Soul On Ice (Daniel Bell's book with his commentary)

Eldridge Cleaver; Introduction by Maxwell Geismar

Published by McGraw-Hill, New York, 1968

About this Item

Sixth Printing. This book came from the collection of Daniel Bell's books, a good number of which I purchased some years ago. He did not write his name in it. However, he did bracket (often with an exclamation mark) a good many passages. It's very clear that Bell had strong feelings about what Cleaver was writing and about Cleaver himself. There are a half dozen to a dozen or so notations, comments, musings, some with an edge of sarcasm. Next to one passage he writes 'Huh', and beside two others 'ugh.' Bell also speculates about the nature of Cleaver's prison experiences in the context of passages about Richard Wright's description of 'punk-hunting.' He questions Cleaver's interpretation of James Baldwin's feelings about America. He brackets several paragraphs about rape and on the blank rear end paper writes 'Rape as motive--14' the 14 referring to page 14. Also 'Role of Nechayev---12). Page 12 contains a number of brackets next to comments Cleaver makes about his attraction to Karl Marx's ideas and 'falling in love with Bakunin and Nechayev's Catechism of the Revolutionist.' Most of his comments are in the chapter on Richard Wright, titled Notes on a Native Son. By coincidence (and I guess this is a bit of a plug) the introduction to Soul on Ice was written by Maxwell Geismar, a number of whose books I also purchased some years ago, some of which are currently listed for sale. I don't need much room for the description of the condition of the book. It's excellent. The covers are very clean, a little color fade at the top edge of the front cover and spine ends. There's a little crinkling at the bottom edge of the spine. The cover edges and corners look very good. The page edges are quite clean. The book is very solidly bound from cover to cover with nicely tight pages and nicely tight covers as well. The pages are exceptionally clean. I'm not finding any creasing. No stamps or marks. No attachments. The writing you know about. The jacket is in excellent condition, clean, no tears. Same for the flaps. The jacket is NOT price-clipped, not clipped at all. It will be fitted with a protective cover after the photos are scanned. Googling Cleaver and Bell brought something up under 'Eldridge Cleaver-- New World Encyclopedia.' : 'Eldridge Cleaver's life coincided with a uniquely tumultuous time in American history, particularly in relation to the issue of race relations and the politics of the Left. A common view on the Left into the 1960s was that the United States was an inherently evil, racist, imperialist nation that could only be righted by radical revolution. Some prominent intellectuals who had been on the Left, Daniel Bell, Irving Kristol, Nathan Glazer, Norman Podhoretz, and others from poor immigrant families ultimately also disliked this view and deserted the Left. While Cleaver--perhaps due to his criminal behavior and status as a notorious fugitive--never gained the status of a neo-conservative intellectual leader, he followed a similar, if more extreme pattern.'. Seller Inventory # 004181

Bibliographic Details

Title: Soul On Ice (Daniel Bell's book with his ...

Publisher: McGraw-Hill, New York

Publication Date: 1968

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Near Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine