Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Kennedy, John F.. Why England slept. Wilfred Funk, New York, 1940.
Price: US$55.00 + shipping
Condition: Fair
Description: xxx, 252p., Top and bottom of spine fraying, corners bumped and fraying., Age toning to page edges and endpapers., The hinge on the back of the front cover is slightly broken.
Seller: Yushodo Co., Ltd., Fuefuki-shi, Yamanashi Pref., Japan
Luce. Henry R.; Kennedy, John F.. Why England Slept. WILFRED FUNK, INC., NY, 1940.
Price: US$75.00 + shipping
Description: general shelf wear, DJ has some rips, price clipped, writing and stamps on title page DATE PUBLISHED: 1940 EDITION: 252
Seller: Princeton Antiques Bookshop, Atlantic City, NJ, U.S.A.
Kennedy, John F.. Why England Slept. Wilfred Funk, Inc., New York, 1940.
Price: US$100.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 252 pp. Red cloth with blue and white design on front and blue and white titling on spine. No dust jacket.Spine is lightly sunned and slightly cocked. Corners lightly bumped, boards have shelf wear and faint dark staining on rear. Binding is very secure. Text block is very good: clean and tight throughout. This is the published edition of Kennedy's senior thesis from Harvard. The title is a reference to Winston Churchill's 1938 book While England Slept which also examined the buildup of German power. A nice copy of a scarce and important work. Size: 8vo
Seller: The Chatham Bookseller, Madison, NJ, U.S.A.
Kennedy, John Fitzgerald. Why England Slept. Wilfred Funk, 1940.
Price: US$150.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Binding Tight Pages Browning Edge Wear To Boards No Dust Jacket Ex- Library With Normal Markings Sixth Printing Previous Owner's Name On First Page
Seller: Pomfret Street Books, Carlisle, PA, U.S.A.
Kennedy, John F. Why England Slept. Wilfred Funk, New York, 1940.
Price: US$250.00 + shipping
Condition: Good
Description: Book is in good conditon. There is an ownership mark on the FEP by Wilma Kennedy. The spine and back cover of the d.j. is missing. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Tall
Seller: Lowry's Books, Three Rivers, MI, U.S.A.
Kennedy, John F.. Why England Slept.. Wilfred Funk Inc., New York 1940, 1940.
Price: US$270.40 + shipping
Description: Fourth printing, August 1940. XXX, 252 pp. Publisher's cloth with dust jacket, pages uncut. Owner's signature on first free end paper. Spine ends and upper corners just slightly bumped, else fine. Condition VG+ to Near Fine. Dust jacket with some minor chips, tears and creases at spine ends and edges, condition Very Good. John F. Kennedy's first book, which was first conceived as an undergraduate thesis while studying at Harvard College. The first printing was published in July 1940 and was quickly followed by another three printings the following month. With an introduction by Henry R. Luce.
Seller: Rönnells Antikvariat AB, Stockholm, Sweden
John F. Kennedy. Why England Slept. Wilfred Funk, 1940.
Price: US$595.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Near Fine Copy In Like Jacket.$2.00 on Flap. 2nd Edition The Futhure President First Book Very Rare In This Condition Beautiful Fresh Copy.
Seller: Jeff Bergman Books ABAA, ILAB, Flemington, NJ, U.S.A.
John F. Kennedy. Why England Slept. Wilfred Funk, 1940.
Price: US$795.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Near Fine Copy Small Bit Of Staining Rare 2nd Edition of The Future President's First Book Rare In This Condition Ownership Name and Small Book Plate Handsome Copy.
Seller: Jeff Bergman Books ABAA, ILAB, Flemington, NJ, U.S.A.
Kennedy, John F.. Why England Slept. Wilfred Funk, Inc., 1940.
Price: US$800.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: J.F. Kennedy's first book. No major damage. Mild browning to pages. A few chips to cover. In excellent condition for age. No Dust Jacket.
Seller: Village Works, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Kennedy, John F.. Why England Slept. Wilfred Funk, New York, 1940.
