FRANKLIN LIBRARY/SIGNED - INVISIBLE MAN, Ralph Ellison LEATHER 1980 MINT Cond

Invisible ManisRalph Ellison\'s first novel, and the only one published during his lifetime. It was first published by the British magazine Horizon in 1947,and addresses many of the social and intellectual issues faced byAfrican Americansin the early 20th century, includingblack nationalism, the relationship between black identity andMarxism, and the reformist racial policies ofBooker T. Washington, as well as issues of individuality and personal identity.

Invisible Manwon the U.S.National Book Award for Fictionin 1953, making Ellison the firstAfrican-American writerto win the award.In 1998, theModern LibraryrankedInvisible Man19th on its list of the100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.Timemagazine included the novel in its 100 Best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005 list, calling it \"the quintessential Americanpicaresqueof the 20th century\", rather than a \"race novel, or even abildungsroman\".Malcolm Bradburyand Richard Ruland recognize ablack existentialistvision with a \"Kafka-like absurdity\".According toThe New York Times,Barack Obamamodeled his 1995 memoirDreams from My Fatheron Ellison\'s novel.