The River War by Winston, First Edition (51 results)

Paperback. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. Book.

Mass Market Paperback. Condition: Very Good. 1st Printing.

Condition: New. Num Pages: 400 pages. BIC Classification: 1HBS; 3JH; HBJH; HBLL; HBW. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 212 x 145 x 28. Weight in Grams: 412. . 2013. 1st Edition. Paperback. . . . .

Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. The River War and Reconquest of the Soudan: Volume 2 - 1899 First Edition 2.07. Book.

Hardback. Condition: Good. First cheap edition hardback, 1933, with no jacket. In overall good used condition with minor signs of age, handling and storage - purple cloth boards rubbed and slightly faded. Binding tight and appears little read. Internally clean, no annotation or inscriptions; toning to page-ends but text, plans and maps bright and clear throughout. Photographs available. Not an old library book.

Condition: Very Good. The Collected Works of Sir Winston Churchill Centenary Limited Edition Volume III: The River War, Winston Churchill, ed. Frederick Woods, Library of Imperial History, London, 1974, 9.5 x 6.5 inches, 343 pp. Emerald green imitation leather slipcase with gilt stamped Churchill coat of arms to front; some light scuffing and indentations to boards; front bottom corners bumped; small tear to bottom back hinge; good condition. White vellum bound boards with gilt stamped border and Churchill's family coat of arms to front, gilt stamped lettering to spine; all edges gilt; emerald green marbled endpapers; emerald green bookmark ribbon attached at top of spine; collated; all maps and plates present; appears unread; like new; fine condition. Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) was a British statesman, writer, and soldier, who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1940-1945 and 1951-1955) and served as a Member of Parliament for sixty-two years. He was a prolific writer throughout his life, producing numerous press articles, biographies, several volumes of memoirs and histories, and a novel. Volume III of the Centenary Limited Edition of the Collected Works of Sir Winston Churchill, containing Churchill's 1899 book "The River War: An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan", which describes the conquest of the Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces between 1896-1899. The Collected Works were published by the Library of Imperial History, London, to mark the centenary of Churchill's birth in 1874. From description in prelims: "The Collection is issued as a limited edition and contains all 50 of Churchill's published titles, arranged in 34 volumes. Only 2,000 sets have been authorized for the British Empire and Commonwealth, excluding Canada, and a further 1,000 sets for the United States of America and Canada." To achieve publication, "eleven publishing houses in Great Britain, the United States and Canada released their individual copyrights, in exchange for the promise that no other complete collection of Churchill's works would be published until the expiration of international copyright in 2019" (Richard M. Langworth).

Eyre & Spottiswoode. London. 1933. First cheap edition [or third edition]. No DW. Original mauve boards, faded and rubbed. Illustrated with maps and plans. Bookplate, endpapers browned, edges foxed. Generally a clean and sound copy.

Hardcover. Condition: New. First Edition. First Edition; First Printing. Leather Bound. Accented in 22kt gold. Printed on archival paper with gilded edges. The endsheets are of moire fabric with a silk ribbon page marker. Smyth sewing and concealed muslin joints. These books are in full leather with hubbed spines. ; First Easton Press Edition.

