The Day of Creation.

Victor Gollancz. London. 1987. First edition. DW. SIGNED PRESENTATION COPY FROM THE AUTHOR TO ANGHARAD RYDER. TOGETHER WITH TWO TWO-SIDED AUTOGRAPH LETTERS SIGNED AND FOUR AUTOGRAPH POSTCARDS FROM BALLARD TO RYDER. The letters are very interesting and also personal, for example he tells Angharad to be selective in her small safari through his novels, "...there's a pretty clear spectrum running from the visionary & idealistic (Crystal World and Unlimited Dream Co) to more or less out and out porn, as in Crash - though to me that's my most idealistic book of all...." He talks about the part-autobiographical nature of "Empire" and how his experiences in the camps changed him, "...in the sense of reducing the moral authority of the received world to nil, and placing immense value on the power of the imagination to remake everything - rather psychotic really." And also, "Latin? My first love (a school in England....in the late 40's we even attempted Latin conversation - heroically pointless)". The other letter covers flying lessons, writers on flying and how learning to fly can signal a life about to change. He manages in both the letters and the postcards to be inspiring and present fresh ideas and his passion for life as he does in all his work. The book is fine in wrapper. The dedication states, "For Angharad, 'The aeroplane has unveiled for us the true face of the earth' - St. Ex All the best JG Ballard [two dots and a flourish]"