Progress of Nations: The Story of the World and of Its Peoples from the Dawn of History to the Present Day (10 volume set) [SIGNED]

Chicago: Department of Rehabilitation, Disabled American Veterans of the World War, 1930 Contributing Editors: William Kenneth Boyd, Edgar Dawson, William Scott Ferguson, et al. 5,215 pp, 2,300 illustrations, and 231charts and maps (the set). Complete 10 volume set of the National Patron of Honor Edition. Not registered to a specific patron. Signed on the right dedication page of volume 1 by Herman H. Weimert, National Commander of the Disabled American Veterans of the World War. Collection is complete, condition is Fine, all volumes. Clean, bright, and tight. Very minor darkening to leaf edges. Full leather, with no cracking. Green boards with ornate and beautiful gilt artwork to front cover, gilt decoration and lettering to spine. Beautifully illustrated end papers of the history of man through time. Top edge gilt. All text, as well as numerous illustrations and maps are in fine condition. A complete and fine set of a scarce collection. This set provides a unique snapshot into the world's history and into the thinking of American veterans at the end of the first World War, optimistically thought to be the "war to end all war." Its objective of understanding America's role in a turbulent world is particularly timely. This thorough collection is not only for those who love beautifully wrought books, but also for those interested in history, war, peace, and in remembering those who sacrifice in times of strife. These 10 volumes tell the history of the world-ancient, medieval, and modern-and the history of the United States though the end of the first great World War. In addition to text, the set tells its story via thousands of black and white and color photographs and illustrations, and via hundreds of maps and charts, many color fold-outs. From the foreword: "…we have emerged from a world war, fought on our part to determine whether this nation, or any nation, may choose its way in peace. Five million Americans were called to the colors, and two million went overseas. Fifty thousand remain there forever. With the shock of this titanic conflict fresh in our experience, we now seek to understand its causes. Whether or not we may desire it, our interests have been drawn beyond America to the common problems of mankind. We are realizing that to comprehend the history of the United States one must know the history of the world. To promote, then, the intelligent civic insight that is one of the highest attributes of Americanism, this survey of the world's past has been prepared." From the website of the Disabled American Veterans organization (nee Disabled American Veterans of the World War), explaining its origins: "When the troops came home from World War I, some 300,000 carried grim reminders of war: disabling injuries, battle scars, gas-seared lungs, and prolonged illnesses. Following a tumultuous hero's welcome, America wiped the horror of war from its mind almost as quickly as the ticker tape was swept from the streets of New York City. As a result, the needs of the nation's disabled heroes were swept aside as well. Prejudice kept capable and qualified-but disabled-veterans from gaining employment in a job market with few enough opportunities to offer anyone. Veterans' benefits programs were administered by three separate government agencies with conflicting and overlapping responsibilities, leaving disabled veterans with massive confusion and red tape. Without a medical system dedicated to their needs, many disabled veterans found themselves sleeping on cots-or even on floors-in the halls of America's overwhelmed hospitals. Some just gave up the struggle, sitting on street corners with tin cups and signs reading: "Help Me. I'm a Disabled Veteran." Angered by the negligence and incompetence of the federal government in dealing with their problems, disabled veterans began forming local self-help groups in cities across America. In 1920, leaders from 250 of these groups gathered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Under the charismatic leadership of Judge Robert S. Marx, himself a veteran disabled in France, they federated into