The Pied Piper (Signed)

Richard Cummings

ISBN 10: 039453848X / ISBN 13: 9780394538488

Published by Grove Press, New York, 1985

About this Item

First Edition (Number Line to 1). Signed and inscribed on the first front end paper. The inscription reads 'To Peregrine Whittlesey, with best wishes, Richard Cummings.' You can read a little bit about both of them toward the end of this listing. The blue and red covers are very clean. The edges look very good. The front top corner has a speck-sized spot of rub-through. The spine ends each have a little bit of crinkling. The silver lettering on the spine is very bright. There's a tiny closed tear near the front bottom edge. The middle page edge has some light spotting. The book is very solidly bound from cover to cover with nicely tight pages and nicely tight covers as well. The pages are exceptionally clean and bright, not seeing any soiling. A good many pages have a very light crease, begins at the signed front end paper. It's actually in different places. It doesn't appear to have been a placeholder crease. Anybody's guess. On the inside front cover there is a small square shadow of a sticker of some kind (not sticky) with a penciled date over it. There are no other markings. No attachments. No other writing. The dust jacket looks good, couple of tiny scuffs. The flaps look very good, very clean, some uniform toning, NOT price-clipped, not clipped at all. The jacket will be fitted with a protective cover. From the jacket: 'This is the untold story of the late Allard K. Lowenstein who won fame as the "conscience" of American liberals for his key role in deposing President Lyndon B. Johnson during the Vietnam War. Here the author reveals the stunning truth about the real Lowenstein-- he worked for the CIA in Africa and Spain and informed on suspected communists in the civil rights movement in Mississippi. The Pied Piper explores the career of a complex political figure whose life came to an abrupt and tragic end in 1980 when he was assassinated by a former protégé. Basing his book on secret documents uncovered in years of research, Cummings follows Lowenstein to the ramparts as a student leader in the 50s and 60s when, as head of the National Student Association and as a civil rights activist in the South, he called on disaffected youth to work within the system he wanted to save. As a liberal, anti-Communist organizer who detested segregation, hated apartheid in South Africa, and opposed Franco fascism in Spain, he lent his services to the "good wing" of the CIA which he thought shared his faith in reform to prevent the Communists from exploiting dissent. Lowenstein's story becomes the story of the collapse of the liberal ideology of the Democratic Party. It must be read for a true understanding of contemporary politics and as an important chapter of our recent history which still casts a large shadow over our lives.' Richard Cummings graduated from Princeton University. He held a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a doctorate from Cambridge University in England. He taught political science at Southampton College for a time but soon turned his full attention to writing books. In 1985, he wrote "The Pied Piper: Allard K. Lowenstein and the Liberal Dream." Active in local politics, Mr. Cummings was an early advocate for environmental preservation, one of those who spearheaded what is now known as the Group for the East End. He played a similar role in helping to establish Suffolk County's farmland preservation program.' Peregrine Whittlesey is a literary agent. Over a 40 year career, she has been involved in theater and the arts in important ways, from being one of the founders of the Manhattan Theatre Club to her current work as the agent representing leading playwrights. Her clients include Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz (Anna in the Tropics, Two Sisters and a Piano), Migdalia Cruz, Darrah Cloud, Toni Press-Coffman, Elizabeth Swados, Carmen Pelaez. In addition she represents translators Ranjit Bolt, and Kenneth Caavender, designers Adrian Jones and Jeremy Lee, and directors including Elizabeth Diamond and Nadia Tass. Seller Inventory # 004066

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Pied Piper (Signed)

Publisher: Grove Press, New York

Publication Date: 1985

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good Minus

Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

Traces the political career of Allard K. Lowenstein, the "conscience" of American liberals, who opposed President Johnson, worked for the CIA, and informed on suspected communists, but later found himself being used by the CIA in a campaign of undemocratic practices

From Library Journal:

Though he only served in Congress for a single term, Lowenstein made his mark on American politics in the 1960s and 1970s by recruiting whites into the Civil Rights movement and leading the charge against the renomination of President Johnson. Yet perhaps his greatest achievement was making the top ten on President Nixon's enemies list. Cummings's 1985 portrait follows Lowenstein through all facets of his career. A solid title for public and academic political science and history collections.
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