E-list # 209

London, Fourth Estate, (2014). A single essay by the Nigerian author of Americanah, among others, this being a modified version of Adichie's 2012 TED talk on feminism, which is just as relevant today as it was a decade ago when it was published, or as it would have been a half century ago. Signed by the author, and uncommon thus. Fine in wrappers. [#036625] SOLD

(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

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. Owner name on half title, else a fine copy in only a fair dust jacket with tears at the lower edge and one large chip across the upper spine and the front title, taking out "The" and "Toll" and threatening "Pha." Still, uncommon in the first printing and with the first issue dust jacket. [#036627] $200

(Gabriola Island), New Society Publishers, (2008). Plan A: fossil fuels. Plan B: alternative energy sources. Plan C: less consumption and greater community connection across the board, in areas such as food, health, transportation, etc. As blurbed by Bill McKibben: "The world on the other side of cheap oil may be a little less comfortable than the one we grew up in, but it may also be much sweeter." Inscribed by the author: "____/ Thanks for sanity." Fine in wrappers. [#036628] $150

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] $125

(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, 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] $250

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

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, Modern Library, (2008). The uncorrected proof copy of the single volume "rendering" of Matthiessen's "Watson Trilogy." The trilogy (Killing Mr. Watson, Lost Man's River, and Bone by Bone) had been a publishing idea that Matthiessen never quite made his peace with, causing him to rework the three books back into the single volume Shadow Country -- a "director's cut" of sorts, which won the National Book Award for fiction and later the William Dean Howells Medal, which is awarded by the American Academy of Arts and Letters only once every five years "in recognition of the most distinguished American novel published during that period." It also led to Matthiessen's becoming the first writer to have won the National Book Award for both fiction and nonfiction (for The Snow Leopard). This edition includes an Author's Note about the process of rewriting the trilogy. Gentle spine crease, from the bulk of the 900+ pages; else fine in wrappers. An uncommon proof, in our experience. [#036636] $450

Tahlequah, Cherokee Bilingual Education Program, 1972-1973. A brief (approximately 16 pages, including illustrations) biography of the world champion archer and inductee of the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame. Signed by Thornton. Uncommon: we found no copies listed in OCLC. A simple, comb-bound production. Near fine. [#036637] $300

Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Press, 1933. An early biography of Bartram, the naturalist, explorer, and writer, with particular attention paid to the influence of Bartram on literature (in America, this means Emerson, Thoreau, Thomas Holley Chivers, and Lafcadio Hearn). Fagin taught English at Johns Hopkins, and this copy is inscribed by the author: "To Professor Gilbert Chinard/ with grateful acknowledgments," in the year of publication. Chinard is also acknowledged in the book's Preface, "for first directing my attention to Bartram." A near fine copy in a very good dust jacket with a small stain at the front spine fold. Uncommon inscribed, and also in dust jacket. [#036638] $375

Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield, (2014). Beinecke, the President of the Natural Resources Defense Council and a Rachel Carson Award recipient, offers her "message of hope" during the second Obama administration, at a time when the climate change deniers were losing ground and alternative energy investments were increasing. Signed by the author. Introduction by Beinecke's friend and neighbor, Sigourney Weaver. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#036639] $250

NY, Macmillan, (1965). "A scathing indictment of man's folly," by one of the pioneers of sustainable development and biological diversity, author of the 1959 text Environmental Conservation. Signed by the author, with "best regards." Foredge foxing; near fine in a very good dust jacket with a couple of small edge chips. Laid in is a news clipping announcing that Dasmann will be leaving Humboldt State College for a post with the Conservation Foundation in Washington, DC. The clipping has caused minor offsetting on the page of the author's signature. Dasmann would later serve as president of The Wildlife Society and consult for UNESCO, developing the Man and the Biosphere Programme in 1971. [#036640] SOLD

NY, Macmillan, 1957. A paean to wetlands, from a time when "of the more than 120 million acres of marshes and swamps originally lying within our boundaries, less than a fourth remain fit for waterfowl and other marsh life." This copy is inscribed by Errington to renowned Life photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, "with admiration and good wishes," in Ames, Iowa, in 1961. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with modest foxing to the rear panel and a couple of edge chips, most noticeably at the upper edge of the front panel (not affecting any text or the illustration). [#036642] SOLD

NY, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, (2004). The saga of the "presumed extinct" Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and its emblematic place as a species of the "sixth wave" of extinction, currently underway. A beautifully researched and illustrated history of the forces conspiring against the bird's survival and the efforts made to stave off its demise. Inscribed by the author to a long-time ("ancient") friend. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#036643] $125

New Haven, Yale University Press, (1914). Lectures delivered before the Forest School of Yale University. Inscribed by the author in October, 1915: "To Mrs M.B. Craig. Out on the firing line in Arizona. With the compliments of the author. W.T. Hornaday." May Belle Craig worked in the office of Arizona's State Game Warden. Another owner name front pastedown; a few spots in the text; moderate wear to the boards and joints; and the top corner of the front pictorial inlay is abraded/missing. Still very good, without dust jacket. An early volume on conservation: Teddy Roosevelt had established the U.S. Forest Service less than a decade earlier, in 1905, a watershed moment in the preservation of the country's natural resources and wilderness. [#036644] $1,200

(NY), Villard Books, (1996). The second solo book (after Eiger Dreams) by the author of Into Thin Air. Like his more famous title, this one also recounts a tragedy in the wilderness, albeit not one he was witness to. Made into a film by Sean Penn. This copy is inscribed by the author. A bit of softening to the corners, else fine in a fine dust jacket. Reprinted many times, signed first printings are uncommon. [#035873] $500

