Description
First edition of At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, inscribed to his aide de camp, Major John B. Hull.
Octavo, viii, 400pp. Black cloth, title in gilt on spine. Stated “first edition” on copyright page. Light dust along top edge of text block, appears mostly unread. In the publisher’s first state dust jacket, $6.95 on front flap, shallow chipping at head of spine, faint sunning to spine, a near fine example. Signed on Gettysburg, Pennsylvania bookplate: “For: John B. Hull / with best wishes / from Dwight D. Eisenhower.” At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends is a collection of essays and anecdotes that were too personal or did not fit the narrative of his official memoirs from the previous year.
The recipient of this copy, Major John B. Hull (1921-2003), was the son of a distinguished military family and a graduate of West Point in 1943. Hull served with distinction in France during World War II, where he received five Purple Hearts, the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and numerous other medals. In 1946, while Hull was attending the University of Minnesota Gradate School, General Dwight D. Eisenhower requested him as his military aide de camp. Hull served in the role until 1947, when medical conditions forced his discharge from the army.
