E-list # 164

San Francisco, Mercury House, (2001). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, "with respect and admiration." Fine in wrappers. [#033755] SOLD

(Denver), Unbridled Books, (2006). Signed by the author. Unmarked, but from the library of Robert Stone. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket. [#033756] $75
On Sale: $38

Boulder, University of Colorado, 1988. The text of a lecture; in printed stapled wrappers. Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, on the front cover, "with admiration," in 1989. Laid in is a typed letter signed from Meyers to Stone, requesting that Stone share the influence that Conrad has had on his work, specifically, the influence of Nostromo on A Flag for Sunrise. The letter is near fine; the lecture has scattered spotting to cover, else near fine. Meyers wrote biographies of both Conrad and Hemingway, among others. [#033760] SOLD

(NY), (Penguin Press), (2011). Inscribed by Morris to Robert Stone and his wife: "Too many damn years, but a pleasure as always!!" Small bumps to spine ends; near fine in a very near fine dust jacket. [#033803] SOLD

(NY), Viking, (1995). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, "with great admiration," in the month prior to publication. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033761] $85

Edinburgh, Canongate, (2008). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, "with extraordinary respect & admiration." Fine in a fine dust jacket bur for a bit of softening to the crown. [#033762] SOLD

NY, Saturday Review Press, (1972). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, "with friendship and gratitude, and great heart." Very good in a very good dust jacket. [#033763] SOLD

NY, Saturday Review Press/Dutton, 1974. Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, in the year of publication, "in friendship and with great regard for your work -- and let's see more of it!" Push to spine, a very good copy in a very good, age-toned dust jacket with a small nick to the upper front panel. [#033804] SOLD

Garden City, Doubleday, 1986. Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, "in friendship and with great admiration" in the year of publication. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. [#033764] SOLD

(Bozeman), (Bangtail Press), (1989). Signed by Noll, who has added, "Aloha." Corner creasing; thus near fine in wrappers, in a near fine dust jacket. This title was later issued by North Atlantic Books. [#033765] SOLD

(NY), Ecco, (2001). Inscribed by Oates to Robert Stone and his wife, "with much affection," in the year of publication. A bit of staining to the lower edge; near fine in a near fine dust jacket. [#033681] SOLD

(NY), Ecco, (2007). Inscribed by Oates to Robert Stone and his wife, "with much love," in the year of publication. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033682] SOLD

(NY), HarperCollins, (2005). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone and his wife: "Thanks for the inspiration! Enjoy." Fine in a fine dust jacket. With an interview with Olson laid in. [#033766] $45

NY, Harper & Row, (1981). The issue in wrappers. Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone. Splayed and spine-sunned; near fine. [#033767] SOLD

NY, Knopf, 1998. Later printing. Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone: "Good fishing in Idaho and Andros." Tiny edge bumps; thus near fine in a very near fine dust jacket. [#033768] SOLD

(NY), Lyons Press, (2000). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone: "With admiration/ your former student." Tiny edge bumps, else fine in a near fine, handled dust jacket. Laid in is a 2004 trifold profile of Prosek, featuring a write-up by Waqas Wajahat, a brief artist bio and exhibition list, and several images of Prosek's work. [#033769] SOLD

NY, Picador, (2007). Second printing. Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone and his wife, in 2008: "So wonderful to meet you, a highlight of my life. Courage, then." Near fine in self-wrappers, with a PEN/Faulkner finalist label on the front cover. [#033770] SOLD

NY, Random House Trade Paperbacks, (2006). First thus. Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone and his wife, in Key West, in 2007, "with admiration and thanks for the story of the wrinkles." Slight age toning to pages, else fine in wrappers. [#033771] $25

NY, Oxford University Press, 1994. Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone and his wife, "affectionately and ever," in the year of publication. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033772] SOLD

Boston/NY, Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Later printing. Signed by the author. Unmarked, but from the library of Robert Stone. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with a PEN/Faulkner Winner label on the front panel. [#033773] SOLD

(n.p.), Livingston Press at the University of West Alabama, (2004). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone: "You have given me great enjoyment over the years." Near fine in wrappers. [#033774] $40

(NY), Viking, (1990). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone: "Left-handedly, but warmly, and with admiration," in 1993. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033775] SOLD

