Hello America

Published in 1981 by Jonathan Cape, Hello America is a satiric dystopian adventure set roughly a century after environmental collapse has forced the evacuation of the United States. The narrative follows an expedition from a revitalized Europe that lands in a deserted, golden-hued Manhattan to investigate anomalous radiation signals. Led by the stowaway Wayne, who dreams of becoming President, the explorers trek west across an arid continent of buried cities and dried riverbeds, eventually reaching Las Vegas. There they encounter President Manson, a grotesque recluse who rules a jungle kingdom of teenage gangs and robotic simulacra of former presidents, presiding over the ruins of American power. A surreal inversion of the frontier myth, exploring the persistence of cultural icons even in a wasteland.

Hardcover. First Edition, First Printing. Octavo, bound in tan boards, with brown lettering on spine. London: Jonathan Cape, 1981. ISBN: 0224019147. #10580.
Fine in fine dust jacket.