Description
First edition of An Honorable Profession: A Tribute to Robert F. Kennedy, with inscriptions to Leonard Woodcock.
Octavo, 182pp. Black cloth, title in silver on spine. Stated “First Edition” on copyright page. Solid text block, sunned spine, else fine. In the publisher’s matching slipcase, title in black on white panel affixed to spine. Signed on the half-title: “For Leonard: Who Loved Him as I / Molly — 2.15.69.” Also signed on the title page: “To Leonard Woodcock – Who was such a good friend + helped so much / Frank Mankiewicz.”
Leonard Woodcock (1911-2001) was the President of the United Auto Workers, the Chief of the US Liaison Office to the People’s Republic of China, and the first US Ambassador to China. Woodcock’s skills in negotiation from his time with the UAW made him a favorable selection to President Carter, who was looking to renew relations with China in the post-Vietnam world. During the Carter administration, Woodcock led the negotiations responsible for establishing full diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1979. He would continue this role through 1981, ultimately serving both the Carter and Reagan administrations.
