Ragtime
by DOCTOROW, E.L
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Santa Barbara, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Random House, 1975. First Edition, First Printing. Specially bound presentation edition with the colophon reading: “This special edition has been prepared for presentation to the friends of the author and the publisher.” With the printed card of James H. Silberman, Vice-President & Editor-in-Chief of Random House laid in. Near fine copy with a faint trace of darkening to the clot at the top edge without dust jacket as issued. The basis of the critically acclaimed motion picture directed by Milos Forman, starring James Cagney (in his last theatrical performance, after a twenty year hiatus), Elizabeth McGovern, Howard E. Rollins, Brad Dourif, Mandy Patinkin, Fran Drescher, Donald O’Connor, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Synopsis
Ragtime, E. L. Doctorow’s best-known novel, highlights the American melting pot and how the nation came to be what it is today. Set in the early 1900s, the story namely focuses on a wealthy family living in New Rochelle, New York, simply named Father, Mother, Mother's Younger Brother, Grandfather, and the boy. The boy, Father and Mother's young son, perhaps narrates the novel from a reminiscent adult perspective, but the omniscient narrator is never decidedly identified. The family’s turn-of-the-century journey of adaption addresses the tensions between reacting to the evolution of the era and executing revolution. Yet Ragtime is far more than the family’s narrative. In a beautiful execution of historical fiction, the novel weaves together biographical subplots of prominent figures of the day, including J.P. Morgan, Harry Houdini, Henry Ford, Sigmund Freud, and Emma Goldman. The result: Ragtime focuses not on just the nameless or the famous, but how the two groups create history together. Written when Vietnam was drawing to a close, Ragtime addresses issues that were affecting America at the time—from the abuse of power to racism to using sex to sell just about anything—but it also includes classic and enduring themes of morality, repression and injustice, change, and time. Ragtime was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction in 1975. It also won the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award the following year. The novel was adapted for a 1981 movie and a 1998 Tony award-winning Broadway musical. Ragtime is included in TIME’s “100 Best Novels” (since 1923) and ranked 86th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century.
Read More: Identifying first editions of Ragtime
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- James Pepper Rare Books, Inc.
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 20163E
- Title
- Ragtime
- Author
- DOCTOROW, E.L
- Book Condition
- Used
- Publisher
- Random House
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1975
Terms of Sale
James Pepper Rare Books, Inc.
We accept VISA, Mastercard, personal checks, and money orders issued on US Banks. If paying by credit card, please supply the card number, expiration date, and a daytime phone number. We guarantee all items to be as described. We accept returns for any reason, with notification within three days of your receipt of the order. All returns must be shipped insured. Shipping is: $7.00 first item, $1.00 each additional. Foreign orders will be shipped at cost. California residents please add 7.25% sales tax.
About the Seller
James Pepper Rare Books, Inc.
Biblio member since 2005
Santa Barbara, California
About James Pepper Rare Books, Inc.
We are long-term members of the Antiquarian Bookseller's Association of America. We specialize in American & English Literature, Mystery & Detective Fiction, Rare Cinema Material, Autograph & Signed Material, and an Eclectic Offering of Literature & Ephemera.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Colophon
- The colophon contains information about a book's publisher, the typesetting, printer, and possibly even includes a printer's...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- 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...
Frequently asked questions
This Book’s Categories
Beat Poet Michael McClure
From the fateful reading at Six-Gallery in 1955 to his novels, poetry, and stage productions, Michael McClure was right in the thick of the Beat Generation as it was born. See his books and art and learn more about the works of Michael McClure.
Collecting The Beat Generation
The Beat Generation was born out of WWII, and it still continues to exert considerable influence on today’s literary scene. Biblio sellers have a fantastic collection of Beat Generation books and ephemera for browsing.