NY, New Press, (2008). Inscribed by the author (to Robert Stone, though unnamed): "Thank you for writing the best bedtime stories, and for giving me hope that words could be truthful even when I felt alone." Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033776] SOLD

(Palermo), (Nuova Ipsa), (2000). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, in 2004: "Maybe I've made a mistake but each discovery is begun in this way." With a full-page typed letter signed laid in, thanking Robert Stone (if this is the Robert Stone, author of Dog Soldiers and Bay of [the] Souls), for words he wrote about her manuscript: "I'm cherishing these words like the most important literature's prize and I wish I'll say to him one day." The letter is fine though folded in thirds; the book is fine in wrappers. [#033806] $75

Cincinnati, Writer's Digest Books, (2007). An advice book for fiction writers. Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, "with affection & appreciation, a 'cunning craftsman' if ever there was one." Very near fine, without dust jacket, as issued. [#033777] SOLD

(Columbia), University of South Carolina, (1995). First thus, a reissue of her 1966 book, with a new introduction by the author. Inscribed by Settle to Robert Stone: "Dear Bob, This is to thank you for your wonderful party and the words you said. And to apologize for 'correcting' you! I'm just shy about 'heroics' -- so much puff these days. I'm on the side of Shakespeare in Love. Love to you both -- Mary Lee." Fine in wrappers. [#033683] SOLD

(NY), Viking, (1999). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone and his wife, in Key West, in the year of publication: "Beyond the mountains, more mountains! Stay shining in the light." A much handled, good but stained copy, with one page corner turned. Lacking the dust jacket. [#033805] SOLD

(Birkenhead), David Ling, (1996). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone and his wife, "with best wishes from far." Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033778] SOLD

(NY), Thames and Hudson, (1998). First American edition. Signed by the author. Unmarked, but from the library of Robert Stone. Spotting to several pages; near fine, lacking the dust jacket. [#033779] SOLD

(London/Woodstock), Maverick Books, (1965). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone and his wife: "We are all one." Near fine in wrappers. [#033807] SOLD

(Toronto), Viking, (1991). Inscribed by Sullivan to Robert Stone, in 1993: "On the trail of the Gnostics." Remainder mark lower edge of text block; very near fine, lacking the dust jacket. [#033780] SOLD

NY, Quantuck Lane Press, (2007). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, who provides a brief foreword: "Thank you for being such a kind first reader -- I appreciate your support!" Fine in a fine dust jacket, which has a blurb by Stone on the rear panel that is excerpted from his foreword. [#033781] $125

Boston, Atlantic/Little Brown, (1970). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone and his wife, in 1979, "with affection." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket nicked at the front flap fold. [#033808] SOLD

Boston, Little Brown, (1972). Later printing. Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone and his wife, in 1979: "To a swell couple of friends from the nearly always tragic Jim. Kidding -- no, yes.....as always." Very good in wrappers. [#033809] SOLD

NY, Grove, (1980). Second Evergreen printing. Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, "with great admiration and fraternal respect for his seriousness." Very good in wrappers. Laid in is a review of the book and photocopies of three pieces of Thelwell's writings: two letters to the editor and a 4-page project proposal entitled "The Bible, the Ballot and the Bullet," concerning the 1980 national elections in Jamaica. [#033782] SOLD

Brockport, BOA, 1977. Second printing. Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, in 1996, "in fellowship." Fine in wrappers. [#033810] $45

NY, Persea, (1991). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, in 1996. Near fine in wrappers. [#033811] SOLD

Washington, D.C., National Geographic, (1999). Signed by the author. Unmarked, but from the library of Robert Stone. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033783] SOLD

Boston, Houghton Mifflin/Mariner, (1983). Second printing of the Mariner edition. Text block bound in upside down. Inscribed by Wideman to Robert Stone: "Fellow suffer [sic]." Age toning to pages; near fine in wrappers. [#033784] SOLD

NY, Pantheon, (1993). First thus, a reissue of a 1955 title, compiled by Richard Wilbur, with illustrations by Alexander Calder. Inscribed by Wilbur to Robert Stone and his wife, "At Irving's/ 3/95." Near fine in a very good dust jacket. [#033684] SOLD

