Macdonald, Ross. (Pseudonym of Kenneth Millar). THE BLUE HAMMER.

New York: Knopf, 1976. Uncorrected proofs. 8vo.This copy bears the publisher's instruction on the front cover to send the book (for review) to "Paul Nelson." Nelson interviewed Macdonald extensively in 1976 (some 60 hours of tape) for a feature article in Rolling Stone. However, the article was suppressed by Macdonald who objected to references concerning the death of his daughter due to a drug overdose. Laid into this copy is a holograph page of the author's notes that enumerate possible titles for the book -- "Portrait Of The Artist As A Dead Man" and "Death Mask" are among a dozen possibilities. At the bottom of the page Macdonald has written out a paragraph that explicates the book's published title: "I watched the steady pulse in her throat, the beating of the silent hammer which meant that she was still alive. I hoped she would stay alive for a long time." Fine. A provocative association copy. Printed wrappers.