Price: US$1250.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Very good, first edition book in very good minus dust jacket. Red cloth covered boards with stylized lion on the front board in blue and white. Title on spine is in white lettering against a navy blue background and with white decorative borders; author's name and publisher are in white lettering. Boards are clean. Board spine is lightly sunned; upper and lower outermost edges of boards are somewhat sunned. Upper and lower edges of spine are creased, more so on the lower edge. Small shallow bump along lower edge of front board panel. Fore-edge corner tips are softened and lightly scuffed but not rubbed through, small bump on the lower fore-edge corner of back panel. Upper external page edges are tinted but speckled with loss of color - see photo. Paste-downs and end-papers are darkened from have publisher's glue and transfer stains. First two blank pages have shallow diagonal creasing across fore-edge corners, front paste down and FFEP each have one small speck/stain; back free end-paper has a shallow, slightly diagonal crease the length of the page and near the center. One dog-ear crease on pp. 25-26. Text is age-toned else internally clean. Text block is slightly shaken. Dust jacket is soiled overall (more obvious against the white background of back panel), and scuffed/scratched. All folds are heavily creased. Rub throughs on folds and closed tears have several old tape reinforcements on the reverse side. Significant loss or damage at head and tail of spine, lower edge of front panel and upper fore-edge corner of front panel. To detail a few: Irregular loss at head of jacket spine of approximately 1 3/4" by up to 3/4"; adjacent to that loss is a 1 1/4" slightly diagonal closed tear, with several adjacent creases to the upper edge and across the front panel to the fore-edge fold; lower edge of front panel has a slightly diagonal vertical closed tear of 2 3/4" up through the center; lower right corner has irregular-shaped loss of 1 7/8" up to 1"; loss at tail of jacket spine and carrying over to lower edge of back panel of 2 1/8" by up to 1/2"; upper right corner has loss of 7/8" by up to 1/2" with a number of adjacent diagonal creases, rubs and closed tears. Additional losses at other three fore-edge corners. Upper and lower edges of jacket, including upper edges of inside flaps, have a number of creases, rubs, chips and additional smaller closed tears of 1/2" or less. Back jacket panel has two shallow diagonal creases from the upper to lower edges. Inside flaps have spotting akin to foxing. All flap corners have uniform small clips. Price of $2.00 is intact. Please use close-up options for best inspection and in support of condition description. Additional photos available at your request. International sales to all countries other than the UK and Canada will require use of an alternative shipping company which will result in higher than stated shipping costs. A signature upon receipt may also be required.
Seller: R & G Bliss Books, Excelsior, MN, U.S.A.
Kennedy, John F.. Why England Slept. Wilfred Funk, New York, 1940.
Price: US$1620.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: boards a bit faded/dusty Dust Jacket chipped, spine sunned. Previous owner's book-plate. Dust jacket in mylar guard. Quantity Available: 1. Category: World War II; Great Britain. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 20726.
Seller: Archer's Used and Rare Books, Inc., Kent, OH, U.S.A.
Kennedy, John F.. Why England Slept. Wilfred Funk, Inc, New York, 1940.
Price: US$1650.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Octavo, xxx, 252pp, [5]. Red cloth boards, title stamped in white over blue, light wear to top edge of spine. First printing, with no additional printings mentioned on the copyright page. Solid text block, free of any marks or notations. Offsetting to endpapers, light dust along top edge of text block. (Newcomb 10) In publisher's first state dust jacket, $2.00 price on front flap, blurb by Henry R. Luce on back panel and no mention of later printings on front panel. Chipping and light soiling to rear cover, closed tear to rear panel, faint toning to spine, a scarce dust jacket. "Why England Slept" originated from John F. Kennedy's senior thesis at Harvard University. Originally titled "Appeasement at Munich," Kennedy's work delved into the reasons for Britain's policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany in the lead-up to World War II. His primary focus was on the years 1937-1939. After graduating from Harvard, Kennedy sought to get his thesis published. With some editing and revisions, particularly to make it more accessible to the general public, the work was published under the title "Why England Slept" in 1940. The title change was an allusion to Winston Churchill's earlier work, "While England Slept," which reflected similar themes.
Seller: The First Edition Rare Books, LLC, Cincinnati, OH, U.S.A.
Kennedy, John F.. Why England Slept. Wilfred Funk, Inc, New York, 1940.
Price: US$1750.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: Introduction by Henry R. Luce. Fine in a Very Good jacket, unclipped ($2.00), rubbed at the surface and edges, a few small chips, two strips of reinforcement at the head and foot of the spine. Red buckram with blue and white ink lettering and designs on the spine and front board. Square and firmly bound with a dark blue top stain, clean internally. The first published edition of Kennedy's honor's thesis from his time at Harvard University. He examines the Munich episode and "why catastrophe has enveloped England," while making connections to contemporary American defense.
