Supernation at Peace and War: Being Certain Observations, Depositions, Testimonies, and Graffiti Gathered on a One-Man Fact-Finding Tour of the Most Powerful Nation in the World
Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1968. First Edition, First Printing.
Octavo (8 1/8 x 5 1/2 inches; 208 x 140 mm), 252, [6] pages, in blue cloth, titles in gilt to spine, in an unclipped, printed dust jacket.
INSCRIBED by the author on the half title: "To Virginia Elliott / With best wishes / Dan Wakefield."
Snapshots and vignettes from 1968 about the state of the United States, "a nation at war halfway around the world, at war with itself and about to choose its leaders for the next four years." (From the front flap).
Wakefield (1932-2024) was a wonderful storyteller with an eye for the absurd. Or, as an admiring review in The New York Times put it, "Mr. Wakefield is a caustic viewer of the American scene. His stance is that of an amused Gulliver reporting on strange and exotic cultures, and he describes their antic and fantastic character with surprised and diffident wonder." (Thomas Lask, The New York Times, June 8, 1968, page 29).
Signed copies of this book are uncommon.
CONDITION: Tiny black dot on top edge, rubbing to bottom corner of upper board, internally tight and unmarked. The unclipped dust jacket has some soiling to both panels, especially the lower panel, minor toning, and a bit of fading to the spine. Near Fine in a Very Good or better dust jacket. Item #2518
Price: $100.00