72.17

St. George and the Godfather. New York: New American Library, late October, softcover. Nonfiction narrative on the 1972 political conventions, 229 pp., $1.50.

Dedication: “To dad (alias Isaac Barnett Mailer).” A September publication date is given on the copyright page; it is incorrect, as explained in 72.12, 72.19. Rpt: Advance excerpts appeared in Life (72.10) and New York Review of Books (72.20); 76.5; with an introduction by John Leonard in the first hardcover and (simultaneous) softcover editions. New York: Arbor House (83.49); 98.7 (partial).

“ So Norman Mailer, who looked to rule himself by Voltaire’s catch-all precept, ‘Once a philosopher, twice a pervert’ and preferred therefore never to repeat a technique, was still obliged to call himself Aquarius again for he had not been in Miami two days before he knew he would not write objectively about the Convention of ’72. ” — Mailer, 72.17

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  Cover of the first edition.

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Bibliography

Reviews

• Cook, Bruce (November 4, 1972). "Aquarius Rex". National Observer. pp. 1–15. Positive.
• Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher (October 16, 1972). "St. George and the Godfather". New York Times. p. 39. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
• Solotaroff, Robert (January 15, 1973). "The Glop of the Wad". Nation. pp. 87–89. Positive.
• Wills, Garry (October 15, 1972). "Aquarius Returns to Miami". New York Times Book Review. pp. 1, 22. Positive.

Essays

• Adams, Laura (1977). Existential Battles: the Growth of Norman Mailer. Athens: Ohio UP. pp. 171–174.
• Bailey, Jennifer (1979). "The Novelist versus the Reporter". Norman Mailer: Quick-Change Artist. New York: Harper & Row. pp. 105–115.
• Ehrlich, Robert (1978). Norman Mailer: The Radical as Hipster. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. pp. 143–152.
• Leonard, John (1972). "Introduction". St. George and the Godfather. New York: Arbor House.
• Radford, Jean (1975). Norman Mailer: A Critical Study. London; Basingstoke: Macmillan Press. pp. 165–175.
• Smith, Gordon Michael (October 26, 2012). "When McGovern Met Mailer". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2018-12-18.