John Henry Days

New York: Doubleday, 2001. First edition, first printing (full number line). Large octavo in white DJ, 389 pages; 25 cm. Extremely mild rubbing to spine head and foot, very gentle rubbing to front-rear edge, light soiling to rear board, faint mark to front board and fore-edge, bright pages, tight binding, very light soiling to DJ, else Near Fine(-) in Near Fine(-) DJ. Hardcover. ISBN: 0385498195

E-journalist J. Sutter travels to West Virginia for the first John Henry Days celebration. Colson Whitehead's eagerly awaited and triumphantly acclaimed new novel is on one level a multifaceted retelling of the story of John Henry, the black steel-driver who died outracing a machine designed to replace him. On another level it's the story of a disaffected, middle-aged black journalist on a mission to set a record for junketeering who attends the annual John Henry Days festival. It is also a high-velocity thrill ride through the tunnel where American legend gives way to American pop culture, replete with p. r. flacks, stamp collectors, blues men, and turn-of-the-century song pluggers. John Henry Days is an acrobatic, intellectually dazzling, and laugh-out-loud funny book that will be read and talked about for years to come. African American journalists -- Fiction. DJ protected in archival mylar sleeve.