(London: Longmans, Green and Co, 1898).

THE FIRST EDITION, AND AN EXTREMELY FINE AND CLEAN COPY OF THIS INCREASINGLY HARD TO FIND WORK. The first book written by Winston Churchill who would one day be not only a prolific and prize winning author but one of the greatest figures in modern history. After an education at Harrow and Sandhurst he entered the army in 1895 and embarked on one of the most varied and distinguished careers of the 20th century. He acted as a correspondent for The Daily Telegraph from India and for the Morning Post during the Boer War. His dramatic escape from prison in Pretoria brought him to public attention. He embarked on his political career in 1900 by entering Parliament. While there he held many major offices of state: Home Secretary, Secretary of State for War, First Lord of the Admiralty in which he oversaw naval operations for the First World War, Colonial Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer and eventually in 1940, Prime Minister. The latter office he would hold throughout World War Two and again from 1951 to 1955.
Early in this illustrious life, in 1897, the Daily Telegraph paid Churchill £5 per column for his dispatches from the Northwest Frontier in India, where he first saw action as a soldier, and after his return he fashioned these articles into the book here offered. It was the author's first book and only 2000 copies were printed; it is of course now very difficult to find, especially in such fine condition. Item #26936

First edition, first issue of the book, no other printings were issued of the first edition but one. This copy with the printed errata slip tipped in. A complete and perfect copy. With a photographic portrait frontispiece, 2 folding maps in colour and 4 sketches and plans. 8vo, publisher s original pale green cloth lettered in gilt on spine and cover. Now housed in a very fine light-red morocco fold-over case, the spine panel of the case with raised bands stopped in gilt, the compartments with gilt ruled frames, lettered and numbered in 3 compartments in gilt. xv, 336, 32 ads. An extremely fine copy, all tissue guards present, maps and sketches all in especially fine condition, the cloth as pristine and about as fine and clean as one could hope to find.