The World Crisis (first abridged and revised edition), inscribed and dated by Churchill in the United States the month after his near-fatal encounter with a car in New York City by Winston S. Churchill - 1931

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1931. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. This is the first abridged and revised edition of Churchill's monumental and acclaimed history of the First World War, inscribed and dated by Churchill the month after his near-fatal encounter with a car in New York City. Churchill’s signature in black in three lines on the front free endpaper reads: “Inscribed by | Winston S. Churchill | Jan. 1932”. We commissioned the binding in full navy morocco, deferential to the original cloth binding color, featuring hubbed spine with gilt-tooled and decoratively framed raised bands, gilt devices in the unprinted compartments, and twin tan morocco spine labels. The beveled edge boards are framed in gilt and gilt-tooled turn-ins frame handsome marbled endpapers. The contents are bound with silk head and tail bands and gilt top edge. Condition of the binding is perfect. Condition of the contents is very good for the edition. Modest age-toning is readily apparent only on the untrimmed fore edges which, along with the prelims, show only a trivial amount of spotting. This important edition covering the war years 1911-1918 is not just an abridgement. It incorporates revisions by Churchill with new material, including a whole new chapter on the Battle of the Marne, as well as a new introduction. Moreover, U.S. publication preceded British, making it the true first edition. Churchill's history of the First World War - which he titled The World Crisis - was originally published in six volumes between 1923 and 1931. This first abridged and revised edition was published in the same year as publication of the sixth and final unabridged volume. Churchill was in a special position to write the history of the First World War, which nearly cost him both his political career and his corporeal life. First Lord of the Admiralty from 1911 until 1915, Churchill was scapegoated and forced to resign over the Dardanelles disaster. He spent political exile as a lieutenant colonel of a battalion in the trenches. Before war's end, Churchill was exonerated and rejoined the Government, foreshadowing the political isolation and restoration he would experience nearly two decades later leading up to the Second World War. More near-death experiences – both personal and political – awaited Churchill. When he inscribed this book, Churchill was at the beginning of a decade of “wilderness years” spent out of power and out of favor, frequently at odds with both his party and prevailing public sentiment. In 1931, Churchill’s financial prospects were as threatened as his political future. 1929 saw the loss of Churchill’s ministerial salary as well as devastating financial loss following the crash of the stock market. This speaking tour was conceived to supplement the revenue Churchill was earning as a prolific writer. The tour was a disaster from the start. He was delayed by a House debate on India, arriving in New York on 11 December. Two days later, on 13 December, Churchill received a dinner invitation from his old friend Bernard Baruch, who lived on Fifth Avenue. Churchill had been there before, but did not recall the exact address. He left his cab to search on foot and was met with the peril of every transatlantic traveler; he looked the wrong way to cross the street and was struck by a car. Witnesses feared he had been killed. However, as he later recalled, he “must be very tough or very lucky, or both” as he fully recovered. Churchill restarted his lecture tour on 28 January, 1932. Given the inscription date, it seems that this book was inscribed either for one of those who cared for him during his convalescence or immediately upon his return to the lectern. It is remarkable to consider that when this book was inscribed, the Second World War was still nearly eight years distant and more than thirty more years in Parliament still lay ahead of Churchill, as did two premierships spanning more than eight and a half years at 10 Downing Street. Reference: Cohen A69.5.a, Woods/ICS A31(ba.1), Langworth p.115.