Maugham, W. Somerset

Books And You

London, England: William Heinemann Ltd., 1940. First Edition. Hardcover. "The first thing I want to insist on is that reading should be enjoyable. Of course, there are many books that we all have to read, either to pass examinations or to acquire information, from which it is impossible to extract enjoyment. We are reading them for instruction, and the best we can hope is that our need for it will enable us to get through them without tedium. Such books we read with resignation rather than with alacrity. But that is not the sort of reading I have in mind. The books I shall mention in due course will help you neither to get a degree nor to earn your living, they will not teach you to sail a boat or get a stalled motor to run, but they will help you to live more fully. That, however, they cannot do unless you enjoy reading them." (from part I, pgs. 3-4) A compilation of three articles originally commissioned by The Saturday Evening Post with a lengthy preface by W(illiam) Somerset Maugham (1874-1965), the British author who was among the most popular of the twentieth century & remains a venerable figure. Subtitled "A Dissertation Upon Reading," Maugham brings the wisdom acquired from a lifetime of reading & writing to these now-classic essays. First British edition of 1940, hardcover in original unclipped dust jacket. A cornerstone for the reader, writer & collector; a relatively short but rich rarity in the prolific Maugham canon. Book in very fine condition with only very light wear & a few tiny bumps to edges & corners of front, back covers & spine; light-to-moderate rubbing, browning & spotting to edges of text block esp. upper edge. Interior very fine with only moderate browning of page leaves & esp. paste-downs, endpapers; small spot-stains at blank margins of some of same. Dust jacket relatively near-fine with moderate-to-significant rubbing, browning & spotting to front, back covers, esp. spine & flaps; loss of paper at thin edges, corners of same esp. at spine, upper edges of back cover & flaps; otherwise minor wear & a few tiny bumps at all other edges & corners. Very Fine / Near Fine. [Item #3967]

Price: $75.00