- Keyword = African American Literature, African American History and Nonfiction, African Literature, Slavery Abolition Reconstruction, Civil Rights / Black Power Movements
-
THE MONKEY SUIT and Other Short Fiction on African Americans and Justice.
Edition: First printing.
New York: The New Press, 1998. dj. Hardcover first edition - The first book by this African American law professor - a collection of 10 stories based on classic legal cases involving black Americas during slavery and after - an imaginative combination of legal research and literature.
Condition: Fine in a fine dustjacket (as new.)
Book ID: 13401More details Price: $20.00 -
BIG TIME BUCK WHITE.
Edition: Paperback original - first printing.
New York: Grove Press, (1969.). First edition - A black militant play first performed in Los Angeles by Budd Schulberg's Watts Writers Workshop, and then in New York City where it was described as 'a powerful statement explaining black power' and 'one of the best shows so far this season.' 117 pp.
Condition: Very near fine.
Book ID: 42076More details Price: $16.00 -
I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE: Rumor in African-American Culture.
Edition: First edition.
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, (1993.) dj. Hardcover first edition - Folklorist Turner covers the prevalent rumors of the African -American community, from whispers of cannibalism in the 1600s to conspiracy theories today. Includes a bibliography whose sources range from anthropologists to contempory songs and movies. Notes, index. 260 pp. ISBN: 0-520-081854.
Condition: Fine in a fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 5515More details Price: $25.00 -
SIMBI AND THE SATYR OF THE DARK JUNGLE.
Edition: First thus- a trade paperback.
San Francisco: City Lights Books, (1988.). Originally published in the UK in 1955, this is the story of Simbi, the most beautiful girl in the village, daughter of the wealthiest woman, who tires of her privileged existence and goes in search of Poverty and Punishment. 156 pp. ISBN: 0-87286-2143.
Condition: Very near fine in illustrated wrappers.
Book ID: 41488More details Price: $10.00 -
THE PALM-WINE DRINKARD and His Dead Palm-Wine Tapster in the Dead's Town.
Edition: Trade paperback.
New York: Grove Press, (1982.). A novel originally published in 1953, perhaps the best known work by this important Nigerian writer. Cover praise from Dylan Thomas who called it a 'brief, thronged, grisly and bewitching story.' 130 pp. ISBN: 0-394-172353.
Condition: Good only (prev owner's name, toning to the pages.)
Book ID: 42852More details Price: $9.00 -
MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS.
Edition: First paperback printing.
London: Faber & Faber, (1964). The second novel by this Nigerian author, who based his books on Yoruba folktales and traditions. First published in 1954, this tells the story of a small boy who wanders into the heart of a wild and grotesque African forest, where he is captured by ghosts, buried alive and wrapped up in spider webs. With a foreword by Geoffrey Parrinder. 174 pp.
Condition: Near fine in illustrated wrappers (previous owner's name - that of the poet Elizabeth La Place [Harrod] on the first page).
Book ID: 78953More details Price: $20.00 -
THE PRIVILEGE OF DARKNESS.
Edition: First printing.
New York: Chester House, (1985) dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - Novel of Southern life between 1859-1877, from before the Civil War through Reconstruction, one which combines the story of a matriarch determined to protect her family who nevertheless becomes involved in the tragedy of the newly freed people trapped by the black codes and the corruption in Washington. SIGNED on the front endpaper with the words "best wishes." 395 pp. ISBN: 0-935763007.
Condition: Very near fine in a very good dustjacket.
Book ID: 88772More details Price: $24.50 -
ONE YEAR LATER: An Assessment of the Nation's Response to the Crisis Described by the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders.
Edition: 1st trade paperback printing.
New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1969. The conclusion reached by this book: 'A year later, we are a year closer to being two societies, black and white, increasingly separate and scarcely less unequal.' References. 122 pp
Condition: Very good condition (light stamp on first page.)
Book ID: 30678More details Price: $9.00 -
AINT SUPPOSED TO DIE A NATURAL DEATH.
Edition: Paperback original - first printing.
New York: Bantam, (1973). First edition - A "novel with lyrics, a gutsy, lusty narrative of black street life the explores every aspect of ghetto agony" based on Van Peebles play of the same title. Includes an insert of 16 pages of photographs by Bert Andrews on glossy stock -"Portraits from the Underground Reservation." 156 pp
Condition: Very good - the usual toning to both the pages and the cover, but more durable and sturdy than most paperbacks from that era. Easily readable and very scarce.
