Conversations With the Dead

Holt Rinehart Winston, New York, 1971. Early Edition. Hardcover. Very Good Condition/Very Good. LYON, DANNY. Conversations With the Dead, New York et al.: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971.Oblong quarto, second printing, pp. 196, light gray cloth quarter-bound in white with black lettering on spine, halftone photos and color painting reproductions. Subtitled "Photographs of Prison Life with the Letters and Drawings of Billy McCune #122054," this is one of Lyon's most important books, showing the conditions of the Texas prison system -- dehumanizing, brutal, and homoerotic. See Roth pp. 210-11. If you want the hardcover, the second printing is likely the best you can do, and Roth explains why: "Run off in one night by buddies in the print shop of one of the six prison units Lyon visited regularly, this necessarily limited first edition was smuggled out under Lyon's arm before authorities could confiscate it."Also see Parr & Badger, V.2, pp. 18-19; they refer to this book as Lyon's "masterpiece."Condition of this book:Boards lightly worn with a small stain on upper panel; jacket toning near edges with short tears in front panel and head of spine.Leaves clean and tight, images fine. Size: Quarto. Text body is clean, and free from previous owner annotation, underlining and highlighting. Binding is tight, covers and spine fully intact. All edges clean, neat and free of foxing. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Photography; United States; 1960s; True Crime. ISBN: 0030850681. ISBN/EAN: 9780030850684. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 52319. . 9780030850684