The End of the Beginning

Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1943. First Edition, second printing. Hardcover. This is the U.S. first edition, second printing of the third of Churchill's seven war speech volumes. This second printing was issued in August 1943, the same month as the first printing. The dust jacket is identical to that of the first printing and the volume beneath differs only in notation of the second printing on the title page verso.

The End of the Beginning contains speeches throughout 1942. This year was a low point of the war, full of setbacks and disappointments across the globe for the British. Throughout the year Churchill's speeches conveyed sober, resolved, and eloquent defiance - with of course an occasional sparkle of Churchillian wit, even in the dark hours of the war. The title of this volume comes from Churchill's 10 November 1942 speech at the Lord Mayor's Day Luncheon in London at a time when fortune finally favored the British with victories in North Africa: "The Germans have received back again that measure of fire and steel which they have so often meted out to others. Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

Condition is very good in a very good minus dust jacket. The red cloth binding is square, clean, bright, and tight with sharp corners. The only defect to the binding is some wrinkling to the spine cloth. The contents are crisp and bright with no previous ownership marks and no spotting. We find only a small spot of soiling on the fore edge. We would grade this copy as better than near fine if not for the first signatures, comprising the title page through page 16, partially loose, firmly affixed to the binding along the upper edge, but slightly protruding from the text block along the lower edge. The dust jacket is highly complete, with only fractional loss at the spine ends and flap fold corners, and retains the original “$3.50” price on the upper front flap. The red jacket spine panel is sunned, but the white print therein remains clearly legible. The jacket shows light overall soiling to the white rear panel, wear at the spine ends and along the upper and lower edges of the front panel, and a few superficial scuffs to the spine and front panel. The jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover.

Few books are as emblematic of Churchill’s literary and leadership gifts as his war speeches volumes. During his long public life, Winston Churchill played many roles worthy of note - Member of Parliament for more than half a century, soldier and war correspondent, author of scores of books, ardent social reformer, combative cold warrior, Nobel Prize winner, painter. But Churchill's preeminence as a historical figure owes most to his indispensable leadership during the Second World War, when his soaring and defiant oratory sustained his countrymen and inspired the free world. Of Churchill, Edward R. Murrow said: "He mobilized the English language and sent it into battle." When Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953, it was partly “…for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values.”

Between 1941 and 1946, Churchill's war speeches were published in seven individual volumes in both British and U.S. editions. The U.S. first editions were generally published in smaller numbers and are considerably scarcer today than their British counterparts.

Reference: Cohen A183.2.b, Woods/ICS A94(b.2), Langworth p.220