Catalog 103, M
248. MAILER, Norman. Cannibals and Christians. NY: Dial Press, 1966. A collection of essays and articles from the 1960s, touching on political, literary and other matters. Signed by the author. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket. With a tipped-in frontispiece illustration.
249. MAILER, Norman. The Prisoner of Sex. Boston: Little Brown (1971). A review copy of this bestselling polemic, which challenged the women's movement and anticipated some of the controversy that prevails today regarding political correctness. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine, price-clipped dust jacket. This title was nominated for the National Book Award, Mailer's fourth nomination in as many years at that point -- all of them coming in different categories.
250. MALANGA, Gerard. Typed Note Signed. August 7, 1978. A brief note in which Malanga offers to provide a publisher with photographs for dust jackets or publicity. A seven page list of names of poets, writers, artists, celebrities, etc., whose photos he has access to is appended. Folded in thirds for mailing; else fine.
251. MAMET, David. Jafsie and John Henry. (NY): The Free Press (1999). The uncorrected proof copy. A collection of essays, many previously publishd, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and noted filmmaker. Minor wrinkling to rear cover; near fine in wrappers.
252. MARON, Margaret. Bootlegger's Daughter. NY: Mysterious Press (1992). The highly praised first Deborah Knott mystery, winner of the 1993 Agatha, Anthony, Edgar and Macavity Awards for best mystery novel of the year, an unprecedented sweep of the major awards by a single book. Remainder stripe; else fine in a fine dust jacket. Signed by the author.
253. MASON, Bobbie Ann. Clear Springs. NY: Random House (1999). The uncorrected proof copy of the latest book, a memoir, by the author of Shiloh and Other Stories and In Country, among others. Fine in wrappers.
254. MASTERS, Edgar Lee. Children of the Marketplace. NY: Macmillan, 1922. A novel by the author of the classic Spoon River Anthology. Inscribed by the author "with affectionate friendship" in August, 1923. Front hinge just starting but still a near fine copy, with bright gilt lettering on the spine and front cover, lacking the dust jacket.
255. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Race Rock. NY: Harper & Brothers (1954). A review copy of the author's first novel. Laid in is the reviewer's carbon typescript of a review that appeared in the Richmond, Virginia News Leader. The published review is also included. Offsetting to the front endpapers; trace wear to the cloth at the spine crown; otherwise a fine copy of the issue in blue cloth and black boards; in a very near fine dust jacket, also with slight wear at the crown. An uncommon book in fine condition, especially as an advance copy.
256. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Partisans. NY: Viking, 1955. A review copy of his second novel, set in Paris, where Matthiessen lived for a number of years and where he co-founded the Paris Review. Penciled owner signature and date (2 weeks prior to publication) and offsetting to front endpapers; otherwise this is a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with a very slight fading to the orange title block on the spine (much less than usual) and a small nick to the color on the front panel. Again, like his first book, this title is quite uncommon in fine condition, and extremely scarce in an advance issue.
257. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. Raditzer. NY: Viking, 1961. Matthiessen's fourth book, third novel. A bit of fading to the top stain; else fine in a very good, spine-dulled dust jacket with modest edgewear and an internally tape-mended spine crown. Small ink number on the jacket flap.
258. MATTHIESSEN, Peter. The Cloud Forest. NY: Viking, 1961. A chronicle of a trip through the Amazon wilderness; Matthiessen's second book of nonfiction and the first of his numerous personal accounts of travel and exploration, with which he has carved out a unique position in our literature. This copy is signed by the author. Fine in a near fine, spine-tanned dust jacket with slight rubbing to the folds. A very attractive copy of this title, which because of its unlaminated jacket usually shows substantial wear and rubbing.
259. McBAIN, Ed. The Big Bad City. (NY): Simon & Schuster (1999). The uncorrected proof copy of the 49th book in McBain's highly acclaimed 87th Precinct series, which dates back over 40 years. Fine in wrappers.
