Dewey Defeats Truman (Signed First Edition)

Mallon, Thomas

ISBN 10: 0679444254 / ISBN 13: 9780679444251

Published by Pantheon, New York, 1997

About this Item

New York: Pantheon Books, 1997. First edition. First printing, with full number line including 1. Hardcover. Quarter dark blue cloth over light blue paper-covered boards with silver spine lettering. Near fine in a fine dust jacket, save for slight foxing to the top and side edges of the text block. A tight clean copy. Signed by the author in his customary blue-ink fountain pen on the front endpaper (name only. Publisher's original price intact on front flap ($24.00). Comes with archival-quality mylar dust jacket protector. Octavo, 355 pages. Thomas Mallon s novel "Dewey Defeats Truman" reimagines the events surrounding the 1948 presidential election through the intersecting lives of reporters, politicians, and ordinary citizens caught up in history s most famous headline mistake. Mallon (born 1951) is an American novelist, essayist, and critic, author of "Henry and Clara," "Watergate," and "Fellow Travelers," and a recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature. This was his third novel.

Seller Inventory # F3700-Mallon

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Dewey Defeats Truman (Signed First Edition)
• Publisher: Pantheon, New York
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0679444254
• ISBN 13: 9780679444251
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

From a writer whose last book, Henry and Clara, prompted John Updike to declare Thomas Mallon one of the most interesting American novelists at work, comes a story that perfectly captures the delightful romance and wistful magic of our recent, and more innocent, past.

Thomas Mallon has masterfully appropriated a jubilant legend (and famous headline) of modern American history -- Harry Truman's upset victory over Thomas E. Dewey in the 1948 presidential election -- and built around it a midwestern Midsummer Night's Dream.

Set in Dewey's hometown of Owosso, Michigan, this is the captivating story of a local love triangle that mirrors the national election contest. As the voters must decide between candidates, so must Anne Macmurray choose between two suitors: an ardent UAW organizer and his polar opposite, a wealthy lawyer who's certain he will ride to state Senate victory on Republican coattails.

As they weave a small-town tapestry of dreams and secrets, the people of Owosso ready themselves for the fame that is bound to shower down upon them after Dewey's "sure thing" victory.  But as the novel -- and history -- move toward election night, we watch the citizens of Owosso, Anne Macmurray and her suitors in particular, await the outcome of the election and the rearrangement of their fates in a climax filled with suspense, chagrin, and unexpected joy.

About the Author

Thomas Mallon is the author of three previous novels, Henry and Clara, Aurora 7 and Arts and Sciences, as well as four works of nonfiction, among them Stolen Words and A Book of One's Own.  He was until recently the literary editor of Gentlemen's Quarterly and he frequently contributes to The New York Times Book Review and The Washington Post Book World. He lives in New York City.