Description
First edition of A Soldier’s Story by General Omar Bradley, inscribed to Lieutenant General Manton Sprague Eddy, commander of the XII Corps during WWII.
Octavo, xix, [1], 618pp. Tan cloth, title printed in red and blue over cloth on spine. Illustrated endpapers with maps of the European theater. The second printing of A Soldier’s Story, lacking the “first edition” statement on copyright page. In publisher’s near fine, first state dust jacket, $5.00 on front flap, short closed tear to rear panel, bright illustrations, scarce in this condition. Housed in custom blue cloth clamshell.
Inscribed on the title page: “For Lt. General M.S. Eddy, whose outstanding leadership contributed so much to the story told here. Best wishes, Omar N. Bradley.”
Lieutenant General Manton Sprague Eddy (1892-1962) served in both World War I and World War II. During World War II, he commanded the 9th Infantry Division in North Africa and at the Battle of Normandy. During the Battle of Normandy, his troops captured the French port city of Cherbourg, which earned him the Distinguished Service Cross. In August 1944, Eddy was given command of the XII Corps in George Patton’s Third Army. He led the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine. During the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, he successfully held off the German army’s southern offensive.
In this memoir, Bradley noted of Gen. Eddy that “…none was better balanced nor more cooperative than Manton Eddy. Tactically he performed with the classical maneuvers such as the one he employed at Jefna. Yet though not timid, neither was he bold; Manton liked to count his steps carefully before he took them.”
