The River War.

London: Longmans, Green, and Co.,, 1902. First abridged edition, first impression. For this edition (the second overall), Churchill shortened the text by a third but added a new preface and chapter on the destruction of the Khalifa and the end of the war. The book was first published in two volumes in 1899. "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" (Langworth, p. 27). In his abridgement Churchill also extensively revised the book to omit any criticisms of Kitchener and the British Army: "as a Conservative MP, he found it prudent to tone down his questioning of the imperialist adventure" (Rose, p. 61). Octavo. With frontispiece, maps and plans, six of them folding. Original red cloth, gilt titles and pictorial decoration to both spine and front board, black endpapers. Marginal browning, hinges starting and front free endpaper becoming loose, but overall a very good, cloth slightly rubbed at the extremities, spine sunned, chipping and splitting at head and tail. Woods A2(b).