The Face of the Clam
The Face of the Clam is a 1947 novel by author Luther Whiteman.[1] The story is a fictionalized account of the Dunites, a group of bohemians who lived in the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes on the Central Coast of California from the 1920sā1940s.[2] Humorously, Whiteman claims in a disclaimer at the front of the book, that the Dunites never existed.[3][4]
![]() First edition | |
Author | Luther Whiteman |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Comic novel California fiction |
Publisher | Random House (1947) South County Historical Society (2010) |
Publication date | 1947 |
Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
Pages | 248 |
ISBN | 9780967346496 (2010 paperback) |
OCLC | 6713124 |
Reprinted as an Armed Services Edition after WWII, the novel was long out of print and considered rare, but the South County Historical Society published a new edition of the book in 2010.[5]
Publication history
Random House published the original edition in 1947. An Armed Services edition (Volume 1242) was published by the U.S. military for soldiers in the Korean War in the same year. The book was out of print and considered rare until the South County Historical Society published a new edition in 2010, with an introduction written by Jane Garrod Whiteman, the author's daughter.[5]
See also
- Tortilla Flat (1935)
References
- Burger, Nash K. (1947, January 19). California Beachcombers. The New York Times, BR12.
- Linn, Sarah (July 8, 2013). The Dunites: Building a Utopia in the Oceano Dunes. Artbound. KCET.
- Hammond, N. (1992). The Dunites. Arroyo Grande: South County Historical Society. pp. 101ā102.
- Briggs, M. (2009, July 16). Interview with Norm Hammond ~ author of "The Dunites". Vulpes Libris.
- Schwellenbach, A. (2010, September 8). When life hands you clams. New Times.
Further reading
- Davidson, W. (1947, February 2). A Strange Story of Pismo Beach Clams and Cults. Chicago Daily Tribune, C4.
- Krieger, D. (2010, September 12). Discover the Dunites. The Tribune (San Luis Obispo).