Faces in the Crowd: Individual Studies in Character and Politics

New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953. Original dark green cloth, title on spine blocked in black with gilt lettering. Second printing of the first edition. David Riesman's copy of his own book with his numerous marginal corrections in pencil, presumably for a possible Modern Library reprinting of the book mentioned in one of the included letters. Almost all the notes are minor grammatical and editorial changes. Very Good in in a Good dust jacket with some chips, sunned spine panel, sticker scar to back panel.

Includes a small archive of correspondence from Riesman, co-author Nathan Glazer, and others. Most letters are folded in thirds with some toning and light edge wear.

1. Two page ALS from Nathan Glazer to David Riesman dated June 26, 1956. Glazer discusses the re-editing of Faces in the Crowd, cutting pages 567-678 wherein "Three Graduate Students" are discussed. "But almost everywhere else we run into problems," he continues, pointing out the difficulties in cutting more pages.

2. Two page signed typed letter from Dr. Robert S. Weiss at The Laboratory of Community Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School to Riesman at the Dept. of Social Relations, Harvard University, dated March 9,1967. Weiss has included a ten page essay with one page of footnotes, "Modern Industrialism and the Future of Race Relations" by H.M. Brotz for Reissman to review. Weiss outlines his many problems with it, ending with "I don't see what can be done with the paper. What do you think?"

3. Typed, unsigned single page copy of a letter from Riesman to Robert Spitzer, M.D. dated December 3, 1958. Riesman asks about a pseudonymous rebellious student undergoing Reichian analysis profiled in Faces in the Crowd, "Henry Friend": "'Henry Friend' has been on my mind a great deal and only the other day I was thinking of him and wondered what had become of him. It is very good of you to offer to give me a follow-up and I would appreciate it enormously."

Stapled to this letter is an undated TLS from Spitzer asking if Riesman would like a follow up on Friend. This is humorous because Spitzer was actually Friend, as he would later reveal. He would go on to have a distinguished career in psychiatric administration and contribute to the DSM-III. [Decker, The Making of the DSM-III p. xi.]

4. Two unsigned copies of typed letters from Riesman to Howard Brotz, author of the aforementioned essay; dated Feb. 12, 1965 and April 21, 1966.

5. An unsigned copy of a typed letter from Riesman to Dr. C. Eric Lincoln at the Dept. of Sociology, Union Theological Seminary, dated November 22, 1967. He asks Lincoln about Black Muslims in the United States and their identity.

6. One page TLS from Nathan Glazer to Riesman, undated. He begins "Dear Dave, Thank you for your letters. I've finished talking to the Rabbis (as of this morning) and will be back at Palo Alto Monday. He mentions a letter from a Betsy Saunders and thanks Riesman "for the epilogue."

7. Typed unsigned letter from Riesman dated December 6, 1956 to Hiram Haydn, Editor-in-Chief at Random House, who also published the Modern Library line of reprints. Haydn's single-page TLS to Riesman, dated November 26, 1956 is stapled to it.

8. Typed unsigned letter from Riesman to Betsy Saunders at The American Scholar, dated May 2, 1956. Saunders' TLS to Riesman, dated April 26, 1956, is stapled to it.

9. Typed unsigned copy of a letter from Riesman to Dr. Robert Weiss dated March 15, 1967, discussing Howard Brotz's aforementioned paper. Stapled to that is an unsigned typed letter from Riesman (with Weiss' input) to Brotz dated March 15, 1967 discussing Brotz's paper. ALS from Brotz to Riesman follows, dated June 13, presumably 1967.

10. Typed unsigned copy of a letter from Riesman to Brotz dated May 5, 1966. Stapled to that is a TLS from Brotz to Riesman. In the postscript Brotz mentions his intent to write the aforementioned article.

A small collection of correspondence about sociology, politics, and publishing in the 1960s.