Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. THE SIRENS OF TITAN. Dell, 1959. 1st ed. (PBO). True 1st ed!

Description: Delany, Samuel R. THE SIRENS OF TITAN. NY: Dell Publishing Co., 1959. 1st edition. A PBO (paperback original, meaning that the paperback edition preceded all hardcover editions). With “First Printing — October 1959” printed on the copyright page, which indicates that this is the correct 1st edition, 1st printing. This is Dell B138, which also indicates that this is the correct 1st edition, 1st printing of this book. This paperback edition preceded the 1st hardcover edition that was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1961. This is NOT a book-club book. This is NOT an ex-library book. Buyer beware: There were several later printings of THE SIRENS OF TITAN that were published in this exact paperback format and also in similar, but slightly different, formats. This is the real deal: the true 1st edition, 1st printing that preceded the 1st hardcover printing. SCROLL DOWN THIS PAGE IMMEDIATELY TO SEE THE CONDITION OF THIS BOOK. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was born in 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana and died in 2007 in New York City. Vonnegut graduated from Shortridge High School in 1940. He went to Cornell University and while there, he enlisted in the United States Army. The Army transferred him to the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the University of Tennessee to study mechanical engineering. As a private with the 423rd Infantry Regiment, Vonnegut was captured during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. Imprisoned in Dresden, he was chosen as a leader of the POWs because he spoke some German. While a prisoner, he witnessed the firebombing of Dresden in February 1945, which destroyed most of the city. Vonnegut was one of a group of American prisoners of war to survive the attack in an underground slaughterhouse meat locker used by the Germans as an ad hoc detention facility. Vonnegut said that the aftermath of the firebombing was “utter destruction” and “carnage unfathomable.” This experience was the inspiration for his famous novel, SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE, and is a central theme in at least six of his other books. After the war, Vonnegut attended the University of Chicago as a graduate student in anthropology. He also worked at the City News Bureau of Chicago. After a time he left Chicago to work in Schenectady, New York, in public relations for General Electric. He lived in a small apartment which still has a desk at which he wrote some of his short stories. The University of Chicago later accepted his novel CAT’S CRADLE as his thesis and awarded him the M.A. degree in 1971. Kurt Vonnegut’s first short story, “Report on the Barnhouse Effect,” appeared in the February 11, 1950, edition of Collier’s. His first novel was the dystopian novel PLAYER PIANO, published in 1950. His second novel, THE SIRENS OF TITAN (offered here), was published in 1959 as a paperback original (PBO). Through the 1960’s, the form of his work changed by being given a more experimental structure by using time travel as a plot device. In addition to using the author himself as a character in his novels, he also used several recurring characters. Although many of Vonnegut’s novels involved science fiction themes, they were also widely read and reviewed outside the field, due mainly to their anti-authoritarianism. In much of his work, Vonnegut’s own voice is apparent, often filtered through the character of science fiction author Kilgore Trout (whose name is based on that of real-life science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon). Kurt Vonnegut was influenced by early Socialist labor leader. He was a lifetime member of the American Civil Liberties Union. In some columns he wrote for In These Times magazine, he attacked George W. Bush and his administration and the Iraq War. “By saying that our leaders are power-drunk chimpanzees, am I in danger of wrecking the morale of our soldiers fighting and dying in the Middle East? Their morale, like so many bodies, is already shot to pieces. They are being treated like toys a rich kid got for Christmas.” In a 2003 interview Vonnegut said, “I myself feel that our country, for whose Constitution I fought in a just war, might as well have been invaded by Martians and body snatchers. Sometimes I wish it had been. What has happened, though, is that it has been taken over by means of the sleaziest, low-comedy, Keystone Cops-style coup d’etat imaginable. And those now in charge of the federal government are upper-crust C-students who know no history or geography, plus not-so-closeted white supremacists, aka ‘Christians,’ and plus, most frighteningly, psychopathic