Thursday, January 12, 2017

Thrift Shop Book Covers: "The Deep"

The Deep is Peter Benchley’s second novel, published as a hardcover by Doubleday in 1976. The Bantam paperback, published a year later, is the edition that caught my eye. A tie-in to the film, the cover art is reminiscent of the movie poster, but very much original to the book. A female scuba diver stretching towards the water’s surface where a boat awaits. Below, what appears to be the ribbing of a sunken ship. The artist: Unknown (to me, at least).  






















The opening paragraph:

“It was ten o’clock in the morning when the captain noticed that the wind had begun to die.”

The Deep, following the success of the film of Benchley’s novel Jaws, was filmed almost immediately by director Peter Yates with a screenplay by Peter Benchley and Tracy Keenan Wynn. Nick Nolte, Jacqueline Bisset and the reliable Robert Shaw were the major on screen players.

6 comments:

Peter Brandvold said...

Reminiscent of the JAWS paperback cover, as well. These are two of the first "adult" novels I read back in the mid-70s. Enjoyed them both. Some of the best paperback covers came out of the 70s.

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

I must read both THE DEEP and JAWS again. I haven't read THE ISLAND, his third popular novel.

Ben Boulden said...

Very much like the JAWS paperback cover art. The 1970s are probably my favorite era for PB cover art, excepting the majority of the photography covers. I especially like the Fawcett Gold Medal covers from the era.

Ben Boulden said...

Prashant. Me too. I read both in the early-1990s (maybe late-1980s) and I still think of them as favorites.

TracyK said...

Do you really find these in thrift shops? I have had no such luck. I was reading about Jaws yesterday and it made me want to try something by Peter Benchley.

Ben Boulden said...

Hi, Tracy. Usually, I find my thrift shop book cover books in thrift shops. Most of the used bookstores in my city are gone, and I do most of my used book shopping in a couple thrift stores. Deseret Industries and Savers. I found this copy of THE DEEP at Deseret Industries, which has a really good selection with turnover and everything. The only bad thing, and it is a big thing, is the books are removed from the shelves after six or seven weeks and disappear forever, most likely in the recycle bin.