Books

First US edition, first printing, in an especially nice example of the jacket, and from the collection of Churchill's bibliographer Ronald Cohen. Churchill's second book, first published in Britain in 1899, is based on his own role as a war reporter in the Anglo-Egyptian reconquest of Sudan. "The River War is a brilliant history of British involvement in the Sudan and the campaign for its reconquest: arresting, insightful, with tremendous narrative and descriptive power... [the] features of that now distant campaign Churchill impressively captures in precise detail and exciting narrative, including his own role in the last great cavalry charge of British history. Finely written chapters trace the history of the Sudan, the rise of the Mahdi, the martyr's death of Gordon and, apparently not much exaggerated, the author's adventures" (Langworth, p. 27). In 1933, a new edition was published in Britain. Churchill contributed a new introduction - "Nearly thirty-five years have passed since this book was written, and I am very glad that it is now to take a renewed lease of life". This US publication uses sheets of the 1933 British edition with a cancelled title page. "The dust jacket is unique, bearing R. C. Woodville's dramatic illustration of the Charge of the 21st Lancers... and is especially attractive" (Langworth, p. 36). The print run was relatively small - 1,040 copies - and the jacket is not often encountered, here in commendable condition. Provenance: First US edition, first printing, in an especially nice example of the jacket, and from the collection of Churchill's bibliographer Ronald Cohen. Churchill's second book, first published in Britain in 1899, is based on his own role as a war reporter in the Anglo-Egyptian reconquest of Sudan. "The River War is a brilliant history of British involvement in the Sudan and the campaign for its reconquest: arresting, insightful, with tremendous narrative and descriptive power... [the] features of that now distant campaign Churchill impressively captures in precise detail and exciting narrative, including his own role in the last great cavalry charge of British history. Finely written chapters trace the history of the Sudan, the rise of the Mahdi, the martyr's death of Gordon and, apparently not much exaggerated, the author's adventures" (Langworth, p. 27). In 1933, a new edition was published in Britain. Churchill contributed a new introduction - "Nearly thirty-five years have passed since this book was written, and I am very glad that it is now to take a renewed lease of life". This US publication uses sheets of the 1933 British edition with a cancelled title page. "The dust jacket is unique, bearing R. C. Woodville's dramatic illustration of the Charge of the 21st Lancers... and is especially attractive" (Langworth, p. 36). The print run was relatively small - 1,040 copies - and the jacket is not often encountered, here in commendable condition. Provenance: Ronald Cohen, with his ownership inscription in pencil on the front free endpaper. Cohen's Bibliography of the Writings of Sir Winston Churchill, published in three volumes in 2006, is the authoritative source for collectors, librarians, and dealers. READ MORE Octavo. Original purple cloth, spine lettered in black. With dust jacket. With 22 maps and plans (many folding). Jacket with very light creasing and a few nicks at extremities, a few patches of soiling, unclipped: a fine copy in near-fine jacket. Cohen A2.5. Richard Langworth, A Connoisseur's Guide to the Books of Sir Winston Churchill, 1998.

The River War: An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan (1899), by Winston Churchill, is a history of the British imperial involvement in the Sudan and the campaign to reconquer the Sudan following the defeat of the revolt led by the Mahdist leader, Muhammad Ahmad.