CONVERSATIONS WITH NELSON ALGREN
(1964)
First printing of this series of interviews with National Book Award-winning author Nelson Algren – with postcard from Algren to his friend, publisher William Targ.
Biography & Memoir
SINGIN' AND SWINGIN' AND GETTIN' MERRY LIKE CHRISTMAS
(1976)
First edition of the third book Maya Angelou's series of literary autobiographies, covering her first marriage and the beginning of her stage career.
JAMES WRIGHT: A Life in Poetry
(2017)
First printing of Blunk's biography of the acclaimed American poet.
THE LIFE OF SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D.
1791
First edition, first state, of this landmark work in the history of biography, an engaging and humanizing account of the great critic, lexicographer, and author of the Georgian era.
A SENSE OF WHERE YOU ARE
(1965)
Inscribed first printing of this profile of "the greatest [basketball] player in the history of the Ivy League" (jacket) – who would later become a US Senator – John McPhee's first book.
MÔME À CHEVAUX BLANCS
1969
Inscribed true first edition of the legendary actor's memoir.
CAPOTE: A Biography
(1988)
First edition of the definitive biography of Truman Capote, and the basis for the 2005 film.
BRIEF CANDLE IN THE DARK
(2015)
Signed first printing of the autobiography of the (in)famous evolutionary biologist and giant of the modern atheist movement, reflecting on his career and the fame brought about by his best-selling books.
OUT OF AFRICA
(1938)
First US edition of this evocative memoir of the author's experiences in Kenya.
MEMORIES AND ADVENTURES
[1924]
First printing in book form of Doyle's episodic memoirs, originally published in THE STRAND and covering his life from early childhood and medical training through to his literary career and embarkation on "The Psychic Quest," a Shaw 100 title.
A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS
(2000)
Signed first printing of this Pulitzer Prize finalist, the equally comedic and dramatic story of the deaths of Eggers's parents and assuming the guardianship of his young brother.
GORILLAS IN THE MIST
1983
Inscribed first printing of Fossey's landmark scientific memoir.
THE MEADOW
(1992)
Signed uncorrected proof of this acclaimed poetic memoir.
COMMITTED: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage
(2010)
Signed first printing, on Gilbert's reflections on her decision to remarry, written after the success of her memoir EAT, PRAY, LOVE.
REMEMBERING POETS: Reminiscences and Opinions
(1978)
Review copy of Hall's personally gathered "literary gossip" about Ezra Pound, Dylan Thomas, T.S. Eliot, and Robert Frost.
THE MAN WHO WAS SHERLOCK HOLMES
(1964)
First paperback edition of this biographical study of Arthur Conan Doyle's personal similarities to his own creation.
WORDS, WEATHER AND WOLFMEN: Conversations With Tony Hillerman
1989
Signed limited first edition of this intimate reflection on Tony Hillerman's life and writing in the form of an interview with historian Ernie Bulow, featuring illustrations by Navajo artist Ernest Franklin.
BE MY GUEST
(1958)
Scarce inscribed second printing of the autobiography of one of the 20th century's greatest hoteliers.
THE LIVES OF THE MOST EMINENT ENGLISH POETS
1806
Late Georgian edition of Johnson's landmark collection of essays on 52 poets, a major work in English canon formation.
THE DOG SAYS HOW
(2007)
Inscribed second printing of this collection of autobiographical stories from this frequent contributor to NPR's All Things Considered.
THE CONFESSIONS OF J. LACKINGTON
1806
Scarce American edition of the bookseller's Confessions, with one of the earliest Brooklyn imprints.
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE: A Memoir
(1931)
First printing of this early, authorized biography of Doyle, written by an acquaintance sympathetic to his later Spiritualist convictions.
WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA
(1899)
First edition of the first installment of this long-running cultural institution, containing the biographies of 8,602 prominent 19th-century Americans.
GIAMBATTISTA BODONI: His Life and His World
(2015)
Inscribed first edition of this first English-language biography of the great printer and typographer.
SERPICO
(1997)
First HarperPaperbacks edition of this profile of the legendary NYPD whistleblower, adapted into the Oscar-nominated Al Pacino film — inscribed by subject Frank Serpico.
