A "STRIKING MANIFESTO, A STIRRING INDICTMENT AND A STRAIGHTFORWARD ROAD MAP TO VICTORY": FIRST EDITION OF OUR TIME IS NOW, SIGNED BY STACEY ABRAMS

ABRAMS, Stacey. Our Time Is Now. Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America. New York: Henry Holt, 2020. Octavo, original blue paper boards, original dust jacket. $850.

First edition of Abrams' urgent call for continuing the battle against voter suppression—a "story about how and why we fight for our democracy"—scarce preferred first printing with title page containing Abrams' bold signature in black felt pen.

"In 2018, a Black woman arrived at her polling place to cast her vote for Stacey Abrams in the Georgia gubernatorial race. When she arrived, she was refused a ballot because records showed that she had already voted absentee. Such snafus were rampant, and not just in the state of Georgia… This woman was educated, prepared and determined to participate in the democratic process. Eventually the situation was sorted and the woman, Stacey Abrams, cast a historic vote for herself as the first Black woman to represent a major political party as a gubernatorial candidate." Our Time Is Now is Abrams' "striking manifesto, a stirring indictment and a straightforward road map to victory" (New York Times). "Tensions between patience and urgency, between fear and resolve, between the promise of someday and the demands of right now, are at the heart of Our Time Is Now. Abrams covers plenty of territory—identity politics, voting rights and the frustrations and revelations of her gubernatorial race—but above all, she writes about the grinding work required to make real the compact of democratic participation… 'Modern-day suppression,' she argues, 'has swapped rabid dogs and cops with billy clubs for restrictive voter ID and tangled rules for participation'" (Washington Post). Preferred first edition, first printing with integral signature by Abrams. Issued same year as copies with signature on publisher's tipped-in sheet and "signed edition" on dust jacket: no priority established.

A fine copy.