The Second World War, Volume 1: The Gathering Storm
Winston S. Churchill
📚 Genre
History - Military History / World War II
🏢 Publisher
Houghton Mifflin Company
📅 Publication Year
1948
🔢 ISBN
Not applicable for this vintage book club/special edition set
About This Book
Volume 1 of Churchill's monumental historical account of the events leading up to and during World War II, focusing on the rise of totalitarianism and the failure of appeasement. The spine features a striking blue and red cloth binding with gilt lettering.
Book Details
Language
English
Pages
640
Edition
Chartwell Edition (Book Club Edition)
Series
The Second World War, Volume 1 of 6
Target Audience
Adult, General Audience, Historians
Collector Information
Condition
Very Good. The spine shows clean gilt lettering, intact cloth binding with minimal edge wear, and vibrant colors on the blue and red panels.
Estimated Value
$15-$30 for an individual volume in this condition
Rarity
Common. The Chartwell and other book club editions of Churchill's multi-volume work were widely printed and remain easily accessible on the secondary market.
Historical Significance
Authored by the wartime Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill's six-volume history won him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 and remains one of the most influential historical works of the 20th century.
Collector Notes
Chartwell editions are generally collected as reading copies or complete decorative sets rather than high-investment rare books. Store upright in a temperature-controlled environment away from direct sunlight to preserve the cloth spine and gilt.
Similar Books
The Gathering Storm by Winston Churchill, The Churchill War Papers edited by Martin Gilbert, The Storm of War by Andrew Roberts, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer
Notable Features
Chartwell Edition special book club binding, decorative gilt ornamentation on spine