(NY), Norton, (2021). Conservation history over the centuries, as seen through the lens of species protection. Inscribed by the author. Small nick to foredge and upper front board; else fine in a fine dust jacket. [#036645] $150

Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1941. The autobiography of the naturalist, botanist, and writer, author of An Almanac for Moderns and Green Laurels: the Lives and Achievements of the Great Naturalists, among many others. Signed by the author. Family library bookplate on front pastedown; foxing to page edges. Very good in a very good, edgeworn and price-clipped dust jacket. This is one of four titles we could find in Houghton Mifflin's apparently short-lived "Life in America Prize Book" series, the fourth being Wallace Stegner's One Nation in 1945. Uncommon signed, as well as in dust jacket. [#036646] $450

Homewood, Dow Jones-Irwin, 1975. A 20th century look at how the U.S. (and Canada) are positioned for the exploitation of natural resources, and how one could best profit from this knowledge. Forests, agriculture, energy (oil, coal, uranium, sun, wind), land, minerals, metal, water, etc., are all up for grabs, although the author concludes that, "ultimately, it is necessary that the world come to an almost completely recyclable economy based on renewable resources." But perhaps just not yet. Inscribed by the author. Fine in a near fine, internally tape-strengthened dust jacket. [#036648] $175

Hanover, University Press of New England, (2012). A call to action for bringing economic and political practices in line with the realities of the planet's finite resources, including a chapter on bringing an end to the "culture wars." Inscribed by the author: "For Kevin & Rosemary -- with great thanks for your help." Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#036649] $150

(n.p.), (n.p.), ca. 1989. A photocopied typescript of an early draft of Pynchon's first novel after Gravity's Rainbow: a span of seventeen years had passed by the time Vineland was finally published. 519 double-spaced pages, with textual variations from the published version. This version of the manuscript reportedly dates from a period about a year before the book was published in February, 1990. It represents a version of the text that is markedly different from that which was published and is an exceptional rarity in that regard. Pynchon reportedly insisted that no proofs or advance reading copies be done of this title, and the only printed pre-publication states that exist are a handful of f&g's (folded and gathered sheets) of the first edition and copies of the published edition that had a promotional sheet inserted. This version of the manuscript, which Pynchon apparently rewrote considerably, was never produced in printed form. From the very first sentence to the very last sentence, there are major, substantive differences between this draft and the text of the published volume. Reportedly, five copies of this draft were photocopied, double-sided, and bound with a cardstock cover; we know of two copies of these loose sheets, printed on rectos only, which presumably would have preceded the double-sided bound copies. This set shows signs of having been read: the top sheet is slightly creased and worn, and the edges of the pages are a bit dust-soiled and slightly rough. Overall, the condition is near fine. We sold this set in 1999 and bought it back this year: no copies have been made of it, by our buyer or ourselves. While only a photocopy, this is doubtless the most textually significant Pynchon item we have ever seen offered on the market, and copies of this draft are likely to be scarcer than any of the proofs of any of Pynchon's other books. Basis for the acclaimed 2025 Paul Thomas Anderson film One Battle After Another, by consensus the most successful film adaptation to date of a Pynchon novel. [#036650] $10,000

(n.p.), Paramount, 1971. Paramount pressbook and merchandise manual for the 1971 film made from Farina's only novel, which was a high spot of the literature of the Sixties. Barry Primus stars as its protagonist, the pot-smoking rebel Gnossos Pappadopoulis, who was the embodiment of hip, bridging the gap from the Beat movement of the 1950s to the 1960s counterculture. 12" x 15", 4 pages, with the inner pages being specs for advertising; the rear page being write-ups of the film's stars, and the front page featuring the movie poster, the cast and credits, and a 20+ paragraph synopsis of "The Story (Not for Publication)." One heavy horizontal crease; wear to the top edge; and rolled. A good copy. [#036651] $150

NY, Morrow, 1981. An epistolary novel of a gay medic in Vietnam, by a Marine Corps veteran of the war. Inscribed by the author: "To ___ ___, This may not be the true story of Vietnam that you're looking for, and I certainly hope it's not the Vietnam your brother served in, but I tried. Thank you very much for picking up my boy./ Relentlessly/ Charles Nelson. Mild foxing to prelims and text block; very good in a near fine dust jacket with modest foxing to verso. Jacket blurb by Richard Hooker, author of MASH. A landmark novel, uncommon signed. [#036652] $200

(Brooklyn), (Women's Action Alliance), (1975). Edited and introduced by Deena Peterson, this is a guide to resources available to women, broken out by category, from abortion to employment, family to film, etc., with accompanying reading lists. With a foreword by Gloria Steinem, defining both feminism and the need for feminism and, yes, ridiculously relevant 50 years later. Small owner name on title page; small date stamp on the front cover; one lower corner crease and mild sunning; still near fine in wrappers. [#036653] $125

NY, Vantage, (1956). A vanity press account of a woman born in 1885, the 7th of 10 children, who lived nearly eight decades in Oregon, Washington in Idaho, with a series of 4 husbands. Nearly 300 pages of hardship, beginning at the time of the Indian wars in the late 19th century up to the 1960s. Signed by the author. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with modest rubbing and some minor discoloration to the rear panel. Vanity press books are in general very scarce, as the publishers are paid for printing them and usually do not spend money marketing them; they are, in effect, privately printed by their authors. An uncommon first person account. [#036654] $250

NY, Simon & Schuster, 1991. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Yergin's bestselling history of the petroleum industry, with its ties to power, geopolitics, economic stability and regional peace or the lack thereof, was aided in its popularity by its release date, coming just months after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and one month prior to U.S. involvement. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket. Uncommon signed and in the first printing. [#036655] $300