Beyond the Hundredth Meridian (association copy)
Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1954. First edition. Hardcover. An association copy, inscribed on the half-title page: "For Phil McConnell, with warmest regards. It ain't Arabia, but it's at least a frontier. Wallace Stegner, Palo Alto, Feb. 7, 1956." Phil McConnell is a character and is profiled in Stegner's lesser-known book Discovery! The Search for Arabian Oil, which he wrote on commission and later had some compunction about. An interesting chapter in Stegner's writing career, Discovery! describes the history of the Aramco oil company. McConnell arrives in Chapter 8 (link) to help the search for oil: "One of the newcomers was a man named Phil McConnell, a seasoned production man who had met Floyd Ohliger in California and been talked into going to Bahrain. . . . Phil McConnell was an exceedingly companionable man, full of jokes, songs, anecdotes, insatiably curious about the life that he had come into in middle age, and still rather surprised at himself for what he had done." McConnell's name is mentioned ten times in that chapter. A file of his notes on Phil McConnell are in Stegner's archives at the University of Utah. A nice association, especially in light of the nod to their shared history in the inscription. Stegner's most classic and enduring nonfiction work, a study of John Wesley Powell and his exploration of the Grand Canyon and the West. Very good or better in brown cloth, gilt lettering, with a little rubbing to spine ends. With the panoramic illustration by Holmes bound in before the title page as it should be. In a very good jacket with some nicks and creasing to edges. Near fine / Very good. Item #1859
Price: $2,500.00 save 5% $2,375.00