The Education Of Sonny Carson First Edition (Hard Cover)

EXTREMELY RARE FIRST EDITION HARDCOVER

The Education of Sonny Carson by Sonny Carson (as told to Charles Goldman)

First Edition, First Printing - W.W. Norton & Company, 1972

This exceptionally scarce first edition hardcover represents one of the most important autobiographical works to emerge from the Black Power movement. Written by Robert "Sonny" Carson, this raw and unflinching memoir chronicles his coming of age in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn during the 1940s and 50s, detailing his journey through street gang culture, the criminal justice system, and ultimately his political awakening.

The original hardcover edition is virtually unobtainable in the collector's market. While the book gained renewed attention following the 1974 Paramount film adaptation, the initial hardcover printing had a limited run and most surviving copies were heavily circulated through public libraries or personal collections, making pristine examples extraordinarily difficult to locate.

This powerful narrative predates and provides crucial context for Carson's later activism and controversial career as a Brooklyn community organizer. The book's honest portrayal of urban street life, systemic racism, and personal transformation made it both groundbreaking and controversial upon publication, ensuring it remains a seminal text in African American autobiography and social history.

A cornerstone work for collectors of African American literature, Black Power era publications, and 20th-century American social movements.