THE PREACHER AND THE SLAVE

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1950. First edition, "AFFECTIONATELY" INSCRIBED, DATED AND SIGNED by the author as "Wally". 8vo, publisher’s original orange boards, the spine and upper cover lettered in black, in the original dustjacket. 403 pp. A very attractive copy but for subtle fading to the upper spine edge and a two inch square chip to the spine panel of the jacket. A COPY AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY STEGNER. A sweeping and epic novel of life and legend. The author created here an ambitious, burning, vain, shy and violent figure in a book of astute insight and real action. The book was called a profound study of a complex human being and an exploration of the uses of violence and the meaning of justice. As Ken Sanders has said, the book is 'based on the life of Joe Hill who was executed by a firing squad at the old territorial prison in Salt Lake City, in what became known as the "shot heard round the world", setting off labor riots in major U.S. cities and capitals around the globe. Joe Hill's last words were "don't mourn, organize". Joe Hill, along with Mother Jones and Big Bill Heywood, were the most famous of all the anarchist wobbly leaders of the early 20th century.'