santa Fe/NY: Goliard/Grossman (1972). A collection of poems by a number of the writers who came to prominence in the Sixties, associated in one degree or another with the countercultural impulses of the time, including Michael McClure, Ed Sanders, Ed Dorn. Edited and signed by Tom Clark. Also signed by contributors Ted Berrigan, Ron Padgett, Aram Saroyan, James Schuyler. A fine copy of the issue in wrappers.
416. (Art). Starart. (DeWinton): (Starart) (1979). Art by Joni Mitchell, John Mayall, Cat Stevens, Klaus Voormann, Ron Wood and Commander Cody. Drawings, paintings, sculpture, etc. Oblong quarto. Fine in a foxed, else near fine, dust jacket.
417. BACH, Richard. Jonathan Livingston Seagull. (NY): Macmillan (1970). The very scarce first edition of one of the most popular examples of the pop literature of the timea huge bestseller that went into dozens of printings. As a small, cult item, the book enjoyed considerable counterculture respectas a follow-your-own-muse fable. Its enormous commercial success provoked a scornful backlash that was aided by a rather insipid film version a couple of years later. Owner label front free endpaper; else fine in fine, price-clipped dust jacket. Extremely scarce, and a book whose success is a testament to the characteristics of a particular moment in time.
418. -. Same title, the deluxe edition, bound in leather (or "leatherette"), slipcased and signed by the author. From the sheets of the sixteenth printing. A fine copy in near fine slipcase.
419. BATESON, Gregory. Steps to an Ecology of Mind. San Francisco: Chandler (1972). Subtitled "Essays in Anthropology, Psychiatry, Evolution and Epistemology," this is a seminal, interdisciplinary book linking theories of mind and behavior with such fields as cybernetics and communication theory to come up with new perspectives on order and organization in living systemsin some ways anticipating the recent developments both in scientific theory (chaos theory, for example, and the studies of complexity) and in science writing (e.g., Douglas Hofstadter's Goedel, Escher, Bach). Widely reprinted in paperback where it became an underground bestseller, the first edition, which was done by a small scientific publisher, is very scarce. One of the milestone books to come out of the cross-fertilization of disciplines that took place in the Sixties. Signature on front flyleaf otherwise near fine in dust jacket with one small tear at the upper rear spine fold.
420. (Black Expatriate). BIBBS, Hart Leroy. Camétude. (France): Christian Bourgois (1969). Inscribed by the author to Julius Lester in 1970: "Sorry. They do not read me in American." Fine in wrappers, with "Art Leroi" changed to "Hart Leroy," repeatedly, apparently in the author's hand.
421. (Black Expatriate). BIBBS, Hart Leroy. Polyrhythms to Freedom. (n.p.): (n.p.) (n.d.). Inscribed by the author to Julius Lester in 1970. Fine in stapled printed acetate wrappers.
422. (Black Panthers). The Black Panther, Vol. V, No. 1. (San Francisco): (Black Panther Party), July 11, 1970. Weekly newspaper of the first high profile, radical black political party, which by this time was advocating violent resistance to the established authorities, and armed self-defense. A combination of propaganda sheet and left-wing news service, The Black Panther was strident, polemical and deliberately outrageous with an in-your-face style that was, at the time, fresh and invigorating and has since become something of a cultural norm. The Black Panther served as a clearinghouse for information and stories from around the country involving black protest and the struggle for black community identity and self-determination. Important, and an icon of its time, both for its documentation of the almost unbelievable amount of violence and brutality directed against African-Americans and also for its relentless equation of criminality with political protest, a mixed legacy at best. Also includes reports from Vietnam, Brazil and the women's liberation movement. Newsprint browning with age. Near fine.
423. (Black Panthers). The Black Panther, Vol. V, No. 8. (San Francisco): (Black Panther Party), August 21, 1970. Includes a long statement by Huey Newton on the need for revolutionary solidarity with the women's liberation and gay liberation movements, among other articles and reports. Fine.
424. (Black Panthers). CANNON, Terry. All Power to the People. The Story of the Black Panther Party. San Francisco: Peoples Press (1970). As it says, a primer on the Black Panther Party written by a white person for other white people. Quarto; four color cover; fine in stapled wrappers.
425. BLAZEK, Douglas. Broken Knuckle Poems. (Cleveland): (Black Rabbit Press) (1969). A volume of underground poetry, dedicated to Charles Bukowski. One of 500 copies. "© Douglas Blazek, 1969" handwritten by the author on verso of title page, and several corrections to the text in his hand. Mimeographed sheets; near fine in wrappers.
426. (BLAZEK, Douglas). Open Skull, 1. San Francisco: Open Skull Press (1967). Edited by Blazek. Published correspondence between writers, several having to do with LSD (William Wantling), hippies (Charles Plymell), the counterculture and other drugs; most written to Blazek, two letters to Bukowski. Very near fine in stapled, reflective wrappers.
Inscribed to Ken Kesey in 1962
427. BRADBURY, Ray. Something Wicked This Way Comes. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1962. Second printing. Inscribed by the author to novelist Ken Kesey in the year of publication, which was also the year Kesey's acclaimed first novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, was published. Warm inscription, using images from the book itself: "For/ Ken Kesey -/ with the good wishes of/ the owner, proprietor, and/ ticket-taker of the/ Pandemonium Shadow Show/ himself / Ray Bradbury/ November, 1962." The Pandemonium Shadow Show is the central image of the book, a traveling magical carnival, and the analogy to Ken Kesey's bus and Merry Pranksters is too hard to ignoreboth provided access to magic and other dimensions, where things were not what they seemed and where, finally, the deepest secret lay within. A great association. The cloth of the book is heavily mottled (as one might expect of a book that traversed a portion of the Sixties with Kesey); a good copy in a supplied, near fine dust jacket.
428. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. The Octopus Frontier. SF: Carp Press, 1960. Brautigan's uncommon fourth book and third collection of poems. Although there is no indication of the size of the edition either in the book itself, in Lepper, or in the bibliography published in 1990, all of Brautigan's books that precede Confederate General From Big Sur (1964) are exceptionally scarce and seem to have either been done in very small quantities or to have disappeared over the years as such slight, fragile volumes are wont to do. This copy is near fine in stapled wrappers and is signed by Brautigan and dated February 16, 1969. Signed copies of Brautigan's early books of poetry are exceedingly uncommon.
429. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. A Confederate General from Big Sur. NY: Grove (1964). Brautigan's quirky first novel. Very light foxing to top edge; else fine in dust jacket with a couple of light marks near mid-spine, but still near fine. A very nice copy of a book that has become quite scarce, especially in this condition. Brautigan's writings influenced an entire generation and, although he fell out of literary favor for a timeculminating in his suicide in 1984there has been a resurgence of interest in his writings as he has come to be seen as a true American original whose sense of humor and whimsy embodied the innocence and aspirations of his time.
430. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. The Galilee Hitch-Hiker. (SF): (Cranium, 1966). Second edition of Brautigan's scarce second book, originally published in 1958 in an edition of 200 copies. This edition was limited to 700 copies. This copy is inscribed in the month of publication to Brautigan's close friend, Andrew Cole. Brautigan and Cole were roommates for a time in San Francisco; they were both lovers of Michaela Le Grand, whom Brautigan called his "muse" (and who appeared with Brautigan in the cover photograph of Trout Fishing in America). A very uncommon book, rare signed, and an exceptional association copy.
431. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster. San Francisco: Four Seasons (1968). Writing 20 in the Four Seasons Foundation series, a collection of poems. Issued in wrappers (there was an edition of 50 signed hardcoversthe only hardcover edition). Small wrinkle to spine near heel; else very near fine.
432. -. Another copy. Light rubbing; uneven sunning to rear panel; spine very slightly faded; still near fine.
433. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. In Watermelon Sugar. San Francisco: Four Seasons Foundation (1968). Writing 21 in the Four Seasons Foundation series. The first edition of this lyrical book which defies easy categorization: a novel in the form of a number of short, related prose poems. This is the issue in wrappers, signed by the author in the year of publication. (There were 50 signed hardcover copies). Although Brautigan was not averse to signing books, his popularity was such that most copies that turn up signed are later printings. First editions with contemporary signatures or presentations are quite scarce. Light rubbing to front cover and a couple of spots on the spine, otherwise fine.
434. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. Please Plant this Book. (San Francisco): (Mackintosh) (1968). Card stock folder illustrated with photographs and containing eight seed packets, each printed with a poem by Brautigan. A remarkably fine copy with the seed packets intact, the seeds still present, and the folder fresh and unfaded. Rare thus. A whimsical book that epitomizes its eragiven away free in the Sixties, with copyright freely given on the condition that the book not be sold.
435. -. Another copy. Slight overall browning with age; otherwise fine, and also with the seed packets intact.
436. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. Rommel Drives on Deep Into Egypt. NY: Delacorte (1970). The hardcover issue of this collection of poetry. Very near fine in near fine, price-clipped dust jacket that has a couple of short edge tears and slight wear at the spine extremities. A nice copy.
437. -. Same title, the simultaneous issue in wrappers Fine.
438. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966. NY: Simon & Schuster (1971). The uncommon hardcover edition of this novel. Remainder stripe bottom edge of pages otherwise near fine in a slightly spine-faded, very good dust jacket.
439. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. Revenge of the Lawn. Stories 1962-1970. NY: Simon & Schuster (1971). The hardcover edition of this collection of short stories, which was also issued simultaneously in paperback. Fine in fine dust jacket. A lovely copy of a book which, because its paperback edition was geared at its primary marketcollege students and other young peopleis quite uncommon in hardcover.
440. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. The Tokyo-Montana Express. NY: Delacorte (1980). First edition of this collection of short prose pieces, depicting stops on a mythical train route from Montana to Tokyo, imbued with Brautigan's characteristic gentle whimsy and humor. This copy is inscribed by Brautigan to writer Tim O'Brien in the month after publication. O'Brien won the National Book Award the year before for Going After Cacciato, which used whimsical and fantastical story elements in a tale about the Vietnam war. Brautigan's signature is uncommon; significant association copies are practically unheard of. This copy links two writers known for their haunting and compassionate interweaving of the disparate elements of gritty realism and fanciful inventiveness. Nick at bottom edge of boards; else fine in a fine dust jacket with traces of rubbing at the spine crown and front spine fold.
441. BRAUTIGAN, Richard. Listening to Richard Brautigan. (Hollywood): (Capitol Records) (n.d.). Long-playing record album of Brautigan reading his poetry (including one Brautigan poem read by others). Fine in fine sleeve, with original plastic wrap still intact.
442. (BRAUTIGAN, Richard). Place, Vol. II, No. 1. San Francisco: Natural Wonders, 1972. Includes an excerpt from Brautigan's limited edition, The Overland Journey of Joseph Francl, which was published in 1968. Other contributors include Stewart Brand, Gurney Norman, Ed McClanahan, and Scott Turow, among many others. Attractively designed perfectbound quarto magazine, heavily illustrated with photographs and artwork. Unevenly faded, modest wear. Very good in wrappers.