2001

2001 is significant in the publication history of The Power of the Dog: its republication offered a neglected novel another chance to reach readers, after critical acclaim had failed to bring it a substantial audience.

Before the Republication

In the late 1960s, reviewers praised the novel, but it sold few copies. Emily Salkin of Little, Brown and Company, who later drove the 2001 republication, noted that the publisher’s sales records did not reach back to 1967 and estimated that the hardcover edition had probably sold no more than 1,000 copies. The contrast between strong critical response and limited readership set the context for its return.

The 2001 Return

Emily Salkin was the force behind bringing the neglected novel back into print in 2001. The republication renewed its availability, though the evidence describes the opportunity it created rather than documenting a measurable change in sales or readership.

Significance

The novel remained virtually unknown to the general reading public, including many specialists in Western literature, and was only occasionally found on ranch bookshelves. In this context, 2001 represents a second chance for a work whose literary reputation had outlasted its original circulation: renewed publication reopened the possibility of readers discovering it.