Memoirs (Signed)

David Rockefeller

ISBN 10: 0679405887 / ISBN 13: 9780679405887

Published by Random House, New York, 2002

About this Item

First Edition (correct Random House number line). Flat-signed by David Rockefeller on his own simple bookplate. The bookplate is on the front end paper. I have provided a photograph. Both the book and the dust jacket are in excellent condition. The book has the look of being unread. The pages appear immaculate. There are a lot of them, 517, but unsurprisingly the paper is of very good quality, so the book feels even thicker than the 517 pages would suggest. My speculation about the book being unread is due also to the lack of any apparent wear. I don't see any creasing of any kind in the text. There is one thin shadow of a crease, suggesting something very lightly pressing down, on the last two pages of the Index and the About The Author page, quite minor. There are no markings in the book. The bookplate is the only attachment. And there isn't any writing to be found anywhere. The page edges are very clean. The middle page edge is deckled or rough-cut. They did a very good job. There are 14 pages of photographs. They all look in perfect condition. There is no toning anywhere in the book, certainly no foxing. Some of the photographs are of family members. Others show Rockefeller with Khrushchev, Zhou Enlai, Kissinger, Nixon, Golda Meir, King Hussein of Jordan, Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter, George Bush, James Baker, Brent Snowcroft, Arafat, Nelson Mandela, William Simon, and Gerald Ford. The covers of the book look very good, very clean. I don't see any soiling. The gilt lettering on the spine is very bright. There is just a light bit of the usual crinkling at the spine ends. The cover edges look perfect. So do the corners. The book is very solidly bound from cover to cover with nicely tight pages throughout and nicely tight covers as well. There are no binding issues in this very thick book. You can see the dust jacket in the first few photos. I have always had it in a fitted protective cover. The jacket is very clean. There are no tears. The spine ends look very good. There may be one or two little crinkles, nothing conspicuous. The flaps are in excellent condition, very clean. There isn't any conspicuous wear, one small, thin, light crease just off the rear top edge. The jacket is NOT price-clipped ($35.00), not clipped at all. You should be able to make out the blurbs on the rear cover. If not, Kissinger praises the books 'candor', finds the description of Rockefeller's upbringing 'fascinating.' Nelson Mandela calls it a 'superb memoir, ' Kofi Annan 'candid, incisive, and moving', and John Kenneth Galbraith 'thoroughly engaging.'.

Seller Inventory # 004807

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Memoirs (Signed)
• Publisher: Random House, New York
• Publication Date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0679405887
• ISBN 13: 9780679405887
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Crème de la crème
  • Finance, Economics, Business & Investment
  • Signed Biography, Autobiography

About this title

Synopsis

David Rockefeller was born in 1915, the youngest child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., one of the richest men in the United States, and the great patron of modern art Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. He graduated from Harvard College in the depths of the Depression, when the capitalist order, which his grandfather had helped to create, was under relentless attack. He studied at the London School of Economics and the University of Chicago, where he earned a Ph.D.

He worked briefly for New York City’s flamboyant mayor Fiorello La Guardia before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1942. His service as an intelligence officer in North Africa and France brought him into contact with many of the individuals who would soon dominate European politics and gave him a unique perspective on the events and personalities that eventuated in the “twilight struggle” of the Cold War.

Rockefeller joined the Chase bank in 1946 as an assistant manager in the Foreign Department and rose through the ranks to become chairman of the board and chief executive officer. During that time, he struggled constantly to modernize and internationalize the bank’s operations, often against a conservative and risk-averse corporate culture.

During his eighty-seven years, David Rockefeller has:

• come to know world leaders ranging from Zhou Enlai to Mikhail Gorbachev, Anwar Sadat to Ariel Sharon, General Augusto Pinochet to Saddam Hussein
•worked with every U.S. president since Dwight Eisenhower, at times serving as an unofficial emissary on high-level missions
•traveled to more than one hundred countries, logging approximately five million miles while circling the globe dozens of times

Throughout his life David Rockefeller has been passionately interested in the welfare of the world around him, particularly in the city of New York. His involvement with Rockefeller Center, the Museum of Modern Art, the Rockefeller University, the redevelopment of the Wall Street area and the building of the World Trade Center, and many other projects is revealed in these memoirs.

It’s almost inconceivable that one man’s life could encompass so many things. But David Rockefeller’s life has, and he tells the world all about it in this candid and highly informative book. This is the first time a Rockefeller has ever told his own story.

As a financier, a philanthropist, and the ultimate ambassador without portfolio, David Rockefeller, scion of one of history’s most fabled families, has experienced a life that is unique in every aspect. This, in his own words, is the story of that remarkable life.

About the Author

David Rockefeller was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Chase bank for many years. He has since retired and currently sits on many project and charity boards. He lives in New York City.