Beschreibung
This is the elusive U.S. first edition of Churchill's second book, increasingly scarce thus in the striking dust jacket. Originally published in England in 1899, this was one of the few Churchill books that did not see a U.S. first edition concurrent with the British. In 1933 a new edition was issued in both England and, for the first time, in the U.S. with a bibliographically significant new introduction by the author explaining that "A generation has grown up which knows little of why we are in Egypt and the Sudan." This is one of just 1,040 U.S. first edition copies issued. Per Richard Langworth (p.35), binding was probably done in England, using English sheets and a Scribner's title page cancel, since copies are bound in the identical lilac cloth as the Eyre & Spottiswoode edition of the same year. However, the striking dust jacket is unique to this U.S. first edition, printed in red and black, bearing R. C. Woodville's dramatic illustration of the Charge of the 21st Lancers. This copy is very good plus in a very good dust jacket. The lilac cloth binding is clean and tight with sharp corners and only mild shelf wear to extremities and a very slight forward lean. The contents are clean, retaining a crisp feel, plausibly unread. While there is mild age-toning, we find no spotting and no previous ownership marks. The top edges show only mild shelf dust, the fore and bottom edges clean. The dust jacket is nearly complete, the only losses being fractional chipping to the spine head and a neatly price-clipped upper front flap. The red rules on the spine are inevitably toned and there is light overall soiling, but shelf presentation is nonetheless quite respectable and overall condition of the jacket is compelling for the edition. The dust jacket is protected beneath a removable, clear, archival cover. The River War recounts Churchill's experiences and perspective on British involvement in the Sudan. The text is arresting, insightful, powerfully descriptive, and of enduring relevance. Mohammed Ahmed was a messianic Islamic leader in central and northern Sudan in the final decades of the 19th century. In 1883 the Mahdists overwhelmed the Egyptian army of British commander William Hicks, and Great Britain ordered the withdrawal of all Egyptian troops and officials from the Sudan. In 1885, General Gordon famously lost his life in a doomed defense of the capitol, Khartoum, where he had been sent to lead evacuation of Egyptian forces. Though the Mahdi died that same year, his theocracy continued until 1898, when General Kitchener reoccupied the Sudan.With Kitchener was a very young Winston Churchill, who participated in the battle of Omdurman in September 1898, where the Mahdist forces were decisively defeated. In his book about the British campaign in the Sudan, Churchill - a young officer in a colonial British army - was unusually sympathetic to the Mahdist forces and critical of Imperial cynicism and cruelty. This is manifestly evident in the highly critical comment about Kitchener prominently quoted and bordered in red on the front face of the dust jacket something else unique to this first U.S. edition. Here is a chief figure of the Second World War on horseback on a colonial battlefield, participating in what has been called by some the last "genuine" cavalry charge of the British Army. This work offers us the candid perspective of the future 20th century icon from the distinctly 19th century battlefields where Churchill learned to write and earned his early fame.Reference: Cohen A2.5, Woods/ICS A2(db), Langworth p.35. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 006340
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Bibliografische Details
Titel: The River War, An Account of the Reconquest ...
Verlag: Charles Scribner's Sons, New York
Erscheinungsdatum: 1933
Einband: Hardcover
Zustand des Schutzumschlags: Schutzumschlag
Auflage: First U.S. edition.
