WAR-TIME SPEECHES A Compilation of Public Utterances in Great Britain; In Connection with the Session of the Imperial War Cabinet and Imperial War Conference 1917.

First American (and first hardcover) edition, first printing. Signed by J. C. Smuts. Publisher's original red cloth with gilt titles to the upper board and spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth and gilt bright and fresh. The contents are clean throughout. Complete with the very good rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that has a couple of short tears and small chips to the extremities and a previous owner's inscription to the blank front flap.

Signed by the South African statesman, military leader and philosopher in blue ink on the front endpaper. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, Smuts served as prime minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 to 1924 and 1939 to 1948.Smuts was an internationalist who played a key role in establishing and defining the League of Nations, United Nations and Commonwealth of Nations. He was often accused of being a politician who extolled the virtues of humanitarianism and liberalism abroad while failing to practice what he preached at home in South Africa. He was a white supremacist who supported racial segregation and opposed democratic non-racial rule. At the end of his career he supported the Fagan Commission's recommendations to relax restrictions on blacks living and working in urban areas.