The Naked and The Dead

Acclaimed as a successful expression of the futility of war, Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead follows the story of an army platoon of foot soldiers fighting for the possession of the Japanese-held island of Anopopei during World War II. The novel, which embodies wartime disillusionment, is partly based on Mailer’s own experiences with the 112th Cavalry in the Pacific. Through its four parts, The Naked and the Dead addresses themes of loneliness, death of fear and dying, and brotherhood. The novel is written in gritty, journalistic detail. However, this tone was dialed back as publishers persuaded Mailer to use to euphemism “fug” in lieu of the mother of all curse words — the “F” word — in his novel.

The Naked and the Dead sold 200,000 copies in its first three months and was a New York Times best seller for over a year. Despite some controversy among critics, the novel remains important in American literature. The Naked and the Dead is ranked 51st on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. The novel was later adapted into a film of the same name in 1958.

Rinehart & Company first published The Naked and the Dead in 1948. Bound in black cloth, first editions have the Rinehart logo, a script R in a circle, on the copyright page. The dust jacket of first editions state the original retail price of $4.00 along with a review by Stanley Rinehart that begins on the front flap and continues on the back flap. The 721-page novel was produced in a print run of 25,000 copies. Signed first editions have sold for upwards of $7,500.

Allan Wingate published the first UK edition of The Naked and the Dead in 1949, while the publisher was still under the direction of Andre Deutsch. This edition, the dust jacket of which features dramatically different cover art, is also highly collectible.