(NY), Wendy Lamb, (2006). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, in the year of publication, "with thanks for your support at a critical time." Laid in is an autograph note signed, conveying the book. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033785] SOLD

(London), Bloomsbury Classics, (1996). First thus, the first Bloomsbury Classics edition, of the second volume of the author's memoirs, following This Boy's Life. Inscribed by Wolff to Robert Stone and his wife: "For my dear friends Bob and Janice, with love, as ever, and every good wish for the coming year. Toby. November 24, 1996." Fine in a near fine dust jacket. [#033685] SOLD

NY, St. Martin's, (2005). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone and his wife: "Two better friends don't exist." Fine in a fine dust jacket, which features a blurb by Stone on the rear panel, calling the book "a dramatic, often tragic, and grimly fascinating report from the annals of American hypocrisy." Fine in a very near fine dust jacket. [#033786] SOLD

NY, Morrow, 1984. The first American edition of the poet's first novel. Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, "with my hope of 'desbastardization' between America and Russia." With added address and phone number. Near fine in a very good, price-clipped dust jacket. [#033686] SOLD

NY, Crowell, (1974). Second printing. Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, as "To all the Stones/ whom we met at the time of these stories and have loved since." Near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket. [#033787] SOLD

NY, Villard, (2002). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, in 2006, "All is possible!" Fine in a near fine, mildly spine-faded dust jacket. [#033788] $50

NY, Norton, (1997). Later printing. Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, in 1998: "Gratefully, for over thirty years of inspiration, pure pleasure, and a star to steer by. Also in memory of the great pleasure of meeting you and finding in you so warm, generous, and sympa a soul. With the highest regard: can't say enough. P.S. read Ibn 'Arabi!" Spine-cocked; near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a PEN/Faulkner Award Winner label. [#033789] SOLD

Austin, Thorp Springs Press, (1982). Inscribed by the author to Robert Stone, "whose novel A Hall of Mirrors greatly influenced this one -- & for the knifing political insight you've brought to the novel in our time." Top edge foxed, otherwise near fine in a very good dust jacket with two closed, but long, edge tears. [#033790] $75

NY, Knopf, 1981. From the author's own library and inscribed by Stone: "For Al and Miriam/ with love/ Bob." His third novel, a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and winner of the L.A. Times Award for best novel of the year. Near fine in a very good dust jacket mottled on verso. [#033826] SOLD

NY, Knopf, 1981. The author's copy, specially bound as a gift from the publisher, with a note from the publisher laid in: "Dear Bob -- To celebrate the new year -- and your wonderful book. Thank you again for letting us publish it. Bob & Martha [likely Gottlieb & Kaplan]." Quarterbound in leather with marbled boards and endpapers. A Flag for Sunrise was Stone's first book after the National Book Award-winning Dog Soldiers. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN Faulkner Award. This kind of specially bound author's copy was a publishing tradition in the earlier part of the 20th century that had largely faded into the past by the time this book was published, making this copy even more special. Very near fine. A unique copy. [#033844] SOLD

NY, Knopf, 1981. From the author's own library, a leatherbound edition, apparently gifted to Stone from a fan who was also a bookbinder. Signed (apparently by the binder) on the half title, and dated in Los Angeles in 1982. Full leather, gilt titles, with a featherpen and inkwell onlay on the front cover. Fine in a sunned, near fine, custom clamshell case. [#033845] SOLD

Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1967. From the author's own library and signed by Stone. His first book, winner of the William Faulkner Award for best first novel of the year as well as a Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award. A novel of drifters in New Orleans in the early Sixties caught up in the web of a quasi-religious political machine, A Hall of Mirrors captured the toxic mix of religion, politics, demagoguery and hypocrisy in a way that should seem dated by now but instead only seems to be more pertinent than ever to understanding our national political process. Small book store label on half title page; near fine in a near fine dust jacket. [#033824] SOLD

Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1967. Second printing. From the author's own library and inscribed by Stone: "To Aunt Ruth/ with every best wish/ Bob Stone." Two names written on the rear flyleaf; near fine in a near fine dust jacket. [#033825] $200

