&sq=&lang=&file=File:ManWithTheGoldenArm.JPG) First edition | |
| Author | Nelson Algren |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | 'Karov' |
| Language | English |
| Published | 1949 Doubleday |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 343 pp |
| OCLC | 565975 |
| LC Class | PS3501.L4625 |
The Man with the Golden Arm is a novel by Nelson Algren, published by Doubleday in November 1949. One of the seminal novels of post-World War II American letters, The Man with the Golden Arm is widely considered Algren's greatest and most enduring work. It won the National Book Award in 1950.[1]
The novel details the trials and hardships of illicit card dealer "Frankie Machine", along with an assortment of colorful characters, on Chicago's Near Northwest Side. A veteran of World War II, Frankie struggles to stabilize his personal life while trying to make ends meet and fight a growing addiction to morphine. Much of the story takes place during the immediate postwar period along Division Street and Milwaukee Avenue in the old Polish Downtown.