Seller: Carpetbagger Books, Woodstock, IL, U.S.A.
Kennedy, John F.. Why England Slept. Wilfred Funk, New York, 1940.
Price: US$2250.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: First edition, first printing in dust jacket with publisher's price of $2.00 intact. 252 pp. Bound in publisher's cloth. Very Good, with patches of paper adhered to rear cover pulled from blank verso of the dust jacket. End sheets offset from binder's glue, small vintage bookseller's ticker to front free end paper. In a Very Good dust jacket with rubbing at the folds, soiling, chipping at the corners and spine ends, darkening to spine panel, and light staining which is mostly visible from the blank verso. Originally written as a thesis while JFK was still at Harvard, the book was conceived as a follow-up to Winston Churchill's While England Slept.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Price: US$6183.80 + shipping
Description: 210mm x 140mm (8" x 6"). xxx, 252pp. Signed and dedicated by the author to the Marquis of Lothian [British Ambassador to the United States at the time]. G : in good condition without dust jacket. Tape marks to prelims. Ex Newbattle Lothian College Library
Seller: Barter Books Ltd, Alnwick, NORTH, United Kingdom
Kennedy, John F. Why England Slept.. Wilfred Funk, Inc, New York, 1940.
Price: US$9800.00 + shipping
Description: First edition, early printing of John F. Kennedy's first book. Octavo, original red cloth. Boldly signed in a contemporary hand "Jack Kennedy" on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a near fine very good. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Published the year Kennedy graduated from Harvard, Why England Slept was an expansion of his senior thesis. The title is a variation on the title of Winston Churchillâs work, While England Slept, published about two years before Kennedyâs. It was dedicated to John's parents, Rose and Joe Kennedy. In this work he attempts to explain why England was so poorly prepared for World War II and why Englandâs leaders settled upon the disastrous policies of appeasement. The book served as a warning to those in our country who felt that appeasing Hitler and staying out of the war was a viable option. It became a bestseller in the United States and went through several printings in its first year. (Newcomb, 10)
Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.
KENNEDY John F.. Why England Slept. , 1940.
Price: US$16000.00 + shipping
Description: "KENNEDY, John F. Why England Slept. New York: Wilfred Funk, 1940. Octavo, original red cloth, dust jacket supplied from another copy of the same edition. Housed in a custom clamshell box. $16,000.First edition, sixth printing, of John F. Kennedy's first book, issued four months after the first printing, of JFK's striking analysis of Britain's lack of preparation for WWII, inscribed by him on the front free endpaper to his good friend and long-term neighbor Nancy Tenney Lloyd, "To Ten from Ken!" and further inscribed on the rear pastedown, "Ten: It's my hope that this book will interest youas it is pregnant with significance as are you."Published the year JFK graduated from Harvard, Why England Slept was an expansion of his senior thesis. The title is a variation on the title of Churchill's While England Slept, issued about two years before. Kennedy's work focuses on why England was so poorly prepared for WWII and why its leaders settled upon the disastrous policies of appeasement. The book served as a warning to those in America who felt that appeasing Hitler and staying out of the war were viable options. It became a bestseller and went through several printings in its first year. "For all Americans who are wide awake enough to read this book is invaluable [It is] a remarkable book in many respects If John Kennedy is characteristic of the younger generationand I believe he ismany of us would be happy to have the destinies of this Republic handed over to his generation at once. This book has the rare and immensely appealing quality of combining factuality and breadth of understanding with the truest instincts of patriotism" (Foreword, Henry Luce).While this book is a sixth printing from October, 1940, Kennedy likely inscribed it in 1943 when recipient Nancy Tenney Lloyd (later Nancy Tenney Coleman) was pregnant with her first child, who was to be the godchild of Kennedy's sister, Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy. Nancy Tenney Lloyd had been a long-time neighbor to the Kennedys at their Hyannis Port residence and was one of Kathleen Kennedy's closest friends. In the recently published White House by the Sea, Tenney described herself as "I was like one of the [Kennedy] children." Kick and Nancy referred to each other as "Ken and Ten," and it is clear from this inscription that JFK Jr. also picked up the nickname. At the time, Nancy was married to Navy pilot Demarest Lloyd, Jr. and was expecting her first child, Tangley C. Lloyd. This volume was likely inscribed during Kennedy's service in the Naval Reserve during World War II and just prior to his heroic command of PT-109 in August 1943. Tangley Lloyd was born in April 1944, and tragically her father would be killed in action just a few months later at the Battle of Saipan. Nancy would go on to marry Robert S. Coleman in 1947 and raise a family of six children in Greenwich, CT, but she remained in touch with the Kennedy family, particularly Rose Kennedy in her later years. Stated "Sixth Printing, October, 1940" on copyright page. Recipient's ink signature on front pastedown.Slight rubbing to corners and ends of gently toned spine, a few faint stains to cloth. Wear to dust jacket, with shallow chipping along top edge, mostly at spine. A very good inscribed presentation-association copy."
