Description
First edition of Soldier: The Memoirs of Matthew B. Ridgway, signed by the author on a bookplate.
Octavo, [10], 371pp. Three quarter red cloth, blue cloth spine, title in gilt on spine. Stated “first edition” on copyright page. Light wear along top edge, dust remnant to text block, offsetting to endpapers. Spots of soiling to side panels. In the publisher’s dust jacket, sunning to spine, some wear along top edge at spine, $5.00 retail price on front flap, overall a very good example. Signed by Matthew Ridgway on bookplate, affixed to half title.
General Matthew B. Ridgway (1895-1993) served as the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II. After his notable Allied victories in the Italian Campaign and the Battle of Normandy, Ridgway took command of the XVIII Airborne Corps. He commanded the corps in the Battle of the Bulge, Operation Varsity and the overall Western Allied invasion of Germany. After the war, he served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952-1953), the Army Chief of Staff (1953-1955) and as a member of the “Wise Men” group, advising President Johnson on the Vietnam War.
