Richard Nixon signed this first edition of The Real War (Warner Books, 1980) on the limitation page bearing the printed statement 'This copy has been signed by the author.' The bold, confident signature in blue ballpoint reads 'Richard Nixon' in full, placed directly beneath the printed notice, precisely as intended for the signed edition. Published five years after his resignation and one year before his remarkable return to prominence, the book represents Nixon at his most geopolitically unrestrained: a sweeping assessment of Soviet strategy, American willpower, and the Cold War confrontation he believed his contemporaries were dangerously unprepared to fight.
The Real War sold broadly and generated serious debate. Nixon's argument, drawn from decades at the highest levels of American foreign policy, was characteristically blunt: the Soviet Union was engaged in a long-term struggle for global dominance, and the United States was losing ground. Chapters address Soviet military power, the oil weapon, the Vietnam syndrome, and the imperative of presidential leadership, making the book as much a manifesto as a memoir. The volume is housed in its original red and silver slipcase, which remains in excellent condition, and the binding and interior pages are likewise crisp and clean.
This item will be accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity from One of a Kind Collectibles.