NY, Modern Library, (2008). Matthiessen's own copy of the uncorrected proof copy of the single volume "rendering" of the "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 book back into the single volume Shadow Country, a "director's cut" of sorts, which won the National Book Award and later the William Dean Howells Medal, an award that is given 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. This edition includes an Author's Note about the process of rewriting the trilogy, with a half dozen of Matthiessen's corrections to the text. Matthiessen has also corrected the spacing of the fragmented prose on the final page and noted several other pages where he has corrected typos. A bulky proof, more than 900 pages, and with some spine creasing and a bit of sag to the text block. A very good copy in wrappers and, in our experience, a very uncommon proof. [#032369] SOLD