[various], [various], 1981-1997. Five various editions of the author's first book, all from the author's own library. Five paperbacks: three first printings (Houghton Mifflin 1981; Penguin 1987; Mariner 1997) and two later printings (Picador and Penguin, both 1987). The Penguin edition has a rear cover crease; otherwise the lot is near fine or better. [#033841] $150

[various], [various], 1967-1997. From the author's own library: eight various editions of his first book. Includes a later printing of the first edition (1967, Houghton Mifflin hardcover) and seven paperbacks: five first printings (Fawcett 1968; Ballantine 1975; Houghton Mifflin 1981; Penguin 1987; Mariner 1997) and two later printings (Picador and Penguin, both 1987). All copies from the '80s and '90s are fine or near fine; the hardcover and the Ballantine are very good; the 1968 paperback ("Now the major Paramount picture WUSA") is a poor copy, barely held together with a dozen pieces of tape, but with Paul Newman on the cover. [#033840] $250

Boston/NY, Houghton Mifflin, 2003. From the author's own library. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Together with the first Mariner paperback edition (2004), also from Stone's library. Fine in wrappers. [#033829] SOLD

Boston/London, Houghton Mifflin/Bloomsbury, 1997/(1998). Both the first edition and the first British edition of Stone's first collection of stories, spanning the years 1969 to 1997. Both copies are from the author's own library. The U.S. edition has some prior dampening around the lower spine, thus very good in a very good dust jacket; the British edition is fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033830] SOLD

Boston/London, (Mariner)/Picador, 1997/(1999). Both the first paperback edition and the first British paperback edition of Stone's first collection of stories, spanning the years 1969 to 1997. Both copies are from the author's own library. The U.S. edition is fine; the British edition is near fine. [#033831] SOLD

London, Deutsch, (1986). The true first edition, preceding the U.S. edition by one week, and printed in an edition of only 4500 copies, vs. 40,000 (announced) for the U.S. edition. From the author's own library. One of the most hard-hitting Hollywood novels since Nathanael West's The Day of the Locust. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033832] SOLD

NY, Knopf/Vintage, (1986)/(1992). Later printings of the first American edition and the Vintage paperback edition, but both from the author's own library. Fine in a fine dust jacket; fine in wrappers. [#033833] $50

(London), Picador, (1999). First Picador paperback printing of this Hollywood novel whose true first edition is British (Deutsch, 1986). From the author's own library. Age-toned pages; near fine. [#033834] $30

Boston/NY, Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Both the first edition and the advance reading copy: both from the author's own library. In this densely plotted political and metaphysical thriller set in contemporary Jerusalem, Stone tackles the religious hatreds, political intrigues and spiritual aspirations and malaise that intersect in one of the most historically significant, and volatile, places on earth. Finalist for the National Book Award. The book is fine in a fine dust jacket; the advance copy is fine in wrappers. [#033835] SOLD

(London), Picador, (1998). From the author's own library. The first British edition of this densely plotted political and metaphysical thriller set in contemporary Jerusalem, in which Stone tackles the religious hatreds, political intrigues and spiritual aspirations and malaise that intersect in one of the most historically significant, and volatile, places on earth. Finalist for the National Book Award. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033836] SOLD

Boston/NY, Houghton Mifflin, 2012. From the author's own library. A novel that uses the form of a police procedural -- the inquiry into a college student's accidental death -- to inquire about larger issues of faith, love and accountability, as well as madness and the ability to deceive oneself. Fine in a fine dust jacket, with blurbs by Joy Williams and Madison Smartt Bell. [#033837] SOLD

(London), Picador, 1988, 1998. Two first printings of British paperback reissues of his National Book Award-winning second novel, from the author's own library. Each is fine. [#033838] SOLD

(London), Picador, 1988, 1998. Two first printings of British paperback reissues of his National Book Award-winning second novel, from the author's own library. The 1988 issue has a dampstain as the lower edge and is near fine; the 1998 issue is fine. Together with a 1981 second printing Houghton Mifflin paperback, also from the author's library; near fine. [#033839] $50

Boston, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. His second story collection, this copy from the author's own library. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033842] SOLD

Boston, Boston Publishing Company, (1986). A volume in "The Vietnam Experience" series, with text by Stone and photographs by various photographers. Unmarked, but from the author's own library. Bar code label lower spine; slight edge rubbing; near fine, without dust jacket, as most copies were issued. [#033846] SOLD