personalities.” Kurt Vonnegut described himself variously as a skeptic, freethinker, humanist, Unitarian Universalist, agnostic, and atheist. Kurt Vonnegut was the author of such great and famous books PLAYER PIANO, THE SIRENS OF TITAN (offered here), MOTHER NIGHT, BETWEEN TIME AND TIMBUKTU, CAT’S CRADLE, GOD BLESS YOU MR. ROSEWATER, SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE, WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE, BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS, SLAPSTICK, JAILBIRD, PALM SUNDAY, and a number of others. Some of the awards and award nominations that Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. has been honored with: 1952: PLAYER PIANO. International Fantasy Award nominee for Best Novel. 1959: THE SIRENS OF TITAN. Hugo Award nominee for Best Novel. 1959: THE SIRENS OF TITAN. Seiun Award winner for Best Foreign Novel. 1963: CAT’S CRADLE. Hugo Award nominee for Best Novel. 1969: SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE. Hugo Award nominee for Best Novel. 1969: SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE. Nebula Award nominee for Best Novel. 1969: SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE. National Book Award nominee for Fiction. 1971: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WANDA JUNE. Drama Desk Award winner for Outstanding New Playwright. 1972: “The Big Space Fuck.” Locus Award nominee for Best Short Fiction. 1973: “Slaughterhouse-Five.” Hugo Award winner for Best Dramatic Presentation. 1973: “Between Time and Timbuktu.” Hugo Award nominee for Best Dramatic Presentation. 1985: GALAPAGOS. John W. Campbell Memorial Award runner-up for Best Novel. 1988: Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is honored by being named the Interzone Poll 34th All-Time Best Science Fiction Author. 1998: SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE. Modern Library 100 Best Books of the 20th Century: #18. 1998: SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE. One of Time magazine’s top 100 Novels since 1923. 2009: ARMAGEDDON IN RETROSPECT. Audie Award winner for Best Short Stories/Collections. Clearly Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was (and remains) one of the best, most important, most famous, and most collectible American authors of all time. From the front panel of the book: “ . . . A remarkable and terrifying novel of how life might be for the space travelers of the future . . . “ From the first page of the book: “ . . . MALACHI CONSTANT WAS THE RICHEST MAN IN AMERICA . . . All of his life there had been nothing on Earth that was not his for the asking. Since attaining manhood, there was no woman he desired that was not succumbed . . . Why should such a man, all of America wondered, give up a life of unequaled indulgence to risk the unknown? Why should Malachi Constant venture into the dangers of Eternity in an untested spaceship? . . . But all America could not know that Malachi Constant had no choice. They did not know about the Sirens of Titan, begging him to come to them, beckoning him on, with their unearthly, irresistible beauty . . . “ From the rear panel of the book: “ . . . The Time: Somewhere in the Near Future . . . The Place: Beyond the Limits of Space Where the beauty of woman is without compare . . . but man is without a memory of woman’s delights . . . Where nothing is forbidden . . . but thinking is an unforgivable sin . . . Where life is “perfect” . . . but resistance to its “perfection” means death . . . “ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I grade books and dust jackets: fine, near fine, very good, good, fair, and poor. I describe all faults. If you sell books on EBAY (or anywhere else), it is de rigueur not to list 1st printings of book club books as 1st editions (unless they ARE the 1st edition, which occurs only occasionally); also, a 1st edition, 7th printing, is not a 1st edition. Ex-library books must be noted as such since generally they are of little value to the collector of 1st editions. Condition is also very important to those collectors. Books and dust jackets must be described in detail. In other words, it is incumbent upon the SELLER to know what is and is not a 1st edition. Mistakes can be made (and corrected), of course, but if you DON'T KNOW, don't try to sell a book as a 1st edition. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CONDITION: A FINE book. The book is tight and square in its paperback binding. The book has the correct green publisher’s “stain” on all the edges of the pages: top, front, and bottom. There is no writing in the book; no bookplates; no remainder marks. The book has, essentially, no flaws. There are no wrinkles or creases anywhere on the book. Usually there is a vertical crease on the left of the front panel of the book where the book has been opened to read the book, but that is not the case here. Usually there are wrinkles on the spine of the book from the book having been read, but that is not the case here. The corners of the book are square; usually the corners of this book are worn and rounded; that is not the case here. Usually this book shows up with some rubbing, general wear, and loss of color, but that is not the case here. This is the nicest copy of this paperback 1st edition of THE SIRENS OF TITAN that I have seen in many years; it is nicer than the copy that is in my own collection. It is actually possible that this is an unread copy of this book. I can't guarantee that, of course, but it looks and feels like an unread copy. If you buy this book, be careful not to open it too far in order to avoid wrinkling or creasing the book. A MUST FOR THE COLLECTOR OF IMPORTANT 1950’s SCIENCE FICTION 1st EDITIONS AND/OR THE COLLECTOR OF AWARD-NOMINATED SCIENCE FICTION 1st EDITIONS AND/OR THE COLLECTOR OF KURT VONNEGUT, Jr. 1st EDITIONS! ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Additional photos are available upon request. I am continuing to list some of my best books (especially science fiction, fantasy, and horror 1st editions) on EBAY not so much as auctions (due to the fact that EBAY charges quite a bit to list items for reserve auctions), but more along the lines of listing my "catalogue" of books that I have for sale. I'm not going to "give" these books away, but my opening bids and Buy-It-Now prices are usually a fair amount below market value. Furthermore, however, for certain scarce books in great condition, I do expect to get close to what they're worth. Stay with me; I always have a number of important, collectible, cornerstone science fiction, fantasy, and horror 1st editions listed. Many thanks! All items are being offered for sale elsewhere; I reserve the right to end this listing early if this item sells elsewhere. Contact me if you're looking for a particular title or titles. I have thousands of books for sale that may or may not show up in my EBAY listings. __________________________________________________________________________ I own the following two books: Leckie, Anne. ANCILLARY JUSTICE. Subterranean Press, 2014. 1st limited edition. (#2/500). Leckie, Anne. ANCILLARY MERCY. Subterranean Press, 2016. 1st limited edition. (#2/500). I am looking for: Leckie, Anne. ANCILLARY SWORD. Subterranean Press, 2015. 1st limited edition. (#2/500). I would like to round out this set by acquiring the #2/500 copy of ANCILLARY SWORD. If anyone has this copy and is willing to sell it on EBAY, I would be highly interested in obtaining it so that all my copies would have matching numbers. Many thanks. _____________________________________________________________________________ I am happy to set up flexible PAYMENT and/or HOLD PLANS for any book(s) that you bid on and win.   Shipping: $4.00 for USPS Media Mail shipping. $10.00 for USPS Priority Mail shipping. Buyers who wish to have packages sent to addresses outside of the U.S. are required to pay for the postage necessary to send such packages. Please note: if you want something other than USPS Media Mail shipping, you must wait for me to send you an EBAY invoice or if you are a buyer outside of the United States, you must wait for me to send you an EBAY invoice. You must be willing to pay for non-USPS Media Mail shipping charges or for international shipping charges. I reserve the right to negate a purchase if you are unwilling to pay for the correct shipping charges either to an address in the U.S. or if international shipping is required. I am happy to set up flexible payment and layaway plans if these options make it easier for you to participate in bidding and winning. Please e-mail me if you have any questions. See my other auctions on EBAY for excellent science fiction, fantasy, and horror 1st editions (and a few other items). I specialize in science fiction, fantasy, and horror 1st editions: award winners, cornerstone books, and generally recognized important books in the genre(s). I GUARANTEE THE CONDITION OF THIS BOOK; IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, SEND IT BACK! If you prefer payment methods other than PayPal (as I do), I am happy to arrange for a different payment method for you.   Before you buy from others, check out their return policies and their guarantees and compare them to mine. I stand behind all of my items FULLY. Why deal with a seller who won't guarantee their books, doesn't have a return policy, or doesn't correctly describe the edition or condition of their book(s)? OTIUM SINE LITTERIS MORS EST ET HOMINIS VIVI SEPULTURA.

Price: 474.99 USD

Location: Lincoln, Nebraska

End Time: 2024-11-21T00:46:32.000Z

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