WHY ENGLAND SLEPT

New York: Wilfred Funk, Inc, 1940. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good/Good. An advance copy of the author's first book, with a printed presentation card from the publisher laid in. The published version of a thesis written by future U.S. President John F. Kennedy (1917-63) during his senior year at Harvard College. It examines the failures of the British government to take steps to prevent World War II and is notable for its uncommon stance of suggesting instead that an earlier confrontation between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany could well have been more disastrous in the long run, rather than castigating the popular appeasement policy that the British government then pursued - and Kennedy's father, as United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, supported during the late 1930s. Introduction by Henry R. Luce. Octavo. Original red cloth binding, with blue and white stamping. A bit of wear to the bottom corners. The dust jacket is moderately edgeworn, with a scuff to the front panel and some light sun fading along the spine; else very good.