The Old Religion [SIGNED]
New York: The Free Press, 1997. First printing. Hardcover. Large octavo (8 3/4 x 5 3/4"). [12], 194, [2]pp. Original illustrated dust-jacket over half burgundy cloth and black paper covered boards, with gold lettering to spine. Title page signed by the author.
"Mamet's book is a searing fictionalized account of the lynch-mob murder of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory owner in Georgia. In 1914 Frank was wrongfully accused of the rape and murder of a white Southern girl. He was tried, convicted, and lynched by a mob. David Mamet reconstructs the inner consciousness of this doomed figure, and in the process, powerfully challenges the assimilated American Jews of today by dramatizing the disastrous consequences of Frank's attachment to secular society.
Based on extensive historical research, "The Old Religion" is artistically compelling and intellectually disturbing. Mamet has written a novel that is partly a work of moral philosophy, focusing on the theme of Jewish insecurity in a Christian society and exploring the psychology of assimilation as he seeks to expose the misplaced trust of Jews in a system of secular laws that is designed not to protect the weak, but to mask our shared impulses towards tribalistic human cruelty." (From the Publishers).
Dust-jacket, binding and interior in very good condition. vg. Item #41836
ISBN: 9780684841199
Price: $45.00