Men Chains by Ryan Thomas: First Edition (1 results)
Published by Random House [1940], New York, 1940
- Hardcover
- First Edition
Seller: ReadInk, ABAA/IOBA, Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.ReadInk, ABAA/IOBA
Contact seller5-star sellerHardcover. Condition: Fine. Very Good dj. First American Edition. (price-clipped) [a nice clean book with no discernible wear; the jacket is lightly soiled, with a darkened spine, a 2 inch-deep tear/chip at the top rear hinge, some teensy bits of paper loss at both ends of the spine, and a surface scar on the front panel (probab…ly from a sticker removal) that affects part of the word "In" in the title]. A collection of "twelve unforgettable sotries [which exemplify] the theme of the chains which bind the souls of men and women to their fate," and ranging in time and setting from 7000 B.C. to the modern day. The second half-dozen of the stories are laid in various parts of the U.S. (except for one about a French soldier during World War I), with settings ranging from the Western frontier to the Prohibition Era." Without actually given any biographical information about him at all, the dust jacket blurb boldly proclaims the author to be "a new talent in American letters [which doesn't quite explain why the book was first published in England the previous year, nor why this edition was itself printed in Great Britain] -- a discovery, if you will, whose name will be familiar to tens of thousands before long." He had already published one novel in the U.K. ("Night Falls on Rome," 1938) and would publish one more ("The Warrior," 1941), but that would seem to have been that: even OCLC never established birth of death dates for him, their entry simply reading "Ryan, Thomas (Novelist)." Contemporary reviewers seem to have been impressed but also a bit perplexed by the book, one calling it "interesting, disturing, unorthodox," and another "a book that will excite, thrill, or depress, depending upon the reader." Although Random House's prediction of incipient fame for the author never came to pass, it's not inaccurate to note that the name "Thomas Ryan" IS known to many readers today -- it just happens to be a different guy, an author who's been cranking out best-selling thrillers since 2012. And here's an additional bit of trivia: among the forthcoming RH books touted on the rear jacket flap is a title by Dashiell Hammett, "There Was a Young Man," that was never published.
