Meyer Levin. First edition, stated first printing. New York: Simon & Shuster, 1956. Unclipped dust jacket (in a mylar wrapper) is in Very Good condition. With original $5.00 price still intact. The DJ has some soiling on it. Hardcover is in Very Good+ condition. Ex libris pasted on inside cover. No writing or markings found inside the book, 495 pp. The iconic dust jacket is designed by the great Paul Bacon and has been featured in more than one dust jacket classsic design books.
Meyer Levin's Compulsion fictionalizes the notorious 1924 Leopold and Loeb murder case — a crime Levin covered firsthand as a young Chicago reporter. Published nearly a decade before In Cold Blood, it's now recognized as a foundational work of the "nonfiction novel" genre later popularized by Capote and Mailer.
This copy is a true first edition, stated first printing, published by Simon & Schuster, New York, 1956.
Design significance: The dust jacket was designed by Paul Bacon, one of the most influential book-jacket designers of the 20th century. Compulsion marks the debut of Bacon's celebrated "Big Book Look" — bold oversized type paired with a small, spare image — a style that went on to define countless classic covers and has been featured in multiple books on dust jacket design history.
