RECOVERY

New York City, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1973. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1973. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 254 pages. The poet's debut and only novel. Now considered a late-modern classic. The First Hardcover Edition. 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. The First Edition is now scarce. The book is one of the finest productions we have ever seen: Brilliant DJ design by Janet Halverson and austerely elegant black topstain, which matches the DJ design's predominantly black color scheme. The DJ back cover shows the author at various stages of his career, from dashing young poet to grizzled bearded survivor, prematurely and irreversibly aged. Presents John Berryman's "Recovery". Published posthumously with an Introduction, "John Berryman", by Saul Bellow. John Berryman struggled all his life with alcoholism (as did so many other great American writers) , and like his peers, he transformed his ultimately futile struggle into great poetry. His novel was written around 1970, but he did not live to see it published in his lifetime (he died in 1973) . Saul Bellow's lucid and sober Introductory Essay presents the book in its proper context and provides an evaluation of it that is favorable and admiring, in his typically graceful prose. An absolute "must-have" title for John Berryman collectors. This title is a great book. This is one of few copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce copy thus. One of the greatest American poet-writers of the 20th century. A fine copy. . ISBN 0374248176.