Description
The first edition of The Story of George Romney: Builder, Salesman, Crusader by Tom Mahoney, inscribed by Gov. George Romney to AP Reporter Richard Pyle.
Octavo, ix, [3], 275pp. Maroon cloth, title stamped in gilt on spine. Stated “First Edition” on copyright page. Internally clean, solid text block. Light soiling to cloth boards. In the publisher’s dust jacket, $4.00 on front flap, shelf wear, a few closed tears, bright illustrations.
Inscribed on the front free endpaper to Associated Press Reporter, Richard Pyle: “To Dick Pyle, I have enjoyed our regular contact during the campaign and first months of my administration in Lansing. With best wishes always, George Romney 5/9/63.”
Richard Pyle (1938-2019) was an Associated Press reporter and editor who worked for the wire service for more than four decades, covering major events around the world. He reported extensively from Vietnam during the war, often alongside photographers Horst Faas and Nick Ut, and survived multiple combat assignments, including the 1975 helicopter crash in which photojournalist Larry Burrows and others were killed. Pyle later served as AP’s Saigon bureau chief and continued to cover international conflicts, politics, and disasters before returning to New York as a senior correspondent.
George W. Romney (1907-1995) began his career in business, rising through the ranks to become the president and chairman of American Motors Corporation (AMC) in the 1950s. Under his leadership, AMC focused on compact cars, a strategy that proved highly successful and helped the company compete with larger automakers. Transitioning from business to politics, Romney was elected as the Governor of Michigan in 1962, gaining a reputation for his progressive policies and advocacy for civil rights. His political career reached a national level when he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for President in 1968. Later, under President Richard Nixon, he served as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, where he worked on housing reform and desegregation efforts. He is the father of Senator Mitt Romney.
