C: Because Cowards Get Cancer Too…

DIAMOND, John.

$200.00

Item Number: 124373

London: Vermilion, 1998.

First edition of Diamond’s story of his battle with throat cancer. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “To dearest Sally with thanks and – well you know. With love John Diamond.” The recipient, British photojournalist Sally Soames, worked for The Sunday Times from 1968 until 2000 and was highly regarded for her exclusively black and white portraits of many of the most prominent figures of the 20th century including Menachem Begin, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Thatcher, Sean Connery, Rudolf Nureyev, Alec Guinness and Andy Warhol. Soames, who was known to be a warm and personal journalist, performed extensive research on the subjects of her photographs and developed intimate rapports with them during her process resulting in intimate and revealing portraits. In addition to the several world leaders Soames came to know and photograph, she captured the creative energy and personality of some of the world’s most gifted authors, poets, and playwrights. She published two books of photographs during her lifetime, Manpower (1987) with text by Robin Morgan and an introduction by Harold Evans and Writers (1995) with a preface by Norman Mailer. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Author photograph by Sally Soames.

In 1997, English journalist and broadcaster was diagnosed with throat cancer, a subject he wrote about in his weekly column at The Times, for which he won a What The Papers Say award. In 1999, he was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for C: Because Cowards Get Cancer Too.... A BBC documentary was filmed for Inside Story which followed him through treatment, and showed his frustration with his speech difficulties following throat, and later tongue, surgery.