Seller: Bauman Rare Books, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.
Kennedy, John F. Why England Slept.. Wilfred Funk, Inc, New York, 1940.
Price: US$18500.00 + shipping
Description: First edition of John F. Kennedy's first book. Octavo, original red cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper in a contemporary hand, "For Asa Bordages with best wishes Jack Kennedy." The recipient, Asa Bordages was a feature writer for the New York World-TelegramÂand playwright known for the 1941 play Brooklyn USA. Introduction by Henry R. Luce. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with some small chips and wear to the extremities. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A very nice presentation. Published the year Kennedy graduated from Harvard, Why England Slept was an expansion of his senior thesis. The title is a variation on the title of Winston Churchillâs work, While England Slept, published about two years before Kennedyâs. It was dedicated to John's parents, Rose and Joe Kennedy. In this work he attempts to explain why England was so poorly prepared for World War II and why Englandâs leaders settled upon the disastrous policies of appeasement. The book served as a warning to those in our country who felt that appeasing Hitler and staying out of the war was a viable option. It became a bestseller in the United States and went through several printings in its first year. (Newcomb, 10)
Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.
Kennedy, John F. Why England Slept.. Wilfred Funk, Inc, New York, 1940.
Price: US$28500.00 + shipping
Description: First edition of John F. Kennedy's first book. Octavo, original red cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Miss Brown with many thanks for her help in bringing out this book Best wishes Jack Kennedy." The recipient, Mona Brown was a personal assistant and secretary to Joseph Kennedy for seven years, a period of time which included his ambassadorship to the United Kingdom. She was part of the Kennedy household's innermost circle and spent a considerable amount of time with the Kennedy children, especially young Jack and Kathleen. She transcribed Why England Slept for Jack, the basis for which was his Harvard thesis. Near fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional association. Published the year Kennedy graduated from Harvard, Why England Slept was an expansion of his senior thesis. The title is a variation on the title of Winston Churchillâs work, While England Slept, published about two years before Kennedyâs. It was dedicated to John's parents, Rose and Joe Kennedy. In this work he attempts to explain why England was so poorly prepared for World War II and why Englandâs leaders settled upon the disastrous policies of appeasement. The book served as a warning to those in our country who felt that appeasing Hitler and staying out of the war was a viable option. It became a bestseller in the United States and went through several printings in its first year. (Newcomb, 10)
Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.
Kennedy, John F. & Thurber, Donald. WHY ENGLAND SLEPT. Wilfred Funk, 1940.
Price: US$30221.50 + shipping
Description: WHY ENGLAND SLEPT, Wilfred Funk, 1940, first edition, upper left corner of rear cover bumped, else just about a vg+ copy in a vg dust-wrapper with some light wear and tear. INSCRIBED by the author, most likely at time of publication, to one of his Harvard University classmates, Donald Thurber, who later became a life long friend and a significant political ally from Michigan who aided Kennedy in his 1960 quest for the Whitehouse and later became an University of Michigan Regent. The first book of the author and later 35th President. Accompanied by RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN F. KENNEDY by Donald Thurber published by The Prismatic Club of Detroit and The Charles Kelly Foundation in 1995, first edition, a fine copy being #22/350 copies, this one SIGNED by the author. Herein, Thurber relates in fine detail his friendship with JFK.
Seller: THE FINE BOOKS COMPANY / A.B.A.A / 1979, ROCHESTER, MI, U.S.A.