The River War (2 vols.) de Winston S. Churchill - 1899

2 vol, First edition, first printing, second state, with typographical correction to p459 vol 2, entirely complete as per Woods, (2a) with portrait frontispiece, all plates and illustrations, all 34 maps, many folding, and 32 page publisher's catalogue at the back of vol 1 Original publisher's cloth bindings, with occasional spotting, cracked hinges, ex-WH Smith library with labels to pastedowns, original cloth, very rubbed and worn, split to spine covering (vol 2), loose bindings but still intact 8vo

This is one of the rarest of all Churchill first editions, in that only 2,000 copies were printed

The River War: An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan (1899), by Winston Churchill, concerning his experiences as a British Army officer, during the Mahdist War (1881-1899) in the Sudan.

The River War is a history of the British imperial involvement in the Sudan, and the Mahdist War between the British forces, led by Lord Kitchener, and the Dervish forces, led by Khalifa Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, heir to the self-proclaimed Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad who had embarked on a campaign to conquer Egypt, to drive out the Ottomans.

The River War was Churchill's second published book after The Story of the Malakand Field Force, and originally filled two volumes with over 1000 pages in 1899 The River War was subsequently abridged to one volume in 1902.

The unabridged version of 1899 contains many illustrations with drawings, photogravures, and colored maps It also contains vivid narratives of personal adventures of the author, his views on British expansionism, passages of deep reflection about the requirements of a civilized government, criticism of military and political leaders and religion.  The first edition was reviewed by The Times, which described it as containing material sufficient for two good books and one bad one, with the bad one being the more interesting.