Race : How Blacks And Whites Think And Feel About The American Obsession

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by Studs Terkel Publisher : New Press Year : 1992 Edition : First Printing : Third Pages : 403 Condition : Near Fine Binding : Hardcover Price : $17.95

Item Description :

New Press, 1992. FIRST EDITION. 3rd printing. Excellent condition. Quarter bound in a grey cloth spine over black paper boards, with black endpapers and pastedowns. The title, the author's name, the publisher's device, and decorative ruling are black-stamped to the spine. The author's ninth book. One of the most important literary and cultural events of the last decade of the 20th century. The true first. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. The chronicler of The American Dream revisits The American Obsession, and prophetically anticipates its exacerbation at the turn of the new century. "He encourages a wide range of Americans, black and white, to speak their minds about race with remarkable frankness. The resulting book is infinitely more informative than polls taken on such issues because the subjects are allowed to explore their thoughts, prejudices, hopes, and fears. There is almost universal agreement among the blacks and their white sympathizers interviewed that life looks darker for blacks now than it did 20 years ago. A strong commitment to civil rights, meaningful affirmative action, poverty programs, and a social climate in which overt racism was unacceptable all suffered during the Reagan Years. Economic hardships that are also partly a legacy of that era are further polarizing American society in ways that are seldom discussed. As South African author Rian Malan tells Terkel, 'I think there's been an unhealthy trend in America for a long time not to discuss race. I think airing prejudice could be healthy. Race prejudice is something that thrives in ignorance'. The reader comes away with greatly expanded understanding of much recent American social history" (Publishers Weekly). "I don't know one black person who has never had an encounter with the cops" (a young, white, middle-class musician to Studs Terkel). A masterpiece. This copy is very boldly and beautifully signed and inscribed in black fountain pen on the half-title page by the author: "Peace, Studs Terkel". There is no recipient named. It is also signed in black marker on the title page. This title has been out-of-print as a hardcover for a very long time even though it went into multiple subsequent printings. This is one of few signed copies of the true First Edition still available online and is in fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. A very scarce signed copy thus. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction in 1985 for "The Good War". Named by Who's Who as one of "Fifty Great Living Americans". One of the greatest American writers of the 20th century and a national treasure. 403 pages.

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