Hardcover. Second (first one-volume) edition. This is the first one-volume edition of Churchill's second book, The River War, originally published as a two-volume edition in 1899. In 1902 Churchill (by then a new member of Parliament) revised and abridged his text, adding a new Preface and excising much of the criticism of Kitchener for political reasons. For the next 120 years, every one of the many subsequent editions of The River War was based on this 1902 text. This first one-volume edition had only a single printing of 1,003 copies and is considerably scarcer than the first edition. This edition has the same distinctive gilt decoration of the Mahdi's Tomb and gunboat as the first edition, but is bound in red cloth (as opposed to the navy cloth of the first edition).While the original and unrestored binding of this copy is failing, it is noteworthy for relatively clean contents and for being an early issue. Two features distinguish this copy as likely an early binding of the edition. First is the presence of original black endpapers (instead of white). Second is presence of the publisher's catalogue. Cohen (Vol. I, A2.2, p.46) notes "Sales were gradual" and "by 1 June 1908. 407 copies remained on hand" of which 350 were as-yet unbound sheets. Moreover, among the copies we have examined the publisher's red cloth varies quite considerably in hue, from a deep red to distinctly lighter shades. In our experience, darker cloth has corresponded to black endpapers and a bound-in publisher's catalogue. This copy - featuring darker red cloth, black endpapers, and the publisher's catalogue - seems almost certainly among the earlier copies bound and sold by the publisher.Overall condition is only fair due to the fact that the original, illustrated, dark red cloth binding is shaken, still holding to the text block but with a split to the binding cloth spanning most of the front joint, a split starting at the upper rear joint, fraying at the spine ends, general scuffing to the spine, and light wear to the board extremities, including a little mottling at the lower front cover corner. The contents are modestly age-toned, but otherwise quite clean. Trivial spotting appears confined to the prelims and page edges, with the top edges also showing shelf dust. The only previous owner name is inked on the recto of the blank preceding the half title. There are gutter splits between the front free endpaper and following blank and at the rear pastedown, and the binding is shaken, but the mull remains intact and the text block remains anchored to the binding.In 1883, Mahdist forces of messianic leader Mohammed Ahmed forced British withdrawal from the Sudan. In 1885, General Gordon famously lost his life in a doomed defense of Khartoum, where he had been sent to lead evacuation of British-led Egyptian forces. Though the Mahdi died that same year, his theocracy continued until 1898, when General Kitchener reoccupied the Sudan. With Kitchener was a young Winston Churchill, who participated in decisive defeat of the Mahdist forces and the last "genuine" cavalry charge of the British army during the battle of Omdurman in September 1898. Writing about the British campaign in the Sudan, Churchill - a young officer in a colonial British army - is unusually sympathetic to the Mahdist forces and critical of Imperial cynicism and cruelty. 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 A2.2, Woods/ICS A2(b), Langworth p.30.

Hardcover. First U.S. edition. This is the U.S. first edition of Churchill's second book in the striking original 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, though sound, shows age, wear, and aesthetic flaws, its chief virtue being survival of its scarce and compelling dust jacket. Condition of the volume is good, the jacket only fair. The cloth binding is square and tight, though dulled overall and with shelf wear to extremities, including minor fraying and short closed tears to the spine ends. The contents are respectably clean, with only a few incidental instances of spotting within, but nonetheless significantly age-toned. Differential toning to the endpapers corresponding to the dust jacket flaps testifies that this copy has spent life jacketed. There is a "Merry Christmas" gift inscription dated "1940" inked on the front free endpaper recto and the illustrated bookplate of "Sterling E. Lanier" affixed to the front pastedown. Sterling Edmund Lanier (1927-2007) was an American editor, science fiction author, and sculptor perhaps best known for championing publication of Frank Herbert s acclaimed novel Dune.The dust jacket is unclipped, retaining the original $2.75 front flap price. Loss is confined to uneven, shallow strips at the spine ends and fractional loss at the flap fold extremities. Nonetheless, overall appearance of the jacket is grubby, the spine considerably toned and mottled, the faces and flaps soiled with general light wear to extremities. The 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. This work offers us the candid perspective of the future great man of the 20th century 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.

Hardcover. First U.S. edition. This is the U.S. first edition of Churchill's second book in the striking original 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 in a very good minus dust jacket. The cloth binding is tight and clean and has obviously spent life jacketed, despite shelf wear to the bottom edges, light wear to extremities, and a hint of spine toning. The contents retain a crisp feel despite some age-toning. The book feels unread. We find no spotting or previous ownership marks. Even the page edges are clean. Mild differential toning to the endpapers corresponds to the dust jacket flaps, confirming that this copy has spent life jacketed. All maps and plans are present. The dust jacket is complete, apart from fractional loss to the spine ends and corners and a neatly price-clipped upper front flap. The red rule spine border is toned, the jacket shows moderate overall soiling, and there is a tiny, stray ink mark in a blank margin of the lower left front face. The dust jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, 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 great man of the 20th century 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.

Hardcover. First U.S. edition. 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 in a good dust jacket. The lilac cloth binding is clean and tight with unfaded color and sharp corners, but nonetheless shows shelf wear to the extremities, including some fraying of the cloth at the spine heel. The contents are clean; we find neither previous ownership marks nor spotting. All of the extensive maps and plans are present, and all folding maps remain properly folded. The contents are modestly age-toned, including differential toning to the endpapers that aligns with the dust jacket flaps, affirming that this copy has spent life jacketed. The dust jacket has a neatly price-clipped upper front flap, shallow loss at the spine ends, and minor loss to the corners, but is otherwise complete. The jacket shows overall soiling, toning, and wear, most conspicuous at the hinges and flap folds. Nonetheless, this is a respectable example of a scarce and striking jacket unique to the single printing of this U.S. first edition. The jacket is newly fitted with a clear, removable, 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.

