The Circle of Guilt (Inscribed First U.K. Edition, First Printing)

Wertham, Fredric

Published by Dennis Dobson, 1956

About this Item

Inscribed First British Edition, First Printing of this deep study of a fatal youth crime by the noted and controversial early post-World War II psychiatrist Fredric Wertham. Wertham had a particular interest in juvenile delinquency and youth crime and famously argued that lurid horror and crime-themed comic books were major contributors to those issues. Wertham expounded on his theories in the much discussed (and now much collected) "Seduction of the Innocent." In "Circle of Guilt," Wertham delves into a case in which a young Puerto Rican killed a white youth in a street fight. Wertham takes a sympathetic view of Frank Santana, the young Puerto Rican, and was an expert witness for the defense in the case. Unsurprisingly, some of the exculpatory analysis includes Santana's exposure to lurid images in mass media and comic books including a frame from a Spanish language comic captioned: "Sadism in the guise of history in a children's comic book." Inscribed by Fredric Wertham to a previous owner on the front endpaper. 211 pages, illustrated. The book has tanning of the page edges. The dust jacket has edge wear and foxing on the back cover.

Seller Inventory # 016365

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Circle of Guilt (Inscribed First U.K. Edition, First Printing)
• Publisher: Dennis Dobson
• Publication Date: 1956
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Very Good+
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)