Various (Mann, Klaus (Editor); Bingham, Alfred M.; Kallman, Chester; Lazareff, Pierre; Moore, Marianne; Muni, Paul; Sinclair, Upton; Streit, Clarence; Tully, Jim; von Stroheim, Erich; et al.)

Decision: A Review of Free Culture Vol. 1 No. 3 (March 1941)

New York, NY, USA: Decision, 1941. First Printing. Stapled Pages in Wrappers. “I have been asked to speak over the radio to the conquered peoples of Europe, and to their kinsmen in other lands and on the sea. In the forty-six years of my work as a professional writer and speaker, I have never approached any duty with more humility of mind and spirit. I live in the sunshine of California, in a land of peace and freedom….Now I am speaking to people who have been deprived of all these rights; whose land has been invaded by conquerors, whose legal government has been driven into exile, whose liberties have been destroyed by one of the most wonton crimes in the world’s long history. What can I say to such people that will be adequate to the situation. Words are so cheap in the California sunshine, but so dreadfully costly in the dark winter of oppression which has closed down upon the people of the conquered European lands! (Upton Sinclair, “To the Conquered Peoples,” pg. 13) This issue of the literary, cultural & political journal edited by Klaus Mann (1906-1949), son of Thomas Mann & the author of the acclaimed novel Mephisto (1936), was published in 1941. At the time, Mann was living in the USA as a refugee from Nazi Germany (as were his father, siblings & other relatives) as the Second World War proceeded. The roster of contributors to this issue includes American author, muckraker, and political activist Upton Sinclair (1878-1968), best-known for his 1906 novel The Jungle; transatlanticist journalist Clarence K. Streit (1896-1986) and military officer & politician Alfred m. Bingham (1905-1998) debating Federalism and Liberalism (pg. 17-25); American modernist poet Marianne Moore (1887-1972); French newspaper editor and publisher Pierre Lazareff (1907-1972); American writer, artist, and poet Weldon Kees (1914-1955?); American vagabond writer Jim Tully (1886-1947); American poet, librettist, and translator Chester Kallman (1921-1975) (see our item No. 5883); Austrian-American director, screenwriter, actor, and producer Erich von Stroheim (1885-1957); Chicago-born actor of stage and screen Paul Muni (1895-1967); and many more! From the collection of Laurence Goldstein (1943-2023), poet, editor, and professor in the University of Michigan Department of English Language and Literature. An outstanding collectible, the only copy we have encountered, in its singularly rarest contemporary form & with distinguished provenance. Stapled Pages in Wrappers: first edition, first-&-only printing. In relatively good-to-near fine condition with a delicate binding that should be handled with care; moderate rubbing to the front & back covers; minor-to-moderate bumping, creasing to the fine edges and corners of same; minor chipping along spine edge; minor-to-moderate spotting/discoloration to the inside front cover and first page, though the rest of interior is clean. Good-Near Fine. [Item #7247]

Price: $50.00