ALL THAT IS: A NOVEL

London, England: Picador, 2013. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. As New/As New Dust Jacket.. London, England: Picador, 2013. Hardcover. As New/As New. First Edition/First Printing. 290 pages. The author's sixth and final novel. Now considered a contemporary classic. The first appearance of the title in the United Kingdom. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only that sold out shortly after publication. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents James Salter's "All That Is". His first novel in 35 years, and his last. Published at the age of 87, Salter's novel is about writing itself. He is speaking for himself (and other writers) when his protagonist, Philip Bowman, who closely resembles him, particularly his youthful military and subsequent literary selves, muses: "The power of the novel in the nation's culture had weakened. It had happened gradually. It was something everyone recognized and ignored. All went on exactly as before, that was the beauty of it. The glory had faded but fresh faces kept appearing, wanting to be part of it, to be in publishing, which had retained a suggestion of elegance like a pair of beautiful, bone-shined shoes owned by a bankrupt man". "Here, as always, this writer so at war with the obvious uncovers radiance even in the most melancholy circumstance, applying to it the same rigor he uses to scrutinize and dismiss any easy, conventional notions about heroism or the honorable life" (The New York Times) . In contemporary culture, writing = telling stories. Storytelling is something a writer necessarily does, and genius-writers do it better than anyone else. But entertainers and other artists are storytellers too, and are often very good at it. As a storyteller, the writer has diminished in our celebrity culture to the point of insignificance. But what the writer will always represent at any moment of any national culture, a heroic, transcendent solitude, is irreplaceable. The fashionable celebrities of our time - the Hollywood star, the Silicon Valley "genius", and their ilk - cannot even begin to approach the summit that the writer reaches simply by putting pen to paper, a privilege and an honor that James Salter reminds us of in his valedictory novel. That's all that matters in the end, all that is. James Salter died on June 19, 2015. An absolute "must-have" title for James Salter collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by James Salter. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. It comes with a rare and pristine copy of the lovely Souvenir Material of the event, his last, during which his signature was obtained. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (British) still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available have serious flaws, are in multiple subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. One of the greatest writers of our time. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER JAMES SALTER TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 1447238249.