ALL THAT IS: A NOVEL - Rare Pristine Copy of The First British Edition/First Printing With Souvenir Material: Signed by James Salter - SIGNED ON THE TITLE PAGE

Salter, James

ISBN 10: 1447238249 / ISBN 13: 9781447238249

Published by London, England: Picador, 2013, 2013

About this Item

1st Printing. Signed. 290 pages. Published in 2013. The author's sixth and final novel. Now considered a contemporary classic. The first appearance of the title in the United Kingdom. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only that sold out shortly after publication. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents James Salter's "All That Is". His first novel in 35 years, and his last. Published at the age of 87, Salter's novel is about writing itself. He is speaking for himself (and other writers) when his protagonist, Philip Bowman, who closely resembles him, particularly his youthful military and subsequent literary selves, muses: "The power of the novel in the nation's culture had weakened. It had happened gradually. It was something everyone recognized and ignored. All went on exactly as before, that was the beauty of it. The glory had faded but fresh faces kept appearing, wanting to be part of it, to be in publishing, which had retained a suggestion of elegance like a pair of beautiful, bone-shined shoes owned by a bankrupt man". "Here, as always, this writer so at war with the obvious uncovers radiance even in the most melancholy circumstance, applying to it the same rigor he uses to scrutinize and dismiss any easy, conventional notions about heroism or the honorable life" (The New York Times). In contemporary culture, writing = telling stories. Storytelling is something a writer necessarily does, and genius-writers do it better than anyone else. But entertainers and other artists are storytellers too, and are often very good at it. As a storyteller, the writer has diminished in our celebrity culture to the point of insignificance. But what the writer will always represent at any moment of any national culture, a heroic, transcendent solitude, is irreplaceable. The fashionable celebrities of our time - the Hollywood star, the Silicon Valley "genius", and their ilk - cannot even begin to approach the summit that the writer reaches simply by putting pen to paper, a privilege and an honor that James Salter reminds us of in his valedictory novel. That's all that matters in the end, all that is. James Salter died on June 19, 2015. An absolute "must-have" title for James Salter collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by James Salter. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. It comes with a rare and pristine copy of the lovely Souvenir Material of the event, his last, during which his signature was obtained. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (British) still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available have serious flaws, are in multiple subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. One of the greatest writers of our time. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER JAMES SALTER TITLES IN OUR CATALOG) ISBN 1447238249. Seller Inventory # 18756

Bibliographic Details

Title: ALL THAT IS: A NOVEL - Rare Pristine Copy of...

Publisher: London, England: Picador, 2013

Publication Date: 2013

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: As New

Dust Jacket Condition: As New

Signed: Signed by Author

Edition: 1st Edition.

About this title

Synopsis:

1st UK ed. DJ is fine. Unread

Review:

An Amazon Best Book of the Month, April 2013: By starting the life story of Phillip Bowman in the last days of World War II, Salter sets the tone for the rest of this remarkable book. “The outcome of great battles could hinge on resolve,” he writes, and Bowman is all about resolve. But beneath the deceptively straightforward coming-of-age and growing-old narrative--boy meets girl, loses girl; meets, loses; meets, loses--lurks the deeply personal story of what it meant to be a 20th century man. Bowman is the archetype of the flawed, ambitious, lust-filled American male. He’s Don Draper. He’s Rabbit Angstrom. He’s your dad. He’s my dad. (Also named Phil; also from New Jersey.) What’s truly astounding here is the writing, from a master who happens to be an octogenarian. Salter crafts beautiful sentences. He creates characters, lives, entire worlds in just a page or two. He’s also capable of some blushingly evocative sex scenes--again, impressive for a man approaching 90. Profound and lush, this is a book to savor. It’s the sweeping story of a complicated, error-filled, fully wrung-out life. A guy’s life. A good life. --Neal Thompson