"WE ARE WHAT WE PRETEND TO BE, SO WE MUST BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT WE PRETEND TO BE": VONNEGUT'S MOTHER NIGHT
VONNEGUT, Kurt. Mother Night. New York: Harper & Row, 1966. Octavo, original half red cloth with black paper boards, original dust jacket. $1000.
First hardcover edition of Vonnegut's satirical World War II novel, with an added introduction in which Vonnegut discusses his experiences in Dresden, an episode which he later made the central event of Slaughterhouse-Five.
In his Introduction, new to this hardcover edition, Vonnegut claimed that the moral of this novel about an American spy in Germany who transmits secret messages via pro-Nazi radio talks is: "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." Preceded by a 1962 paperback edition. "First Edition" with code "C-Q" on copyright page.
Book fine, dust jacket near-fine with very mild toning to spine and extremities.