(NY), Ecco/HarperCollins, (2007). From the author's own library and inscribed by Stone: "For Eleanor with love and blessings always/ Bob S." Additionally, Stone has added, by hand, the title Outerbridge Reach to his list of previous publications. Laid in is a 2007 note from an editor at Ecco, to Stone's wife, conveying materials Stone needs to approve. Prime Green was Stone's first book of nonfiction, a memoir focusing on the late 1950s and the 1960s, when Stone was closely involved with Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters. Lacking a book by Kesey himself on the subject, this is the best memoir to date of that time and some of its key figures. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033827] SOLD

(NY), Ecco/HarperCollins, (2007). Later printing. From the author's own library and inscribed by Stone: "For Paul M. Fitzsimmons with thanks for the pleasure of reading 'A Passage' and best wishes/ Robert Stone." Last two pages have inadvertent corner turns, else fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033828] SOLD

(NY), Ecco/HarperPerennial, (2007/2008). Two copies from the author's own library: a later printing of the hardcover edition (Ecco, 2007) and a first printing of the paperback edition (Harper Perennial, 2008). Both are very near fine. [#033843] $50

NY, New American Library, (1969). From the author's own library. "250" written across front cover; very good in wrappers. [#033818] SOLD

NY, Random House, (1976). Hundreds of self-portraits by authors, translators, and other "book people" from the collection of Burt Britton. From the library of Robert Stone, who contributes a self-portrait, and inscribed to Stone from Britton. This is the simultaneous issue in wrappers. Very good. [#033821] SOLD

Boston/NY, Atlantic, (1986). The simultaneous issue in wrappers. From the author's own library. Includes an excerpt from Stone's work-in-progress at the time, in a book printing the proceedings of a symposium sponsored by TriQuarterly. Stone also contributes an essay, "Me and the Universe," and participates in a question-and-answer session. Near fine, with a promotional page laid in. [#033816] SOLD

NY, Bantam, (1986). From the author's own library. The simultaneous issue in wrappers of this collection, which also includes stories by writers such as Richard Ford, Andre Dubus, Don DeLillo, Tim O'Brien, James Salter, and T.C. Boyle, among others. Near fine. [#033819] SOLD

(Evanston), Northwestern University, 1986. From the author's own library. A special issue devoted to the proceedings of a symposium sponsored by TriQuarterly. Includes an excerpt from Stone's work-in-progress at the time Children of Light, and his essay "Me and the Universe." Stone also participates in a question-and-answer session. Fine in wrappers. Later published as the book The Writer in Our World. [#033820] SOLD

Boston, Houghton Mifflin, (1989). Two copies: the hardcover and the simultaneous issue in wrappers, both from the author's own library. Fine in a near fine dust jacket; near fine in wrappers. [#033817] SOLD

Boston/NY, Houghton Mifflin, 1997. From the author's own library. Introduced by E. Annie Proulx, and with additional contributions by Ha Jin, Junot Diaz, T.C. Boyle, Jonathan Franzen, Lydia Davis, and Jeffrey Eugenides, among others. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#033814] SOLD

Boston/NY, Houghton Mifflin, 1997. The simultaneous issue in wrappers. From the author's own library. Introduced by E. Annie Proulx, and with additional contributions by Ha Jin, Junot Diaz, T.C. Boyle, Jonathan Franzen, Lydia Davis, and Jeffrey Eugenides, among others. Fine. [#033815] $30

NY, Ecco, (1984). First thus. Volume 4 in the Tales of Chekhov series. With a 175-word blurb by Robert Stone on the rear cover, and from Robert Stone's library. Very good in wrappers. [#033812] SOLD

NY, Pantheon, (1997). From the library of Robert Stone, and with a blurb by Stone on the rear panel. Barich at one point had begun an inscription (to someone else) on the half title page. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. [#033813] $30

NY, Scribner, (1964). A posthumously published account of Hemingway's times in Paris in the Twenties. Unmarked, but from the library of author Robert Stone. Near fine in a very good, edgeworn dust jacket. [#033823] SOLD