Condition: Good. 1900. Hardcover. Complete two volume set. Good copy in original cloth covers. Title in gilt to spine and cover. Light foxing to covers. Loose binding at spine on volume two. Frontispiece present but missing cover. Maps included. Ex-Libris with usual stamps, remains good. First edition copy. . . .

SCARCE FIRST EDITION 2 VOLS, ALL PLATES MAPS PRESENT, EX-LIBRARY, super octavo, blue buckram boards, gilt lettering & tooling to spines & front boards, frontispieces with tissue guards, vol 1- xxii + 462pp & x + 499pp, scruffy (heavy cracking/separation to spine of vol 1, some ex-library markings- some to boards, moderate scuffing & chafing to boards with some fraying to cloth, light to moderate foxing & tanning to page edges & prelims/terminals, light foxing to pages of both vols, light water staining to top corner of pgs to vol 1, heavy cracking to gutters of both vols, boards shaky).

Hardcover (with Dust Jacket). Condition: Very Good. This is an impressively fresh copy of the First American so-called "Cheap Edition" of 1933, in the rare dust jacket, which is not price-clipped. Produced from the original plates for the first 1902 abridged edition, this edition remains important bibliographically for the new Introduction that Churchill wrote for it. The dust jacket has a short closed on the the lower edge of the rear face, else fine. The book is virtually mint, with a tiny initial ownership ink stamp on the front free endpaper. Rare thus. First American Abridged One-Volume ?Cheap? Edition (First Printing) (Cohen A2.5) (Woods A2d). 8vo (381 pages, 22 maps, many folding, some two-color.).

Hardcover. First edition, third and final printing. This is Volume II only of the first edition, third and final printing, a particularly clean and bright copy. The River War is Churchill's second published book, issued in two volumes, the lengthiest from his time as an itinerant cavalry officer and war correspondent during the waning days of Queen Victoria s reign. This first edition is not only compellingly written, but also physically beautiful. The two large, lavish volumes are decorated with gilt representations of the Mahdi's tomb on the spines and a gunboat on the front covers. Each volume is printed on heavy paper with a profusion of illustrations, maps, and plans. This third and final printing is not only the scarcest issue of the first edition, but also the last unabridged issue to be published until 2020. All three printings of the first edition (2,646 copies total) are virtually identical, issued respectively in November 1899, February 1900, and June 1900. Only 151 third printing copies were bound. This copy of the second volume is not only scarce, but particularly so thus, in very good plus condition, fully intact and unrestored. The illustrated cloth binding is square, clean, tight, and uncommonly bright. Shelf presentation is compelling, with no discernible color shift between the covers and spine, both of which retain rich navy hue and vivid gilt. Wear is minimal for the edition, trivial shelf wear substantially confined to the bottom edges, incidental hinge wear, and some wrinkling to the spine ends. The only reportable blemishes are a few tiny spots adjacent to the volume number on the spine. Overall, this is an externally gorgeous copy. The contents remain bright and complete; we confirm presence of all of the extensive maps and plans, as well as the frontispiece, tissue guard, and original black endpapers. The sole previous ownership mark is the armorial bookplate of "John Nicholl Hampson" affixed to the front pastedown. Spotting is comparatively moderate for the edition, conspicuous only to the first and final leaves and page edges, otherwise only occasionally intruding into the blank inner margins.The Mahdi, Mohammed Ahmed, was a messianic Islamic leader in central and northern Sudan in the final decades of the 19th century. In 1885, General Gordon famously lost his life in a doomed defense of the capitol, Khartoum. Though the Mahdi died that same year, his theocracy continued until 1898, when General Kitchener reoccupied the Sudan. With Kitchener to his vexation was a very young Winston Churchill, who participated in "the last great British cavalry charge" during the battle of Omdurman in September 1898, where the Mahdist forces were decisively defeated. On that battlefield Churchill both killed and witnessed the death of comrades. Writing about the British campaign in the Sudan, Churchill - a young officer in a colonial British army - is unusually sympathetic to the Mahdist forces and critical of Imperial cynicism and cruelty. 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. The text is arresting, insightful, powerfully descriptive, and of enduring relevance.Reference; Cohen A2.1.d, Woods/ICS A2(a.3), Langworth p.29.

