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John Henry Days.
by WHITEHEAD, Colson
- Used
- as new
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- As New/Fine
- ISBN 10
- 0385498195
- ISBN 13
- 9780385498197
- Seller
-
Edmonds, Washington, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Doubleday, 2001. First edition / First printing. Black paper spine, tan paper-covered boards. Very fine in a very fine dust jacket. Selected by the editors of The New York Times Book Review for their 10 Best Books of 2001 List. Winner of: 2002 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for John Henry Days. 2002 MacArthur Fellowship. The 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Nickel Boys. 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Underground Railroad. 2016 National Book Award for Underground Railroad. The 2017 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Underground Railroad. 2013 Guggenheim Fellowship.
Synopsis
In a glowing review of Colson Whitehead's first novel, The Intuitionist, the New York Times Book Review concluded, "Literary reputations may not always rise and fall as predictably as elevators, but if there's any justice in the world of fiction, Colson Whitehead's should be heading toward the upper floors." With John Henry Days, Colson Whitehead delivers on the promise of his critically acclaimed debut in a magnificent new novel: a retelling of the legend of John Henry that sweeps across generations and cultures in a stunning, hilarious, and unsettling portrait of American society.Immortalized in folk ballads, John Henry has been a favorite American hero since the mid-nineteenth century. According to legend, John Henry, a black laborer for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, was a man of superhuman strength and stamina. He proved his mettle in a contest with a steam drill, only to die of exhaustion moments after his triumph. In John Henry Days, Colson Whitehead transforms the simple ballad into a contrapuntal masterpiece. The narrative revolves around the story of J. Sutter, a young black journalist. Sutter is a "junketeer," a freeloading hack who roams from one publicity event to another, abusing his expense account and mooching as much as possible. It is 1996, and an assignment for a travel Web site takes Sutter to West Virginia for the first annual "John Henry Days" festival, a celebration of a new U.S. postal stamp honoring John Henry. And there the real story of John Henry emerges in graceful counterpoint to Sutter's thoroughly modern adventure.As he explores the parallels between the lives of these two black men, and between the Industrial Age, which literally killed John Henry, and the Digital Age that is destroying J. Sutter's soul, Whitehead adds multiple dimensions to the myth of the steel-driving man. And in dazzling set pieces, he traces the evolution of the famous ballad over the past century. John Henry Days is a novel of extraordinary scope and mythic power that juxtaposes history and popular culture, the blatant bigotry of the past with the more insidious racism of the present, and laugh-out-loud humor with unforgettable poignancy.From the Hardcover edition.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Orpheus Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 18626
- Title
- John Henry Days.
- Author
- WHITEHEAD, Colson
- Format/Binding
- Black paper spine, tan paper-covered boards.
- Book Condition
- New
- Jacket Condition
- Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition / First printing.
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 0385498195
- ISBN 13
- 9780385498197
- Publisher
- Doubleday,
- Place of Publication
- New York:
- Date Published
- 2001.
- Pages
- 389 pages.
- Bookseller catalogs
- Alternative History Fiction; Fiction;
Terms of Sale
Orpheus Books
When we state First Edition we always mean a First Printing. If you have questions about a listing, please email, or telephone between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Pacific Time. Credit cards are accepted through Biblio or PayPal. International orders must be paid in U.S. currency and will be shipped at different rates. We ship via the U.S. postal service, FedEx and UPS unless other arrangements are made. If you select surface mail, it will be shipped via media rate. Oversize and heavy shipments will accrue additional charges. Returns may be made within 7 days of receipt and must be insured at full value and received in the same condition as when sent. Prior notice of return is appreciated.
About the Seller
Orpheus Books
Biblio member since 2004
Edmonds, Washington
About Orpheus Books
We specialize exclusively in First Edition/First Printing books. Our best books are rated very fine and we are most conservative in our grading. We take pride in maintaining a significant selection of fine books. Your trust is of great importance to us and everything we sell is guaranteed. Archival dust jacket covers are provided with all hardcover books.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- New
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- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
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