{"product_id":"the-rush-for-second-place-isbn-9780142002384","title":"The Rush for Second Place","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn essential collection of nonfiction essays by the National Book Award winning author of \u003ci\u003eJ R\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Frolic of His Own\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWilliam Gaddis published only four novels during his lifetime, but with those works he earned himself a reputation as one of America's greatest novelists. Less well known is Gaddis's body of excellent critical writings. Here is a wide range of his original essays, some published for the first time. From \"'Stop Player. Joke No. 4,'\" Gaddis's first national publication and the basis for his projected history of the player piano, to the title essay about missed opportunities in America during the past fifty years, to \"Old Foes with New Faces,\" an examination of the relationship between the writer and the problem of religion-this diverse collection displays the power of an autonomous literary intelligence in an age increasingly dominated by political and religious conservatism.Introduction\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1. \"Stop Player. Joke No. 4\" (1951)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2. Agape Agape: The Secret History of the Player Piano (early 1960s)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3. Treatment for a Motion Picture on \"Software\" (early 1960s)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4. Cover Illustrations from the Corporate Writings (A Selection)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Growth of American Industry (For the National Association of Manufacturers)\u003cbr\u003eEducational Technology Shapes the Future... Are You Ready? (For the Eastman Kodak Company)\u003cbr\u003eAnswers to Cancer (For General Motors\/Western Electric)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5. In the Zone (1978)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e6. The Rush for Second Place (1981)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e7. \u003ci\u003eJ R\u003c\/i\u003e Up to Date (1987)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e8. An Instinct for the Dangerous Wife\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e(Review of \u003ci\u003eMore Die of Heartbreak\u003c\/i\u003e by Saul Bellow, 1987)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e9. Erewhon and the Contract with America (1995)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e10. Old Foes with New Faces (1995)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e11. Occasional Writings\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis Above All (1990)\u003cbr\u003eJ. Danforth Quayle (1992)\u003cbr\u003eOn Creative Writing and the National Endowment for the Arts (1994)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e12. Speeches\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn Receiving the National Book Award for \u003ci\u003eJ R\u003c\/i\u003e (1975)\u003cbr\u003eHow Does the State Imagine? The Willing Suspension of Disbelief (1986)\u003cbr\u003eOn Receiving the National Book Award for \u003ci\u003eA Frolic of His Own\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e13. Tributes\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDostoevski (1996)\u003cbr\u003eMothers (1996)\u003cbr\u003eJulian Schnabel (1998)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAppendix:\u003cbr\u003eSummary Notes on the Work in Progress (early 1960s)\u003cbr\u003ePlayer Piano Chronology to 1929\u003cbr\u003eIndex\u003c\/p\u003e\"Sometimes dense, but always discerning: essential for Gaddis fans and those seeking an offbeat critique of American civilization.\" \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e-- Kirkus Reviews\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Gaddis (1922–1998) was a fact-checker at the New Yorker and a corporate speech-writer before coming to prominence, but published very little essay-based work. Editor Joseph Tabbi here collects 29 short and occasional pieces, some left in manuscript at the time of Gaddis's death, others admiring encomiums to Saul Bellow or Julian Schnabel, all of which, as he notes, \"create a sense of the environment in which Gaddis worked.\"\u003cb\u003e -\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e- Publishers Weekly \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eWilliam Gaddis (1922-1998) \u003c\/b\u003ewas a master of the American novel who was frequently compared with Joyce, Nabokov, and Pynchon. Two of his novels, \u003cb\u003eJ R\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eA Frolic of His Own\u003c\/b\u003e, won the National Book Award. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the recipient of a MacArthur Prize.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoseph Tabbi\u003c\/b\u003e was the first scholar to be given access to the Gaddis archives. He conducts research in American literature and new media writing at the University of Illinois at Chicago.\u003cbr\u003eJoseph Tabbi was the first scholar to be given access to the Gaddis archives. He conducts research in American literature and new media writing at the University of Illinois at Chicago.","brand":"Penguin Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46305301659877,"sku":"NP9780142002384","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780142002384.jpg?v=1767741301","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-rush-for-second-place-isbn-9780142002384","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}