First abridged edition, first impression. For this edition (the second overall), Churchill shortened the text by a third but added a new preface and chapter on the destruction of the Khalifa and the end of the war. The book was first published in two volumes in 1899. "The River War is a brilliant history of British involvement in the Sudan and the campaign for its reconquest: arresting, insightful, with tremendous narrative and descriptive power" (Langworth, p. 27). In his abridgement Churchill also extensively revised the book to omit any criticisms of Kitchener and the British Army: "as a Conservative MP, he found it prudent to tone down his questioning of the imperialist adventure" (Rose, p. 61). Woods A2(b). Octavo. Original red cloth, gilt titles and pictorial decoration to both spine and front board, black endpapers. With frontispiece, maps and plans, six of them folding. Marginal browning, hinges starting and front free endpaper becoming loose, but overall a very good, cloth slightly rubbed at the extremities, spine sunned, chipping and splitting at head and tail.

Hardcover. First U.S. edition. 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.

First edition, third impression, published a year after the first. The publishers printed 503 copies but wasted most of them to not compete with the upcoming abridged edition: "The result is that only 140 copies of the third printing were ever made available and that it is far and away the scarcest of the first-edition printings" (Cohen). Churchill's second book was based on his own role as a war reporter in the Anglo-Egyptian reconquest of Sudan. "Arguably the most aesthetically beautiful of original trade editions of Churchill's books, The River War is a brilliant history of British involvement in the Sudan and the campaign for its reconquest: arresting, insightful, with tremendous narrative and descriptive power. [the] features of that now distant campaign Churchill impressively captures in precise detail and exciting narrative, including his own role in the last great cavalry charge of British history. Finely written chapters trace the history of the Sudan, the rise of the Mahdi, the martyr's death of Gordon and, apparently not much exaggerated, the author's adventures" (Langworth, p. 27). Churchill himself calls it, in the first sentence, "a tale of blood and war". Provenance: the collection of Steve Forbes. Cohen A2.1.d. Richard M. Langworth, A Connoisseur's Guide to the Books of Sir Winston Churchill, 1998. 2 volumes, octavo. Original dark blue cloth, titles and pictorial decoration gilt to spines and front covers, black endpapers. Photogravure portrait frontispiece to each volume and 5 similar plates (further photogravure in text), 23 colour maps and battles plans of which 20 folding, other maps and illustrations to the text. With 32-pp. publisher's catalogue at rear dated "7/00" (also found dated "5/00"). Cloth a little rubbed and soiled, some spotting to contents, rear hinge of vol. II cracked, light stain to early leaves of vol. I and towards end of vol. II, chip to fore edge of vol. I pp. 187/8 (not into text). A very good copy.

Hardcover. First U.S. edition. This is a superior copy of the U.S. first edition of Churchill's second book in the striking original 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 approaches near fine in a near fine dust jacket. The jacket is remarkable for being entirely complete, not only retaining the original "$2.75" front flap price, but with no loss or tears. We do note a hint of wrinkling to the rear panel, trivial wear to extremities, customary fading of the red spine print, and some light soiling, inevitable given the white dust jacket. Nonetheless, this dust jacket certainly ranks among the most complete and clean examples of which we are aware. The dust jacket is protected beneath a removable, clear, archival cover. The book beneath is equally impressive. The lilac cloth binding is square, clean, and tight, the color suffering no toning or soiling. Shelf wear is negligible, confined to extremities. The contents are immaculately clean with a crisp, unread feel. Testifying that the book is unread, we find uncut signatures throughout. We do not find any previous ownership marks or spotting. Even the page edges are notably clean. The sole defect we find is a horizontal tear to the lower part of the p.79-80 leaf, clearly a result of the uncut signature conjoining the bottom edge of the p.77-78 and 79-80 leaves.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 great man of the 20th century 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.