Book ID: 86121More details Price: $145.00 -
YESTERDAY I CRIED: Celebrating the Lessons of Living and Loving.
Edition: Trade paperback.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. ISBN: 0-684-867486.
Condition: Near fine (gift inscription.)
Book ID: 21427More details Price: $10.00 -
THE GOOD NEGRESS.
Edition: First printing.
Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin, 1995. dj. Hardcover first edition - Author's highly praised first novel (Toni Morrison called it 'truly extraordinary'). Set in the 1960's, this is the story of a young girl raised in Virginia who returns to her family in Detroit. Nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award. 299 pp. ISBN: 1-56512-085-x.
Condition: Fine in a fine dustjacket.
Book ID: 13572More details Price: $25.00 -
THE GOOD NEGRESS.
Edition: First printing.
Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin, 1995. dj. Hardcover first edition - Author's highly praised first novel (Toni Morrison called it 'truly extraordinary'), the story of a young girl coming of age in rural Virgnia in the 1960's. ISBN: 1-56512-085-x.
Condition: Near fine in a fine dustjacket (rem line.)
Book ID: 16927More details Price: $20.00 -
THE GOOD NEGRESS.
Edition: Trade paperback.
Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin, 1995. Author's highly praised first novel (Toni Morrison called it 'truly extraordinary'), the story of a young girl coming of age in rural Virgnia in the 1960's. 299 pp.
Condition: Near fine in glossy illustrated wrappers.
Book ID: 33303More details Price: $10.00 -
EDEN.
Edition: Uncorrected proof (trade paperback format. )
New York: Grove Press, (2002). First edition - The author's first novel, a story of a young black girl in the Deep South who comes to confront the realities of sex, race, disease, and the brutal finality of death, as she watches her tough, strong-minded aunt waste away. 263 pp.
Condition: Fine in printed white wrappers.
Book ID: 63473More details Price: $20.00 -
FREE BUT NOT EQUAL, the Midwest and the Negro during the Civil War
Edition: 2nd printing.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1969. dj.
Condition: F/VG (rubbing at folds of dj.)
Book ID: 6047More details Price: $20.00 -
RESTORING HOPE : C O N V E R S A T I O N S O N T H E F U T U R E O F B L A C K A M E R I C A .
Edition: First printing.
Boston: Beacon Press, (1997.) dj. Hardcover first edition - A project of The Obsidian Society, edited and with an Introduction by Kelvin Shawn Sealey. Includes conversations with Harry Belafonte, Bill Bradley, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, The Reverend Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., and the Reverend Dr. James M. Washington, Wynton Marsalis, Patricia Williams, Haki Madhubuti, and Maya Angelou. Foreword by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. ; preface by Cornel West and the poem "Catch The Fire" by Sonia sanchez. Notes on the contributors, photograph. xx, 226 pp. ISBN: 0 - 8 0 7 0 - 0 9 4 2 3.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 47455More details Price: $18.00 -
COMPANY MAN.
Edition: First printing.
Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 1992. dj. Hardcover first edition - The author's first novel, the story of a young black man in a high-profile job: he has the CEO's patronage, a beautiful wife, a house in a fine old neighborhood - and then everything begins to fall apart. Described as 'among the first contemporary African American novels to go inside the offices on executive row.' 219 pp. ISBN: 0-945575-734.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 37976More details Price: $17.50 -
COMPANY MAN.
Edition: First printing.
Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin Books, 1992. dj. Hardcover first edition - The author's first novel, the story of a young black man in a high-profile job: he has the CEO's patronage, a beautiful wife, a house in a fine old neighborhood - and then everything begins to fall apart. Described as 'among the first contemporary African American novels to go inside the offices on executive row.' 219 pp. ISBN: 0-945575-734.
Condition: Very near fine in a like dustjacket (as new, but with a remainder line)
Book ID: 69453More details Price: $15.00 -
PUSHED BACK TO STRENGTH: A Black Woman's Journey Home
Edition: First printing.
Boston: Beacon Press, (1993) dj. Hardcover first edition - Foreword by Johnnetta B. Cole. Autobiography of this writer who grew up in segregated Memphis, through her activism and arrest in the civil rights movement, to her position as professor at Spelman College. One photograph at beginning of book. xi, 276 pp. ISBN: 0-8070-90229.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 74527More details Price: $18.00 -
DREAM ON MONKEY MOUNTAIN and Other Plays
Edition: First printing.
