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Borges, Jorge Luis (Translated by Norman Thomas Di Giovanni) : A Universal History Of Infamy

E. P. Dutton & Company, Inc., New York City, NY, 1972

ISBN 0525226702

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 146 pages. Landmark collection of short fiction. One of the greatest books of the 20th century. The first appearance of the title in English and in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only and as part of the ground-breaking and now-legendary series of translations by Normas Thomas di Giovanni of the author's works, all carried out with Borges' close collaboration. The First Edition is now scarce. A brilliant production by Jim McMullan: Regular-sized volume format. Red hard boards with black cloth overboard and gilt titles on spine, as issued. Short Stories, Parables, and Prefaces by Jorge Luis Borges. Bibliographical Note appended at the end. In pictorial DJ with white titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Presents Jorge Luis Borges' "Historia universal de la infamia" in the definitive English translation by Norman Thomas di Giovanni. "The book that literally transformed Spanish prose and whose long echoes can still be heard in 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' " (The New York Times). The importance of its publication is such that 1935, the year it was first published, is now part of the history of Latin-American literature. "I do not dare to state that they are simple. There isn't anywhere on earth a single page or single word that is, since each thing implies the universe, whose most obvious trait is complexity. The art of writing is mysterious; the opinions we hold are ephemeral" (Jorge Luis Borges). This statement, cited by writers who could not be more different from one another as Gore Vidal, Italo Calvino, and Susan Sontag, all of them luminaries, may well be Borges' artistic credo. This seminal collection shows Jorge Luis Borges, together with Alejo Carpentier and Machado de Assis, to be One of the Triumvirate of modern Latin-American literature, revered even by a much more popular figure like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, whose work would not exist without their exemplary influence. And surely, Roberto Bolano's entire body of work (notably "Nazi Literature In The Americas", 2008) is directly descended from Borges. "If you read Borges frequently and closely, you become something of a Borgesian, because to read him is to activate an awareness of literature in which he has gone further than anyone else" (Harold Bloom). The book includes, as two separate sections, "Streetcorner Man", Borges' very first short story, and "Etcetera", eight tales, labeled by Borges as ephemeral, now considered eternal. An absolute "must-have" title for Jorge Luis Borges collectors. This title is a great book. This is one of few copies of the First American Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a beauty. Please note: Copies available online have very serious flaws, are in multiple subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare copy thus. Jorge Luis Borges' body of work is regarded by Harold Bloom, George Steiner, and Susan Sontag as among the canonical works of modern literature. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER JORGE LUIS BORGES TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0525226702.

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BORGES, Jorge Luis : A Universal History of Infamy

Allen Lane, 1973

First English Edition. A fine copy in a very near fine d.w., hint of wear at spine ends and corners. An attractive copy of an elusive title

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