Hardcover. First U.S. edition. This is a superior copy of the U.S. first edition of Churchill's second book in the striking original dust jacket. First 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 approaches truly fine in a near fine dust jacket. Two aspects of condition distinguish this jacket. First is completeness. The jacket is unclipped, retaining the original $2.75 front flap price, with only fractional loss confined to the flap fold corners. Second, the red spine print retains vivid color quite a rarity among surviving copies of this jacket. These two factors more than compensate for modest overall soiling (virtually inevitable for the white dust jacket) and minor wear to extremities. The jacket is protected beneath a removable, clear, archival cover. The book beneath is more impressive still the best example we have encountered. The lilac cloth binding is square, clean, and tight, the color suffering no toning or soiling, the corners sharp. Negligible shelf wear is confined to the bottom edges. The contents are immaculately clean with a crisp, unread feel. Some signatures remain uncut. We find no spotting, no soiling, no previous ownership marks, and precious little age-toning. Even the page edges are notably clean. Faint differential toning to the endpapers corresponds to the dust jacket flaps, affirming what the binding already testifies that this extraordinary copy has spent life jacketed.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 great man of the 20th century 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.

First US edition, first printing, in an especially nice example of the jacket, and from the collection of Churchill's bibliographer Ronald Cohen. Churchill's second book, first published in Britain in 1899, is based on his own role as a war reporter in the Anglo-Egyptian reconquest of Sudan. "The River War is a brilliant history of British involvement in the Sudan and the campaign for its reconquest: arresting, insightful, with tremendous narrative and descriptive power. [the] features of that now distant campaign Churchill impressively captures in precise detail and exciting narrative, including his own role in the last great cavalry charge of British history. Finely written chapters trace the history of the Sudan, the rise of the Mahdi, the martyr's death of Gordon and, apparently not much exaggerated, the author's adventures" (Langworth, p. 27). In 1933, a new edition was published in Britain. Churchill contributed a new introduction - "Nearly thirty-five years have passed since this book was written, and I am very glad that it is now to take a renewed lease of life". This US publication uses sheets of the 1933 British edition with a cancelled title page. "The dust jacket is unique, bearing R. C. Woodville's dramatic illustration of the Charge of the 21st Lancers. and is especially attractive" (Langworth, p. 36). The print run was relatively small - 1,040 copies - and the jacket is not often encountered, here in commendable condition. Provenance: Ronald Cohen, with his ownership inscription in pencil on the front free endpaper. Cohen's Bibliography of the Writings of Sir Winston Churchill, published in three volumes in 2006, is the authoritative source for collectors, librarians, and dealers. Cohen A2.5. Richard Langworth, A Connoisseur's Guide to the Books of Sir Winston Churchill, 1998. Octavo. Original purple cloth, spine lettered in black. With dust jacket. With 22 maps and plans (many folding). Jacket with very light creasing and a few nicks at extremities, a few patches of soiling, unclipped: a fine copy in near-fine jacket.

First abridged edition, first impression. For this edition (the second overall), Churchill shortened the text by a third but added a new preface and chapter on the destruction of the Khalifa and the end of the war. The book was first published in two volumes in 1899. "The River War is a brilliant history of British involvement in the Sudan and the campaign for its reconquest: arresting, insightful, with tremendous narrative and descriptive power" (Langworth, p. 27). In his abridgement Churchill also extensively revised the book to omit any criticisms of Kitchener and the British Army: "as a Conservative MP, he found it prudent to tone down his questioning of the imperialist adventure" (Rose, p. 61). Provenance: the collection of Steve Forbes. Cohen A2.2; Woods A2(b). Richard M. Langworth, A Connoisseur's Guide to the Books of Sir Winston Churchill, 1998; Jonathan Rose, The Literary Churchill, 2015. Octavo. Original red cloth, spine and front cover lettered and decorated in gilt, black endpapers. Photogravure portrait frontispiece of Kitchener, 14 coloured maps and plans (6 folding), 8 sketch maps in text. Light rubbing at extremities, endpapers a little toned, front free endpaper reinserted, rear hinge with superficial split: a very good, square copy.