260. McDERMOTT, Alice. Charming Billy. NY: FSG (1998). Her fourth book, winner of the National Book Award. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
261. McEWAN, Ian. Amsterdam. London: Jonathan Cape (1998). His most recent novel, winner of the Booker Prize, England's most prestigious literary award. Signed by the author in September, 1998. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
262. -. Same title, the first American edition (NY: Doubleday, 1999). Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
263. -. Another copy. Corner bumped; otherwise fine in like dust jacket. Signed by the author.
264. -. Same title, the advance reading copy. Fine in wrappers. Publisher's release laid in announcing the Booker Prize Award and a subsequent change of publication date from February 1999 to December 1998.
265. McGUANE, Thomas. The Sporting Club. NY: Simon & Schuster [1969]. His first book. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author in Montana in the year of publication. A virtually perfect copy, without the ubiquitous remainder mark, and scarce with a contemporary signature.
266. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Tall, padbound wrappers, with glue strip spine. A very fragile format and the earliest state of his first book to have surfaced. Very few of these would have been done and, given the format, very few can have survived. Signed by the author. Rear cover unglued and detached, a common occurrence with padbound proofs, and the only flaw.
267. McGUANE, Thomas. Keep the Change. Boston: Houghton Mifflin/Seymour Lawrence (1989). The advance reading copy of his ninth book, a novel. Inscribed by the author in 1992. One small corner crease, else fine in wrappers.
268. -. Another copy. Also inscribed by the author in 1992. With the publisher's "Network - Not For Resale" stamp on the top edge and a corresponding label on the front panel. Spine slightly faded and light crease at spine fold; near fine in wrappers.
269. McINERNEY, Jay. Autograph Note Signed. August 27, 1985. Written on hotel stationery. McInerney declines to write a piece on the Bronze Works for Art & Antiques magazine, claiming a lack of time caused by moving and because "Random House has booked Sept. & October almost solid..." (His second book, Ransom, was published by Vintage in September.) Folded in thirds for mailing; else fine, with envelope.
270. McMURTRY, Larry. Autograph Notecard Signed. October, 1983. McMurtry declines to write a piece for Art & Antiques magazine: "Alas, no, I'll pass on Waterford, I always detested it but no point in saying so in print." Written on a notecard from Booked Up, McMurtry's Washington, D.C. antiquarian bookstore. Postal marks; else fine.
271. McMURTRY, Larry. Duane's Depressed. (NY): Simon & Schuster (1999). The uncorrected proof copy of his most recent novel, the third in the series that began with The Last Picture Show in 1966 and continued 21 years later with Texasville. Fine in wrappers.
272. McMURTRY, Larry. Crazy Horse. (n.p.): Viking (1999). The uncorrected proof copy of this short biography of the Sioux war leader. One of two debut titles in the Penguin Lives series. Fine in wrappers.
273. McPHEE, John. A Sense of Where You Are. NY: FSG (1965). The first book by the recent Pulitzer Prize winner, a profile of current Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Bradley from the time when he was a Princeton basketball player and Rhodes scholar. A portion of this book first appeared as a "Profile" in The New Yorker. Pulling to text block; else fine in a very good, moderately edgeworn but unfaded dust jacket. Signed by the author. An increasingly uncommon book, especially in an unfaded jacket.
274. McPHEE, John. The Crofter and the Laird. NY: FSG (1970). McPhee's seventh book in six years and a surprisingly scarce title, in which McPhee returns to the land of the Scottish clan from which he is descended. Mild foredge foxing; else fine in a near fine dust jacket.
