Quick Before Melts by Philip Benjamin (7 results)
Published by Random House, New York 1964
- Hardcover
- First Edition
Seller: Rosebud Books, golconda, IL, U.S.A.Rosebud Books
Contact seller5-star sellerHardcover. Dust Jacket Included. First printing. blue boards with dark blue spine; illust. dj; 247 pgs. compared to "The Front Page." Very Good in Good DJ; all else-clean, tight, & attractive; dj has light edge chipping; dj protected by new mylar wrap. George Wiggens (jacket art) (illustrator).
Published by avon s series, 1964
- Softcover
- First Edition
Seller: GRAHAM HOLROYD, BOOKS, webster, NY, U.S.A.GRAHAM HOLROYD, BOOKS
Contact seller5-star sellerPaperback. first PB. S-168, very good , spine creases (MOVIE TIE-IN), paperback.
Published by avon s series, 1964
- Softcover
- First Edition
Seller: GRAHAM HOLROYD, BOOKS, webster, NY, U.S.A.GRAHAM HOLROYD, BOOKS
Contact seller5-star sellerPaperback. first PB. S-168, very good -fine, , reading crease (MOVIE TIE-IN), paperback.
Published by Victor Gollancz 1964
- Hardcover
Seller: Crappy Old Books, Barry, United KingdomCrappy Old Books
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Good
£ 3.50
£ 20.05 shippingShips from United Kingdom to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Hardback. Condition: Good. Quick Before It Melts (1964) by Philip Benjamin Victor Gollancz ISBN: none (because 1964 trusted you to remember the title) Condition: Good As sold by Crappy Old Books Some books whisper. Some books declaim. And then there are books that urgently instruct you in the title: Quick Before It Melts. You do…n?t even know what it is yet, but you?d better get on with it. Philip Benjamin delivers one of those wonderfully mid-century comic capers in which the premise is already faintly absurd and the execution takes that absurdity and treats it with the utmost seriousness. The result is that particular 1960s British humour ? dry, intelligent, slightly bewildered by the modern world, and entirely committed to seeing the joke through. Without giving away too much, the novel pivots on a scenario that begins improbably and then accelerates. There?s international confusion, bureaucratic entanglement, and the creeping realisation that small misunderstandings have an alarming habit of becoming large geopolitical incidents. It?s satire served cool and crisp ? appropriate, given the title. Benjamin?s tone is brisk and wry. He understands that the best comedy comes from people behaving with complete sincerity in situations that are clearly spiralling. Nobody sets out to be ridiculous; they simply apply logic with impressive confidence while everything quietly collapses around them. It?s all terribly British in its composure, even when the stakes grow surprisingly icy. And yes, there is a Cold War chill humming underneath. This is 1964, after all ? a time when diplomacy and disaster could share a border, and one telegram too many might start something regrettable. Benjamin takes that tension and tilts it just enough to make it funny. It?s political without being preachy, and absurd without being chaotic. As a Victor Gollancz hardback, it carries that pleasing solidity: smart jacket design, tidy typography, the sense that this was once reviewed in newspapers by people wearing proper jackets. In Good condition, this copy is clean, sturdy, and ready to be whisked off the shelf before anything melts at all. There?s something especially charming about comic novels of this era. They don?t shout. They don?t nudge you with neon signs. They simply set up a ludicrous situation and allow human nature to do the rest. The result is clever, controlled, and far more enduring than it first appears. Buy it if you like satire with frost on its collar. Buy it if you enjoy Cold War comedy without the explosions. Buy it if you appreciate a novel whose urgency is baked into the title. Because sometimes the world teeters on the brink ? and sometimes the brink is made of ice.
Language: English
Published by Victor Gollancz 1964
- Hardcover
- First Edition
Seller: Yare Books, Great Yarmouth, United KingdomYare Books
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used - Very good
£ 15.75
£ 26.75 shippingShips from United Kingdom to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. First Edition. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.
Published by Random House
- First Edition
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.Wonder Book
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Good. First edition copy. . Good dust jacket. From the library of American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter William Safire. (humor fiction).
Published by London: Victor Gollancz (1964) 1964
Seller: Bow Windows Bookshop (ABA, ILAB), Lewes, , United KingdomBow Windows Bookshop (ABA, ILAB)
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used
£ 30.00
£ 22.00 shippingShips from United Kingdom to U.S.A.Quantity: 1 available
First UK edition, 8vo, (viii), 247, (1) pp. Cloth, d.w. with marking and mild loss to the top of the spine.
