Death of a Salesman: 50th Anniversary Edition [Deluxe Edition] [Hardcover]

Arthur Miller (Author), Christopher Bigsby (Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0140285652 | ISBN-13: 978-0140285659 | Publication Date: February 9, 1999 | Edition: 50th anniversary

The tragedy of a typical American--a salesman who at the age of sixty-three is faced with what he cannot face; defeat and disillusionment.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); 50th anniversary edition (February 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140285652
• ISBN-13: 978-0140285659
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #667,970 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rat Race Lost, State of Denial, March 31, 2008

By 

H. Schneider "Hamlet" (Pandistan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death of a Salesman: 50th Anniversary Edition (Hardcover)

Hopeless fathers & sons were a favorite theme of Miller. The pressure of failing aspirations. The horror of failure. Drawn between overconfidence and self-doubt. Flashbacks on scenes from a dreary life. Lies to others and oneself. Failures in job and family.
The play is one of the quintessential pieces of modern American theater. Its themes are known and have been expounded endlessly. Why is it still fresh? I have never watched it on stage nor screen. I have known it for ages, but could not find enough interest to look for a performance, nor to read it. Now LoA does it.
Looking at the reviews here on the Penguin modern classic page, I am wondering about the spread in reviews. From 5 to 1 stars all is there, with a downward slope towards the negative votes. The play has more friends than foes, but on an absolute level, the nays would sink an ordinary ship. Of course quality questions are not decided by democracy. One particularly daft observer produced a perfect inverted version of cultural Stalinism. With perfect perverted logic, he tells us that only positive depictions of the American dream are acceptable. That is completely in line with 'socialist realism': if the artist fails to enthuse about the reigning system, he is condemned.
Thanks to LoA for making me get to know the man Miller. I will definitely look for a movie version or go to a play if I find an opportunity.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Story of a Salesman who Travels but...Never Arrives, March 8, 2005

By 

Stephen Pletko "Uncle Stevie" (London, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Death of a Salesman: 50th Anniversary Edition (Hardcover)

+++++

(Note that this review is for the book "Death of a Salesman: 50th Anniversary Edition" published in 1999)

This book has five sections:

(1) Preface by the playwright, Arthur Miller (Oct. 1915 to Feb. 2005) who provides a very brief analysis of his play (among other things). Its title is "Salesman at Fifty." (This play was published in 1949.)
(2) Actual play itself that has two acts and a requiem. (In fact, the subtitle of this play is "Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and a Requiem.")
(3) Still pictures in black & white and color from the first production of this play in 1949 (starring Lee J. Cobb) and the 50th anniversary production of this play in 1999 (starring Brian Dennehy). There are eleven of these pictures found between the first and second acts.
(4) Afterword by Chris Bigsby (an author, playwright, broadcaster, and University professor). This afterward is an excellent detailed analysis of the play from which I learned much.
(5) Selective chronology of world productions of this play from 1949 to 1999. For example, one entry has the play put on film for CBS in the US in 1985. The lead character was played by Dustin Hoffmann.

The actual Pulitzer Prize-winning play itself is unforgettable. It is about hard-working, traveling salesman Willy Loman, a man whose life has become a permanent nervous breakdown, due to a kind of "success mania." He's about to lose his job, he can't pay his bills, and his sons Biff & "Happy" don't respect him and can't seem to live up to their potential. His wife stills loves him but she is caught up in a state of "bitter helplessness." Willy, now in his sixties, wonders what went wrong (after all, his dream of monetary success should have come true by now!!) and how he can make things up to his family. He is now indeed a "low man."

I shall provide a quotation from Miller's preface and from Bigsby's afterword both of which seem to capture the essence of the play:

Miller:

"The Lomans [especially Willy], like [society's] models...are not content with who and what they are, but want to be other, wealthier, more cultivated [and] closer to power."

Bigsby:

The story of Willy Loman is "a dream shared by all those who are aware of the gap between what they might have been and what they are, who need to believe that their children will reach out for the [monetary] prize that eluded them, and who feel that the demands of reality are too [absolute] and relentless to be sustained without hope of a transformed tomorrow."

Finally, I saw the movie version of this play (starring Dustin Hoffmann) first and then read the actual play. I found that when I did this, the actual play was easier to read and follow.

In conclusion, Arthur Miller has left us a gem of a play that is truly "one of the greatest dramas of our time."

(published 1999; play is 110 pages; entire book is 145 pages)

+++++

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never gets "old!", July 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Death of a Salesman: 50th Anniversary Edition (Hardcover)

I don't think this play will ever truly become dated. The themes are just to basic to human nature. There are cultural issues that come through -- issues I think still prevade in American culture. Arthur Miller will be one of the best forever.