San Francisco: McSweeney’s Books, 2003. First Edition, First Printing, with the complete number line ending in “1.” SIGNED by William T. Vollmann in ink on the title page of Volume One.

Seventeen years in the making, Rising Up and Rising Down is William T. Vollmann’s monumental examination of violence: its causes, justifications, consequences, and its complicated relationship to morality, freedom, oppression, history, and human behavior.

It is difficult to think of another contemporary American literary undertaking quite like it. Vast in scale and uncompromising in ambition, the work extends across seven volumes and more than 3,000 pages, combining history, philosophy, reportage, personal observation, photography, and what Vollmann calls his “Moral Calculus”, an attempt to construct an ethical framework through which acts of violence might be judged.

The Set ~ Seven octavo volumes, approximately 9¾ × 7 inches, illustrated throughout.

Volume I: 282 pp.

Volume II: 332 pp.

Volume III: 557 pp.

Volume IV: 495 pp.

Volume V: 340 pp.

Volume VI: 623 pp.

Volume VII: 670 pp.

Volume One, containing the “Moral Calculus” Index, is bound in black paper-covered boards, lettered in gilt on the spine and front board. The remaining six volumes are bound in brown cloth-covered boards with black paper backstrips, likewise titled in gilt.

Condition ~ The seven volumes are Near Fine overall, showing only light evidence of handling and shelving. A few spine tips are gently nudged; several volumes have minor scrapes or small cuts to the cloth, together with occasional rubbing and spotting to the black paper spines.

Small black marks are visible along the corners of the lower edge, the familiar result of contact with the black-paper interior of the publisher’s closely fitted slipcase. The books remain a handsome, exceptionally presentable set.

The Original Slipcase ~ The complete set is housed in the publisher’s original burgundy, gilt-stamped slipcase. The slipcase deserves particular mention. Its extremely tight fit became an issue with these sets, leaving examples vulnerable to splitting and structural failure through ordinary removal and replacement of the seven substantial volumes. This example has been reinforced along the lower edges and shows several small scuffs and light surface scratches. It remains structurally serviceable and presents well, Very Good overall.

A Landmark Vollmann Production ~ Few authors would attempt a work of this magnitude; fewer still could sustain it across seven volumes.

Collector’s Note ~ A substantial and highly collectible example of one of the most audacious works of American literary nonfiction of its era, complete in seven volumes, signed by the author, and preserved in the original publisher’s slipcase.