About this Item
xiv, 15-414 pages; Inscribed and signed by Kermit "Kim" Roosevelt (grandson of the author) to his wife. Contents clean and secure in original tan cloth binding with dark green lettering; cloth worn at spine ends and corners. Dustjacket quite worn, split at folds, missing pices at top and bottom of spine strip (now in protective mylar jacket). Narrow photographic bookplate on front endpaper with image of a skull and lettered "Elvers / His Book" -- next to bookplate a brief inscription: "Darling, I picked this / up in a secondhand / book shop on October 12, 1944. / The book plate is very grim, I think. / Kim Roosevelt" Copyright page includes the statement "Printed in the United States of America" indicating a second or third issue. There is a prefatory note from the author dated April 24, 1916 commenting on political events occuring in the two months since the first issue of the book, particularly the incursions of Pancho Villa into U.S. territory. Additionally, President Wilson had warned Germany that continued submarine attacks on merchant and passenger vessels would lead to American retaliation. Roosevelt's views on the conflict with Germany and foreign relations with other countries, including Mexico, Japan and Korea; National Defense preparedness; Americanism; etc. CONTENTS: Julia Ward Howe's Battle Hymn of the Republic, 11 articles, conclusion, appendix with 4 items: Murder on the High Seas; Americanism; Letter in Reply to Speak at a Mass Meeting on behalf of the Armenians; Record on Preparedness PROVENANCE: Kermit "Kim" Roosevelt, Jr. (1916 - 2000) was the grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt. He was a career intelligence officer who served in the Office of Strategic Services and was the mastermind of the Central Intelligence Agency's Operation Ajax, which orchestrated the coup against Iran's democratically-elected Mohammed Mossadegh administration, and returned Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, to Iran's Peacock Throne in August 1953 for the purpose of returning Western control of Middle Eastern oil supplies. Assigned to Egypt, Roosevelt impressed his colleagues with Project FF, which encouraged the Free Officers Movement to carry out a coup d'état in 1952, and Roosevelt developed close CIA links to the new leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser. In Egypt under Allen Dulles, Kim Roosevelt supervised the CIA's operation to undermine the popular General Neguib and encourage the rise to power of Gamul Abdul Nasser. Even before his decisive victory, Nasser was communicating through Roosevelt to make a settlement with Great Britain. These back channel negotiations eventually produced the treaty signed in October 1954. Hugh Wilford: "[Roosevelt Jr.] had this notion of America forming an alliance with the Arab countries as they emerged from under the sway of Britain and France. He was very concerned with backing Arab nationalists in the region. He saw that as the best way of keeping it within the American orbit, as the Cold War was gathering momentum." The Eisenhower administration, including Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, was initially quite sympathetic towards the Arabist agenda of Roosevelt's and his colleagues and willing to oppose Middle Eastern regimes seen "as backing the Soviet Union rather than the U.S." In discussing Roosevelt's role, Wilford describes him as being among "the most important intelligence officers of their generation in the Middle East.".
Seller Inventory # 45339
Contact seller
Report this item
