Garibaldi Mack Smith 1956 1st Ex-Library Borzoi Vintage Library Copy

First edition of Denis Mack Smith's Garibaldi: A Great Life in Brief (1956), part of the Borzoi Books 'Great Lives in Brief' series published by Alfred A. Knopf. This concise biography examines the life and legacy of Giuseppe Garibaldi, one of the central figures in the unification of Italy, and reflects Mack Smith's emerging reputation as a leading historian of modern Italy. This copy is an ex-library example from Taylor Memorial Library, Centenary Junior College (Hackettstown, New Jersey), retaining several original mid-century institutional features. These include a vintage-style bookplate, library stamps, call number markings, a date-due slip, and remnants of the original card pocket. Such elements offer a tangible glimpse into the book's working life within an academic collection and may appeal to collectors interested in library history or period institutional artifacts. The volume is bound in publisher's brown cloth with gilt spine titling, now somewhat muted. The text remains complete and legible, with moderate toning throughout and expected wear consistent with library use. A printed map and clean typographic layout enhance the presentation of this compact historical study. While not a collector's copy in the traditional sense, the combination of first edition status and intact mid-century library features makes this an appealing and authentic example of a working academic volume from the period. Denis Mack Smith (1920-2017) was a British historian and one of the foremost scholars of modern Italian history. A fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, he is best known for his biographies of Garibaldi, Cavour, and Mussolini. His work helped shape English-language understanding of Italian unification and political development in the 19th and 20th centuries.…