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1982. A typed letter signed by Butler to poet Tom Clark, regarding Clark's review. In 1981, Butler, who would later win the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for his collection A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, published his first book, The Alleys of Eden. It was reviewed by Clark in the February 11, 1982 Los Angeles Times, with the headline "Vietnamization of a Deserter's Mind." On May 12, Butler wrote to Clark, saying, in part: "I have received twenty major reviews of the book but none of them was more sensitive or insightful than yours. The best literary criticism actually explains an author to himself. That's what your review did. I understand my own book better after reading your review and I want to thank you for that." The letter is signed "Bob Butler." Also included here is Clark's original, 3-page manuscript review, signed by Clark: "...Desertion, Butler seems to say, is an inevitable act, made necessary by the human state. Every small movement is an abandonment of the past, with death looming over everything as the greatest desertion of all..." Clark's review makes it clear that Butler's protagonist -- an Army intelligence officer who ends up deserting out of self-disgust over his involvement in the torture and death of a Viet Cong prisoner -- is an analogue for the larger society, which deserted both Vietnam and those who fought there, leaving both the Vietnamese and the veterans as "displaced persons," in both countries. Clark's review is penned on the back of copies from a book about Celine and folded in half; near fine. A photocopy of the published review is included. Butler's letter is folded for mailing; else fine in a near fine envelope. With a copy of Alleys of Eden [NY: Horizon (1981)], which is fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a short edge tear. An insightful review of one of the best novels to come out of the Vietnam war, and the author's appreciative response. [#024022] $1,500

NY, Horizon, (1983). His third novel, set in New Mexico during the development of the atomic bomb. A fast-paced story and an intellectual adventure of high order. Signed by the author. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with just a touch of rubbing at the crown. [#014398] $40

NY, Horizon, (1982). His second novel, a thriller set in the northern Alaskan wilderness that is both a highly readable page-turner and a powerful novel of ideas. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with the typical spine rubbing. [#912989] $35

NY, Simon & Schuster, (1989). His sixth novel, about a half-Vietnamese boy growing up in the streets of New York in the '80s. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#912993] $35

NY, Ballantine, (1983). The first Ballantine Books edition of the first book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain. Signed by the author. Paperback: very near fine. [#912988] $30

NY, Knopf, 1987. His fifth novel, set in a midwestern steel mill town during the Depression. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#912992] $30

NY, Grove Press, (2000). Signed by the author in the month after publication. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#913002] $21

NY, Henry Holt, (1996). Butler's second collection of stories. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#912999] $21

NY, Henry Holt, (1994). The trade edition, which followed the limited edition by one day. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#912997] $21

NY, Henry Holt, (1994). The trade edition, which followed the limited edition by one day. Inscribed by the author in the month after publication. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with the foil disappearing from the spine. [#912998] $21

NY, Horizon, (1983). His third novel, set in New Mexico during the development of the atomic bomb. A fast-paced story and an intellectual adventure of high order. Fine in a fine dust jacket. [#000849] $20

NY, Horizon, (1983). His third novel, set in New Mexico during the development of the atomic bomb. A fast-paced story and an intellectual adventure of high order. Signed by the author. Fine in a near fine, mildly rubbed dust jacket. [#014399] $20

NY, Alfred A. Knopf, 1985. Review copy w/ publisher's slip laid in. Very Good in Very Good DJ. [#704881] $20

NY, Alfred A. Knopf, 1985. Very Good in Very Good DJ. [#701403] $20

NY, Alfred A. Knopf, 1985. His fourth book, a moving novel of the Vietnam war that bears the characteristics of a Grail quest, and was one of our choices as among the ten best literary works on the Vietnam war. Remainder mark; very good in a very good dust jacket. [#701404] $20

NY, Henry Holt, 1994. Advance Reading Copy. Very Good in wrappers. [#700850] $20

NY, Knopf, 1987. A review copy of his fifth novel, set in a midwestern steel mill town during the Depression. The cloth has bled onto the verso of the jacket at the spine crown, not externally visible. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. [#010770] $20