The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Book of the Month Club edition published by Little, Brown in 1951

This is a book that doesn't really need an introduction or synopsis; it also isn't predominantly weird or rare (except for the edition), and falls mostly into the category of cool. This copy of The Catcher in the Rye was published later in 1951, the same year as its initial publication, although was part of the third or fourth printing for the Little, Brown Book of the Month Club (BOMC). The main aesthetic difference between later printings and the first edition is that the first run had Salinger's photo on the back cover and he demanded that it be taken off for future editions. A secondary printing by Grosset & Dunlap around the same time had advertisements on the back cover, which he also demanded be taken off, and so all subsequent printings just had blank white on the back (which I would have scanned except it is literally just an empty white space). The cover of Salinger's only full-length novel features amazing, and now iconic, jacket design by Michael Mitchell (sometimes credited as E. Michael Mitchell) depicting a carousel horse in Central Park and part of the city. After its publication, Salinger became friends with Mitchell and corresponded for the better part of four decades. On the back flap Salinger is quoted as saying, "I've been writing since I was fifteen or so. My short stories have appeared in a number of magazines over the last ten years, mostly—and most happily—in The New Yorker. I worked on The Catcher in the Rye, on and off, for ten years." I value this copy immensely, despite the small physical imperfections on the cover, and will have to do because first printings go for many thousands of dollars.

The Corridors of Time by Poul Anderson

Book club edition of The Corridors of Time from 1965

Published by Doubleday Science Fiction, Poul Anderson's The Corridors of Time is about former death-row inmate Malcolm Lockridge's travels through time, guided by Storm Dalloway, who has just broken him out of prison. In one corridor of time Dalloway was a leader of the Wardens, a group warring against the Rangers, who enlist the help of Malcolm Lockridge before he can settle down in a time period of his choosing. Spanning many centuries and different eras, Anderson's novel can be a little hokey at times but still enjoyable enough to read. Anderson belonged to a sect of science fiction writers who were beyond prolific in their lifetime; this book was probably written among four or five other novels in 1964/1965 and sort of shows. I think this book is most important, though, as a relic from a period of publishing and literary history that no longer exists—incredibly imaginative, pulpy science fiction novels with amazing book design by masters of the genre. The Corridors of Time is a great example of all these things, and features beautiful jacket design by Tom Chibbaro.

The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov

Doubleday Science Fiction book club edition of The Foundation Trilogy from 1961

Published between 1951 and 1953, Isaac Asimov's three landmark books collected in this single edition recount the story of Hari Seldon and his plan to save the failing Galactic Empire by forming a new colony to preserve their remaining society, known as the Foundation. In an attempt to maintain the Foundation using a branch of mathematics he developed called psychohistory, Seldon can predict the future on a large-scale and, throughout the trilogy, attempts to navigate the new Foundation to safety from the perils of warring civilizations in the universe. These books are considered a pinnacle of Science Fiction, and mark the beginning of a new kind of writing by the master Isaac Asimov. This book club edition has a great, simple cover, although whoever designed it was never properly credited.

Back cover with author photo of Asimov

The Man In The High Castle by Philip K. Dick

First book club edition of The Man In The High Castle

Philip K. Dick's nightmarish alternate history was published by Putnam in 1962, and won the Hugo Award the following year. It tells of a world in which the Axis of Evil triumphed in World War II, and in the story's present they effectively run the world. The alternate future begins with FDR being assassinated prior to taking office, and then after the war's outbreak the Nazis take over Russia and later Africa, and everything else goes downhill after that. It is a grim but fun book that makes you think about how close we all came to potentially living in an inane world like the one Dick invites us inside. It's not my favorite book of his, but it definitely possesses all the hallmarks of a Philip K. Dick novel. The stark jacket design by Robert Galster also gets the point of terror across well.