New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1970. dj. Hardcover first edition - The first collection of plays by this Caribbean writer who was both the director of the Trinidad Theater Workshop as well as its chief playwright.
Condition: Ex-library with pocket inside front endpaper, but overall a fairly tight copy in a near fine dj.
Book ID: 9587More details Price: $25.00 -
HER BLUE BODY EVERYTHING WE KNOW. Earthling Poems 1965-1990.
Edition: First printing.
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991. dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - First book of collected poems by Walker - includes a new introduction to each book of poetry in which Walker talks about her experiences at the time she was writing those poems; also includes a section of previously unpublished poems. SIGNED by Walker. ISBN: 0-15-1400407.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 1461More details Price: $65.00 -
LIVING BY THE WORD, Selected Writings 1973-1987
Edition: First printing.
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989. dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - SIGNED by Walker on the first preliminary page. 196 pp. ISBN: 0-15-1529000.
Condition: Fine in a very good dustjacket (sunning to the spine and edges of the dj, as is common with almost all copies of this title, very small peeled spot from sticker removal.)
Book ID: 3045More details Price: $75.00 -
THE COLOR PURPLE.
Edition: Trade paperback.
New York: Washington Square Press Books, 1983. ISBN: 0-671-526022.
Condition: Some signs of wear but a good reading copy.
Book ID: 5175More details Price: $10.00 -
THE SAME RIVER TWICE. Honoring the Difficult.
Edition: First printing.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - A book Walker spent 10 years in the writing, this is perhaps her most personal book yet. The story of the making of the film "Color Purple" and of the changes in her life. SIGNED by Walker. Index. 302 pp. ISBN: 0-684-814196.
Condition: Fine in a fine dustjacket (as new, but with a remainder dot on bottom edge)
Book ID: 6889More details Price: $40.00 -
POSSESSING THE SECRET OF JOY
Edition: First printing.
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992. dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - The story of Tashi, a tribal African woman who lives much of her adult life In North America. Although not a sequel to "The Color Purple" or "The Temple of my Familiar," Tashi was a barely glimpsed character there. Combining fact and fiction, this deals with the controversial issue of female genital mutilation and its effect on women. SIGNED on the title page. 286 pp. ISBN: 0-15-17315217.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 25091More details Price: $45.00 -
LIVING BY THE WORD, Selected Writings 1973-1987
Edition: 1st trade paperback printing.
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989. SIGNED - A collection of short prose pieces, some essays about her travels in China, Jamaica and elsewhere; others are short journal entries. SIGNED on the half title page. ISBN: 0-15-652865-7.
Condition: Very good+ in illustrated wrappers.
Book ID: 25101More details Price: $20.00 -
LIVING BY THE WORD, Selected Writings 1973-1987
Edition: Trade paperback.
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989. SIGNED - A collection of short prose pieces, some essays about her travels in China, Jamaica and elsewhere; others are short journal entries. SIGNED on the title page. Although this states that it is the first edition, and has the letter line beginning with 'A', the cover is a very different design, and the paper is thicker than in the first trade paperback edition. ISBN: 0-15-652865-7.
Condition: Very good+ in glossy wrappers.
Book ID: 25102More details Price: $20.00 -
THE TEMPLE OF MY FAMILIAR
Edition: First printing.
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989. dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - Her first novel after the award-winning 'The Color Purple' - and Miss Celie and Miss Shug make brief appearances in this story. SIGNED on the title page. ISBN: 0-15-1885338.
Condition: Fine in fine dust jacket.
Book ID: 25110More details Price: $45.00 -
BY THE LIGHT OF MY FATHER'S SMILE.
Edition: First printing.
New York: Random House, 1998. dj. SIGNED hardcover first edition - A novel, her first in six years. SIGNED on the title page. 222 pp. ISBN: 0-375-501525.
Condition: Very good minus in a fine dj (missing front free endpaper, but book otherwise appears unread.)
Book ID: 25113More details Price: $28.00 -
THE SAME RIVER TWICE. Honoring the Difficult.
Edition: First thus- a trade paperback.
New York: Washington Square Press Books, 1997. SIGNED - A book Walker spent 10 years in the writing, this is perhaps her most personal book yet. The story of the making of the film "Color Purple" and of the changes in her life. SIGNED on the title page. ISBN: 0-671-003771.
Condition: Near fine.
Book ID: 25116More details Price: $18.00