275. McPHEE, John. Coming Into the Country. NY: FSG (1977). McPhee's "breakthrough" book -- three pieces on Alaska from The New Yorker -- which was chosen as a Main Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club and became a modest bestseller, immediately being reprinted a number of times. This is the book by which McPhee went from being a relatively unknown staff writer for The New Yorker -- in general someone less famous than the subjects he profiled -- to being a household name among literary cognoscenti. McPhee's lucid, transparent style has come to define a particular era for The New Yorker much as Thurber's and E. B. White's did for an earlier time. After this book, Farrar Straus brought all his earlier books back into print, even reprinting hardcover editions in some cases. Near fine in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
276. McPHEE, John. La Place de la Concorde Suisse. NY: FSG (1984). What began as a piece on the ubiquitous Swiss Army knife became an extended essay on the Swiss Army itself. Fine in a price-clipped dust jacket. Signed by the author.
277. -. Same title. The uncorrected proof copy. Near fine in wrappers.
278. (McPHERSON, James Alan and WILLIAMS, Miller, eds.). Railroad. NY: Random House (1976). The uncorrected proof copy of this compendium of pieces on railroads, a number of them written by McPherson, who had originally contracted to write a whole book on the subject, a project which evolved into this one, not altogether to the author's liking, according to his later comments. A small quarto, heavily illustrated, somewhat uncommon now even in the trade edition and very scarce in proof form. Fine in wrappers. McPherson won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his collection, Elbow Room, published the following year.
279. (McPHERSON, James Alan). PANCAKE, BREECE D'J. The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake. Boston: Little Brown (1983). Foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner McPherson (Elbow Room) to this collection of short stories by a promising young writer who was, at one time, McPherson's student and who committed suicide before this book was published. A strong collection of stories, set in the author's native Appalachia. Afterword by National Book Award-winning author John Casey (Spartina), who was also the author's teacher at one time. This copy is signed by McPherson and Casey. McPherson's signature is quite uncommon. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
280. MENCKEN, H.L. Newspaper Days 1899-1906. NY: Knopf, 1941. An advance reading copy of this memoir of Mencken's early years as a reporter, 1899-1906. In the days before uncorrected proof copies were routinely prepared for wide distribution in advance of publication, most advance copies followed the format of this one -- the sheets of the first edition bound into the dust jacket. Stamped "Sample Copy" on the top edge; very good in self-wrappers.
281. (MENCKEN, H.L.). MENCKEN, August. Typed Note Signed. February 4, 1956. Written in gratitude by August Mencken, H. L.'s brother, to a judge who apparently has spoken out for preserving the Menckens' childhood home. In part: "It is not generally known that my brother, Henry, had a horror of his home from childhood and the scene of many of his activities becoming a slum dwelling which it certainly will eventually if an idea such as yours is not put into effect [...] This is one last thing I would like to do for my brother." H.L. Mencken had died on January 29 of that year. Folded in uneven sixths; left margin torn, not affecting text; very good.
282. MILLER, Henry. Tropic of Cancer. Paris: Obelisk, 1934. The correct first edition of Miller's first novel, his first regularly published book, and the book for which he would gain literary immortality. Tropic of Cancer is a fictionalized autobiography of Miller's first year in Paris, living as an expatriate vagabond writer on the fringe of society. Its outspoken frankness regarding sexual matters caused it to be banned in the U.S. for nearly three decades, during which time it attained the status of legend. The book was published with money that the writer Anaïs Nin borrowed from psychologist Otto Rank; Miller and Nin remained lifelong friends and sometime lovers. The first printing was 1000 copies, which took three years to sell out. Since then, however, dozens of editions have been published, with sales totaling in the millions. One of the most influential books of the twentieth century for its depiction of the life of an artist's dedication to free expression, both in his life and in his work, and for the impact that its publication had on the interpretation of issues surrounding obscenity and art. With this book, Miller not only found his own voice but became the voice of a new generation of writers, free of the strictures that had bound previous generations, and open to new experiences and the vitality of living. It is hard to imagine, for example, the poets and writers of the Beat generation without their having had Miller as an antecedent and model. The first edition was only issued in wrappers, and is exceedingly fragile. This is a very good copy with a chipped and darkened spine and with several small chips and tears to the covers. Housed in a custom clamshell box. One of the key books of the modern era.