(various), (various), (1983-2009). Six books from the library of Robert Stone, author of the National Book Award winning Dog Soldiers and Damascus Gate, among others. Both of these novels had war as their backdrop (Vietnam in Dog Soldiers) or their subtext (the Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflicts in Damascus Gate), and Stone's portrayal of war and its influence on individuals and societies is nuanced and psychological, as well as broad and deep and historical. These six war-related titles show evidence of his taking the study of war seriously, even when the particulars of a given conflict did not go into his books. The titles are: Rick Atkinson's An Army at Dawn; John Keegan's A History of Warfare; Derek Leebaert's The Fifty-Year Wound; Niall Ferguson's The War of the World; Michael and Elizabeth Norman's Tears in the Darkness; and Robert Paul Jordan's The Civil War. The Norman, the Jordan, and the Keegan are later printings; only the Norman has a dust jacket; all but the Jordan are well-read and stained. Reading copies only. [#033822] $250

[Boston], [Houghton Mifflin], [1974]. The photocopied typescript of Stone's 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. Bearing the [now crossed out] working title: Skydiver Devoured By Starving Birds. The title appears in a scene in the novel; it also appears in Stone's memoir, in an account of his time working for a tabloid newspaper where the writers were given headlines made up by other writers and had to create stories around them. The one time it appeared in print was in the excerpt from Dog Soldiers that appeared in the newsprint literary magazine, Fiction, in 1973. Stone's piece was called "Starving Birds" and at the end was identified as being from "Skydiver Devoured by Starving Birds." According to a 1987 letter of provenance, this copy of the typescript was generated by the publisher and sent to the Book of the Month Club for early consideration for possible book club adoption. The pages bear, at the bottom, a torn Book of the Month Club filing sticker. 318 pages, plus cover sheet. The cover sheet and the letter of provenance are each signed by Robert Stone. The quality of the paper varies: several sheets have the blue tone of a mimeo. Near fine or better, in the bottom half of a manuscript box and the folding cardstock case of the Book of the Month Club, at this point more artifactual than protective. As far as we can tell, a unique copy of this award-winning novel, the basis for the highly regarded film Who'll Stop the Rain? [#033357] $1,500

(n.p), (n.p.), [ca. 1983]. In 1983, Robert Stone, National Book Award-winning novelist, was commissioned to write a piece on George Orwell and his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, as that calendar year approached. In the piece, Stone made an effort to reclaim Orwell from the conservative right wing, which had taken his most famous, anti-totalitarian novels -- Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm -- to be explicit condemnations of the Soviet Union and Communism, and by implication all leftist thought itself. Instead, Stone argues that Orwell's writing in Homage to Catalonia -- not to mention his fighting on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War -- identifies Orwell as someone with both a socialist sympathy and "a certain affinity with what I believe is best about the United States," a kind of Puritanism that is characterized by "rectitude...conscience and common sense." He goes on to point out that Orwell "was the sort of radical who makes enemies on both sides of epic struggles," owing to his "originality and intelligence, [and] above all his thoroughgoing honesty, [which] always got him in trouble. A writer and man more predictable and dull, less infernally scrupulous would have had a better time of it." Stone adds that Orwell was idealistic but non-ideological -- as Stone was himself -- and deeply committed to the kind of "pragmatism that has characterized American moral thinkers from Jefferson to James to Neibuhr." He concludes that "We may never produce a greater political novel than Nineteen Eighty-Four" and that "it has done its work for us" in shaping our fears and cautions sufficiently for us to have avoided the totalitarian dystopia that was latent in the post-War years of the Cold War. The confluence of writer and subject here was, in many ways, a near-perfect one but the piece seems never to have been published; we can find no record of it; a cover letter from Stone's wife, Janice, indicates this was done for Thames Television, but whether it was produced or used remains unknown to us. One of Stone's novels includes an allusion to a critical moment in Nineteen Eighty-Four: Stone's character explains that one has "to look the gray rat in the eye" -- an allusion to the torture by rats that Winston Smith, in Nineteen Eighty-Four, is faced with, which causes him to "break" and betray himself and his loved ones. 18 pages, ribbon copy typescript, with Janice Stone's cover letter, laid into an agent's folder. Fine. An unknown Robert Stone piece, on a subject that touches close to many of the central and pervasive themes of his own writings. Unique. [#032829] $8,500