Second edition, revised, first one-volume edition. Edited by Col F. Rhodes, D.S.O. With Frontispiece, with tissue guard, maps, and plans, of which six are folding. 8vo. Original red cloth, spine and front cover lettered and stamped in gilt, black coated endpapers, fore and bottom edges untrimmed. London, Longmans, Green, and Co. Churchill's second book, originally published in two volumes in 1899, preceded only by The Story of the Malakand Field Force (1898). The present edition was extensively revised to fit one-volume and included an additional new chapter on the destruction of the Khalifa at the end of the war. An account of Churchill's experiences as a British Army officer during the Mahdist War (1881-99) in the Sudan, in which the ?story of the campaign was firmly embedded in a remarkably sympathetic history of the Sudanese revolt against Egyptian rule. Churchill wrote: 'Those whose practice it is to regard their own nation as possessing a monopoly of virtue and common sense are wont to ascribe every military enterprise of savage people to fanaticism. They calmly ignore obvious and legitimate motives upon the whole there exists no better case for rebellion than presented itself to the Soudanese'. Churchill was also critical of aspects of British imperialism. He censured Kitchener for his part in the desecration of the Mahdi's tomb and the slaughter of wounded dervish soldiers. For all that, he never doubted the 'civilizing mission' of the British in Asia and Africa? (ODNB). It includes, of course, his account of the charge of the 21st Lancers, to whom he was attached, at Omdurman on 2 September 1898, described by the old Dictionary of National Biography as ?that last cavalry charge of the dying century? Internally clean and unmarked, only the slightest rubbing to extremities, a notably bright, near fine copy.

Hardcover (with Dust Jacket). Condition: Very Good. This is a very good copy, in the rare dust jacket, of the Third, and by far the rarest printing of the so-called "Cheap Edition," issued on February 28, 1941, according to bibliographer Ronald Cohen, despite the publisher's indicated 1940 publication date. Produced using the original plates from the first abridged edition of 1902, the "Cheap Edition" remains important bibliographically for the new Introduction that Churchill wrote for it. The unclipped dust jacket here has toned unevenly along the spine, with edge-chipping at the spine head, some faint creases and scratches front and rear, and two fractional losses along the rear upper jacket edge. The cloth is clean and crisp with a tiny crunch to the front upper corner. The contents are nearly fine, with a fractional separation just beginning at the front hinge and specks of foxing to the rear pastedown only. Quite a handsome copy. English Abridged One-Volume ?Cheap? Edition (Third Printing) (Cohen A2.4.c) (Woods A2d). 8vo (381 pages, 22 maps, many folding, some two-color.).

Hardcover (with Dust Jacket). Condition: Very Good. This is a very good copy in the very rare dust jacket of the First Printing of the "Cheap Edition" (as designated by the publisher), printed in 1933 from the original plates for the first abridged edition published in 1902. This edition remains especially important for the new Introduction that Churchill wrote for it. The dust jacket here is in brilliant condition, virtually mint, as is the book itself, inside and out. Rare thus; seemingly unopened. First English Abridged One-Volume ?Cheap Edition? (First Printing) (Cohen A2.4.a) (Woods A2d). 8vo (381 pages, 22 maps, many folding, some two-color.).

Blue Cloth. Condition: Good. First Edition. xxii, 462; x, 499 pages. Frontispieces, b/w plates, text illustrations and maps (some coloured. All present. Old name stamps on a few preliminary pages, shelf wear, one map in vol. I slightly chipped at the bottom. A sound set.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Illustrated throughout. (illustrator). 1st Edition. First edition 1899. Two Volume Set. Folding maps, plates and text illustrations throughout. Some foxing throughout, heavy in places. Publishers gilt decorated dark blue cloth, volume one has some light marking and rubbing and volume two has some damage to the front edge of front board ( looks as though its been very slightly nibbled by a rodent). Some light damp marking to front board and with some general light rubbing and marking in places. Collated with all plates and maps present. Volume one has 462 pages and volume two has 499 pages. Still a good solid set. Book.