283. MILLER, Henry. Money and How It Gets That Way. Paris: Booster Publications [1938]. A fragile volume in wrappers, published in an edition of 495 copies. This copy is inscribed by the author to William Saroyan in the year of publication. Miller and Saroyan met in Paris in the 1930s and Miller made Saroyan one of the Literary Editors of The Booster in 1937, along with Miller himself and Lawrence Durrell. Anaïs Nin was the Society Editor; Miller was also Fashion Editor; and various others, including Walter Lowenfels, contributed during its short life as a literary magazine. Mild edge-darkening; else fine in wrappers. In custom chemise and folding box. A scarce item, and an excellent literary association.
284. MILLER, Henry. Stand Still Like the Hummingbird! (Norfolk): New Directions (1962). A collection of short pieces. Inscribed by the author in November, 1963, "with the author's blessings!," on the flyleaf. Recipient's notation on the half title. Near fine in a good, well-rubbed, internally tape-mended dust jacket.
285. (MILLER, Henry). PERLÈS, Alfred. My Friend Henry Miller. London: Neville Spearman (1955). A biography/memoir of Miller, with an introduction by him, and inscribed by Miller "for Wallace Fowlie," the noted literary critic, also a friend of Miller's. This copy bears Fowlie's notes throughout, and is signed by Miller and Perlès on a label tipped to the front endpaper. An exceptional association copy. Very good, lacking the dust jacket.
286. MILOSZ, Czeslaw. The Captive Mind. NY: Limited Editions Club (1983). The limited edition reissue of the book that brought the Nobel Prize-winning author international literary fame, and also led to his political exile because of its harsh criticism of the "mental acrobatics Eastern European intellectuals had to perform in order to give assent to Stalinist dogmas." This edition has a new introduction by the author, putting the writing and publishing of the original edition in context. Illustrated by Janusz Kapusta. With a new preface by Milosz. One of 1500 copies signed by the author and the artist. Fine in a very near fine slipcase with one small scuff and one spot.
287. MINOT, Susan. Evening. NY: Knopf, 1998. The uncorrected proof copy of the well-received latest novel by the author of Monkeys and Lust, among others. Fine in wrappers.
288. MONTALBANO, William D. Basilica. NY: Putnam (1998). The advance reading copy of this thriller set in the Vatican and Latin America by a writer who is probably most well-known at this point for having collaborated with Carl Hiaasen on his first three novels. Front cover crease, pen marks on summary page; near fine in wrappers.
289. MOORE, Lorrie. Birds of America. NY: Knopf, 1998. The uncorrected proof copy of the newest collection of short fiction by the author of Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? and Self-Help, among others. One of these stories was the O. Henry Award winner and the author was selected as one of Granta's 20 best young American authors. A couple page corners inadvertently turned; near fine in wrappers.
290. -. Same title, the trade edition. Fine in a fine dust jacket, and signed by the author.
291. MOOTOO, Shani. Cereus Blooms at Night. NY: Grove Press (1998). The advance reading copy of the first American edition of this well-received first novel, which was nominated for several awards. Fine in wrappers.
292. MORRIS, Mary. Angels & Aliens. NY: Picador USA (1999). The uncorrected proof copy of this nonfiction book, part personal essay and part travel narrative of the author's visits to various California spiritual communities and cults. Morris, who has written several novels and collections of stories, has received high praise for her two previous nonfiction books, both memoirs of a woman traveling alone. Fine in wrappers.
293. MORRIS, Willie. My Dog Skip. NY: Random House (1995). A special edition for friends of the author and publisher, one of 500 numbered copies signed by the author. Fine in a fine slipcase.
294. -. Another copy, this being copy #1. Fine in a fine slipcase.
295. MUNRO, Alice. The Love of a Good Woman. NY: Knopf, 1998. The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of her latest collection of stories. Munro recently won Canada's Governor General's Award, the highest literary honor in Canada, for the third time. Dust jacket art and publicity sheet stapled inside the front cover, slight scuff to crown; else fine in wrappers.