The Dark Wind - 1982 First Edition, First Printing w/DJ

An early novel featuring Navajo Tribal Police officer Jim Chee, The Dark Wind follows a troubling investigation along the Navajo-Hopi borderlands, where a murder, damaged windmill, and mysterious aircraft intersect with questions of cultural identity, spiritual belief, and criminal activity. Hillerman's Southwestern mysteries are particularly admired for their atmospheric landscapes and attention to Navajo and Hopi cultural settings. The author's dedication addresses the displacement of families from the Navajo-Hopi Joint Use country, giving this first edition an additional dimension of historical interest. The University of New Mexico's Tony Hillerman Portal independently identifies this edition as the original 1982 Harper & Row hardcover, bibliographically recorded as Hieb A7a. It identifies The Dark Wind as the fifth Navajo mystery and the second featuring Jim Chee. Condition: Very Good+ book / Very Good dust jacket. Original two-tone blue cloth boards remain attractive, with modest surface rubbing and slight variation in the spine cloth. Spine is square, hinges are tight, and the binding is firm and secure. Interior pages are clean and well preserved, with light age-toning. The original illustrated dust jacket retains its publisher's price and displays small chips and tears along the upper edge, a short tear near the lower front corner, and minor edge wear and flap toning. Housed in a removable protective vinyl jacket cover; reflections visible in photographs are from the protective covering rather than defects in the dust jacket. Tony Hillerman (1925-2008) was an acclaimed American mystery novelist best known for his detective fiction set in the American Southwest, particularly the Navajo Nation. Born in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma, he grew up near Native American communities and later served in the U.S. Army during World War II, receiving the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart. After working as a journalist and newspaper editor, he became a professor of journalism at the University of New Mexico. Hillerman achieved literary distinction through his mysteries featuring Navajo Tribal Police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, beginning with The Blessing Way (1970). His novels combined carefully constructed detective plots with the landscapes, cultural traditions, and contemporary social issues of the Southwest. The Dark Wind (1982) is an important early Jim Chee novel and reflects Hillerman's longstanding interest in the relationship between Navajo and Hopi communities. Hillerman's work ultimately encompassed 18 Navajo mystery novels, and his daughter, Anne Hillerman, later continued the series. His legacy is preserved through the University of New Mexico's Tony Hillerman Portal, which houses manuscripts, interviews, and other archival materials.…