Biden, Joe (Biden, Beau)

Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose

ISBN: 9781250171672
New York, NY: Flatiron Books, 2017. First Edition. Hardcover. Signed by President Joe Biden. "In November 2014, thirteen members of the Biden family gathered on Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a tradition they had been celebrating for the previous forty years; it was the one constant in what had become a hectic, scrutinized, and overscheduled life. The Thanksgiving holiday was a time to connect and to reflect on what the year had brought and what the future might hold. But this year felt different from all those that had come before. Joe and Jill Biden's eldest son, Beau, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor fifteen months earlier, and his survival was uncertain. "Promise me, Dad," Beau had told his father. "Give me your word that no matter what happens, you're going to be all right." Joe Biden gave him his word." (from front flap) The poignant memoir by President Joseph Robinette ("Joe") Biden Jr. (b. 1942), written & published after the end of his Vice-Presidency under the Obama administration & before his becoming the 46th President of the United States. Already shadowed by tragedy (his first wife & infant daughter were killed in an automobile accident in 1972), Biden's family faced a crisis when his & his wife (now First Lady) Dr. Jill Biden's son Beau (Joseph Robinette Biden III, 1969-2015), an accomplished U.S. Army officer who had served in the Iraq War, fell ill with a brain tumor. This memoir describes the tribulations of Beau's illness during the last months of his life, his death & the months afterward, which coincided with a most eventful period of his father's Vice Presidency. Joe Biden drew strength from his surviving family & the resiliency he had acquired after the previous tragedy, & fulfilled the promise he had made to his son. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket, "First Edition: November 2017" as stated on copyright page, first printing as indicated by number sequence thereon. On the second blank white front endpaper, Biden has hand-written his signature in bold black ink. A sad but inspiring collectible memoir by President Biden in its rarest original form, greatly enriched by his full signature. Book in very fine condition with only a touch of wear & a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of front, back covers & spine; tiny bumps at upper corners of a few page leaves; otherwise substantially mint inside & out. Dust jacket very fine with only a few tiny-to-small instances of light rubbing to blank off-white areas of front cover (which contains a printed, not affixed, medallion stating "Signed/ Edition" near upper left corner); a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of front, back covers, spine & flaps. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #5584]

Price: $600.00