New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1973. First edition. Inscribed by McGuane to his literary agent Evarts "Zig" Ziegler, with the heading "California 1975": "Dear Zig – I don't do this very well and I loved finding my books in your library. A beautiful dinner – which made me hope for your next trip to Key West. I'm going to smoke this Monte Cristo now and rejoin you and the rest of the fucking company in the living room. Love, Tom." A Near Fine copy in like dust jacket. Upper board with a small blemish to cloth. Some discoloration to jacket spine. Overall, a very appealing example with a distinctive inscription.

The inscription in this copy implies that, while attending a party at Ziegler's home in Los Angeles, possibly in celebration of the 1975 film adaptation of the novel, McGuane ducked into the library to smoke a cigarette. There, he came across a copy of Ninety-Two in the Shade and inscribed it for his agent. The result is a uniquely candid and personal inscription that symbolizes the professional and personal connection between McGuane and Ziegler.

A finalist for the 1974 National Book Award, Ninety-Two in the Shade was one of McGuane's defining works. The darkly comic – and distinctly American – novel portrays the dynamic between two fishing guides in Key West as their professional competition turns to violent rivalry. In 1975, McGuane wrote and directed the film adaptation of the novel, with Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Elizabeth Ashley, Harry Dean Stanton, and Margot Kidder starring.

Evarts "Zig" Ziegler (1916 - 1990) was a prominent Los Angeles literary agent who represented figures like Joan Didion, John Gregory Dunne, Mario Puzo, and William Goldman. Ziegler represented McGuane throughout the 1970s, a particularly successful (and chaotic) period in McGaune's career, during which authored both The Bushwacked Piano (1971) and Ninety-Two in the Shade and penned the screenplays for Rancho Deluxe (1975) and The Missouri Breaks (1976), the latter of which starred Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. (Item #8281)