Fist Son of the New School: Norman Mailer

Norman Mailer was a writer, journalist and essayist, winner of a Pullitzer Prize for literature and a National Book Award. His reputation still divides critics however, both on literary and political grounds. Whilst it is absolutely understood that Mailer was a Democrat, he remained caustically critical of any institution throughout his life, especially all forms of the Right, Republican and Conservative society - but he was also similarly caustic about the New Left and the 'Hip' movements, which he saw as apocalyptic nihilism.

Norman Mailer was a genius writer, but his arrogance was also well-known, prompting many literary critics to dislike him. As one of the foremost writers of the New Journalism (including Truman Capote, Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Wolfe) he was known for his acerbic attack of society, culture, and politics. He wrote biographies of the famous 60's 'legendary figures' such as Marylin Monroe, and Lee Harvey Oswald, and his work seems to point to an idea that American culture was a mythic empire, teetering over the abyss of anarchic collapse. His critics found much to dislike in his work, from the Left Wing saying that he was too conservative, and the Republicans saying that he was unpatriotic.

Whatever one's personal feelings are about Norman Mailer, his works speak for themselves. His first book The Naked and the Dead is a searing account of the Pacific War through the eyes of one platoon's training and eventual mobilisation against an island under Japanese control. It explores many of Mailers most enduring themes such as dehumanisation, totalitarianism, and social morality. A signed first true edition of this book from Rhinehart, New York (1948) can be found for as much as seven thousand US dollars, although unsigned first editions will diminish that price to a thousand US dollars.

For the determined (but strong-stomached) collector, then perhaps consider Normal Mailer's most famous work, The Executioner's Song published in 1979, by Little, Brown and Co. This book tells the harrowing story of Gary Gilmour, America's first murderer to face the death penalty from 1967 to 1977, based on extensive interviews of the man's delinquent, and emotionally troubled life. A good signed first edition copy can cost as little as three hundred dollars at auction.

For those who are perhaps looking for happier material - look to Mailer's biography of Marilyn Monroe in Marilyn: The Biography (1973) which recounts Marilyn's life, putting forward Mailer's belief that Marilyn had an affair with JFK, and was killed by the US Security Services for her affiliation to the President. A fine first edition hardcover, again signed by Mailer and including numerous black and white photographs from the time, for three hundred US dollars!