Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone.

New York: The Dial Press, Inc., 1968. Rare uncorrected galley proof of Baldwin's fourth novel. Square quarto, original spiral bound wrappers. Signed by the author on the title page, "Peace James Baldwin." In very good condition. Publication date annotated in ink on the front wrapper. Very uncommon signed. At the height of his theatrical career, actor Leo Proudhammer is nearly felled by a heart attack. As he hovers between life and death, Baldwin shows the choices that have made him enviably famous and terrifyingly vulnerable. For between Leo's childhood on the streets of Harlem and his arrival into the intoxicating world of the theater lies a wilderness of desire and loss, shame and rage. An adored older brother vanishes into prison. There are love affairs with a white woman and a younger black man, each of whom will make irresistible claims on Leo's loyalty. And, everywhere, there is the anguish of being black in a society that at times seems poised on the brink of total racial war.