Books

1st printing stated. Volume I only. Binding tight; pages clean but for penciled prior owner name and date on front endpaper; boards show a 1/8" divot to top edge; gilt text to spine bright. Dust jacket is missing front flap; large closed tear down front edge of spine; a few chips to top edge; spine slightly toned (along with top edge of front panel) but still presents comparatively well. Popper's first book either written or published in English, a classic work of political philosophy. (The dust jacket shows the subtitle 'The Age of Plato'; the spine and title page read 'The Spell of Plato.') The prior owner, Heinz E. Ellersieck, was then (November 1945, London), working for the U.S. Air Force intelligence branch before returning to the United States to do research at UCLA; in 1950, Caltech recruited him to the faculty, and he stayed until his retirement in 1988. 'The Open Society' has stayed in print and remains a cornerstone work; first printings are startlingly uncommon. Originally published in two volumes and not published in the United States for another five years. 268 pages. U.S. buyers, please contact me for a possible discount!.

In 'The Open Society and Its Enemies', Popper critiques totalitarianism and defends liberal democracy, examining the philosophies of Plato, Hegel, and Marx.