Hardcover. First edition, second printing. This is the first edition, second printing of Churchill's second published work, an unrestored, fully intact set in the striking, original bindings. This second printing is readily distinguished from the first printing only by the words "Second Impression" on the title page and a 1900 date replacing 1899. Condition approaches very good. The dark blue cloth bindings are intact and unfaded, with quite respectable shelf presentation, the spines notably unfaded. We note modest wear to extremities, including wrinkling to the spine ends and some overall spine creasing, including some concavity to the upper Volume II spine a typical toll of the massive text blocks. The illustrated cloth bindings are substantially clean, showing only minor blemishes. The contents are complete - all of the extensive Illustrations, Maps, and Plans are present, as are the frontispiece portraits and tissue guards. A noteworthy oddity is that the Vol. II frontispiece was mis-bound by one leaf, preceding the half-title, rather than opposite the title page. The original black endpapers are likewise present; partial cosmetic splits to the gutters do not affect binding integrity, the mull beneath intact. Spotting, endemic to the edition, is present intermittently throughout, but generally light. The sole previous ownership mark in each volume is a vintage personal library bookplate affixed to each front pastedown that of "Edward Alan Reed" with the Latin motto "Solus Cum Illis Nunquam" a lovely inscription for a library translating roughly as "alone with them never". Each lower rear pastedown features the same silver New York City bookshop sticker.Published in two massive volumes, this edition is compelling in every respect. The text is arresting, insightful, powerfully descriptive, and enduringly relevant. Mohammed Ahmed, the Mahdi, was a messianic Islamic leader in central and northern Sudan in the final decades of the 19th century. In 1883 Mahdists overwhelmed the Egyptian army of British commander William Hicks and Great Britain ordered withdrawal of Egyptian troops and officials from the Sudan. In 1885, General Gordon famously lost his life in a doomed defense of the capitol, Khartoum. Though Ahmed died that same year, his theocracy continued until 1898, when General Kitchener reoccupied the Sudan. With Kitchener was a young Winston Churchill, who participated in decisive defeat of the Mahdist forces and the last "genuine" cavalry charge of the British army during the battle of Omdurman in September 1898. In this book, Churchill - a young officer in a colonial British army - is unusually sympathetic to the Mahdist forces and critical of Imperial cynicism and cruelty. This work offers the young Churchill s candid perspective from the distinctly 19th century battlefields where he learned to write and earned his early fame long before he became a 20th century icon.This first edition is not only compellingly written, but also beautiful and bibliographically important. The two large, lavish volumes are decorated with gilt representations of the Mahdi's tomb on the spines and a gunboat on the front covers. Each volume is printed on heavy paper with a profusion of illustrations, maps, and plans. This is one of the few Churchill books for which there was no concurrent U.S. first edition. And the first edition is scarce. There were just three printings of the first edition (2,646 copies total). All three printings are virtually identical, issued respectively in November 1899, February 1900 (503 copies), and June 1900 (140 copies). Bibliographically it is notable that the first edition was the only unabridged edition for well over a century. In 1902 Churchill (then a new Member of Parliament) revised and abridged his text, excising much of his criticism of Kitchener for political reasons.All subsequent editions of The River War, until 2020, were based on this 1902 abridged and revised text.Reference: Cohen A2.1.c, Woods/ICS A2(a.2), Langworth p.29.

First edition, first state, of Churchill's second book, based on his own role as a war reporter in the Anglo-Egyptian reconquest of Sudan. This copy is from the collection of Churchill's bibliographer Ronald Cohen. "Arguably the most aesthetically beautiful of original trade editions of Churchill's books, The River War is a brilliant history of British involvement in the Sudan and the campaign for its reconquest: arresting, insightful, with tremendous narrative and descriptive power. [the] features of that now distant campaign Churchill impressively captures in precise detail and exciting narrative, including his own role in the last great cavalry charge of British history. Finely written chapters trace the history of the Sudan, the rise of the Mahdi, the martyr's death of Gordon and, apparently not much exaggerated, the author's adventures" (Langworth, p. 27). Churchill himself calls it, in the first sentence, "a tale of blood and war". The first state is distinguished by the absence of a quotation mark on p. 459 of vol. II. Provenance: Ronald Cohen, with his ownership inscription in pencil on the half-title of vol. I and the initial blank of vol. II. Cohen's Bibliography of the Writings of Sir Winston Churchill, published in three volumes in 2006, is the authoritative source for collectors, librarians, and dealers. Cohen A2.1.a; Woods A2(a). Richard M. Langworth, A Connoisseur's Guide to the Books of Sir Winston Churchill, 1998. 2 volumes, octavo. Original dark blue cloth, titles and pictorial decoration gilt to spines and front covers, top edges rough-trimmed, black endpapers. Photogravure portrait frontispiece to each volume and 5 similar plates (further photogravure in text), 23 colour maps and battles plans of which 20 folding, other maps and illustrations to the text. Bookseller ticket of Hugh Rees of London to front pastedowns. Cloth a little soiled and rubbed, slight residue to front covers, neat repair to inner hinges with superficial splits remaining, some leaves opened a little roughly, a little toned and foxed. A good copy.