WOLF: A FALSE MEMOIR - INSCRIBED TO WILLIAM HJORTSBERG

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1971. First Edition. Harrison's first novel, narrated by the protagonist from the Huron Mountains of upper Michigan. "Thirty-three years old, he is in the woods to escape, however briefly, a self-corrupted world for which his contempt mounts with each new experience of it. He is also there to recollect and invent upon the years 1956-1960, when he was at large in the nation, getting women and booze and drugs and brutish jobs and a heightened awareness of the virtues of keeping his own counsel (New York Times Book Review, December 12, 1971).

Hjortsberg (1941-2017) and Harrison enjoyed a close, decades-long friendship, having first met in Northern California, and migrated to Montana in the late 1960's. Drawn by the prospect of adventure, solitude, and good fishing, they, along with Tom McGuane, were central figures in the Montana Gang - a coterie of authors, artists, and musicians whose ranks included Russell Chatham, Richard Brautigan, Don Carpenter, Bob Dattila, Peter Fonda, Jimmy Buffett, Jim Crumley, Erik Weber, and others. They transitioned from being friends to family when Hjortsberg's son, Max, married Harrison's daughter Anna. A superb association copy of this key, early work. Orr & Torrey A7.b. First Printing. Octavo (21cm); white cloth, with titles stamped in black on spine and front cover; black topstain; dustjacket; [10],11-225,[3]pp. Inscribed to fellow Montana author, screenwriter, and outdoorsman William "Gatz" Hjortsberg and his wife Marian on the half-title page, where Harrison has drawn a full-page nude self-portrait saying the words "Je vous aime beaucoup, Gatz & Marian." Light wear to spine ends and lower board edges, faint finger-soil to text edges; Near Fine. Dustjacket is unclipped (priced $5.95), with modest wear to extremities, some yellowing along the front flap, and several tiny tears, with a tape mend at crown on verso; Very Good.