Hard Candy

New York: William Morrow and Company. Near Fine in Near Fine dj. (c.1988). First Edition. Hardcover. [very slight wear to one lower corner, otherwise clean and nice; the jacket has some very slight edgewear and a couple of tiny nicks at the spine ends, and is just a touch faded along the spine]. The author, "daughter of a Runyonesque fight promoter, has raced through headlines, prison gates, revolutions, and romance. These are her true adventures -- life in the fast lane with rich and dangerous people. Hymie Caplan [her father] used to carry his 'beautiful Babsie' to his gym, where the tiny child entranced his boxers with her lilting songs. One of the gym's regulars, Damon Runyon, told Barbara years later that she was the original model for his famous Little Miss Marker." (Boxrec-dot-com describes Hymie Caplan as "a colorful and popular New York-based boxing manager known as 'Howling Hymie. [He] lived with his fighters around the clock when they were in training while simultaneously managing their business affairs [and] proved extremely effective in both regards. During a ten year span he steered five fighters to world championships." He also, per the jacket blurb, went to jail "on a bum rap" when Barbara was seven years old, and her mother died while he was serving his sentence; her subsequent life had plenty of twists and turns, involving "romances with heads of state, hair-raising escapades with the drug-laden jet set, a spiritual pilgrimage with a holy swami, a passionate secret affair with a famous playwright," and more! (This was actually her second memoir; the previous book (published in 1976) was called "Beautifully Kept," and chronicled her experiences as a mistress to several rich and powerful men.) ****NOTE that additional postage charges will be assessed for international shipping of this moderately heavy book; if this concerns you, please contact us for a shipping quote before placing your order. As always at ReadInk, domestic Media Mail shipping is FREE.**** .