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] SOLD