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Highest U.S. Military Copy of Book That Changed the World - $20,000 (Sarasota)
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This volume once influenced global policy in The Library of the Office Chief of Staff, the Army Library, the War Department Library, the Pentagon Library, and the Department of Defense Library. The seller has confirmed with the Pentagon library that this book was deaccessioned according to standard library maintenance practices.
Ex-library books are usually frowned upon by book collectors. In complete contradiction to this thinking, the book now offered gains its stellar provenance and historical value from the libraries it served in. Libraries, prior to the internet, were the information hubs of the world. Library card catalogs were the predecessor of today’s search engines. Continuing the internet analogy, the predominant information “file” influencing geopolitics during the Imperial Era was this book, The Influence of Seapower Upon History.
First published in 1890, The Influence of Seapower Upon History (hereafter called “Seapower”) dramatically changed our world, having a lasting impact on the geopolitical landscape even to the present day. The internet extensively documents the massive influence of Seapower, so this post will only briefly summarize its importance.
Seapower was translated into numerous languages and was devoured by world leaders who desired to expand their reach beyond their national borders. Seapower was lauded by Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, U.S. military leaders, plus the leaders of Germany, England, Russia, and Japan. Indeed, some world leaders, including President Woodrow Wilson, blamed Seapower for the naval military build up that coincided with World War 1.
Without defending or condemning the Imperial Era, the fact remains that this book dramatically changed the course of history.
HISTORICAL SETTING & PROBABLE CHRONOLOGY OF THIS BOOK
In 1918, the Red Baron was shot down, indoor plumbing was not yet common, and World War 1 was not yet called World War 1.
With an unprecedented global conflict in full swing, and with no certainty of the war’s duration or outcome, there was greatly renewed interest in the naval doctrines promulgated in Seapower. Naval blockades and the securing of sea lanes was now paramount.
This freshly copyrighted 1918 volume was ordered by the military and probably first served in the library of the Office of the Chief of Staff. The only military officer with that title was Army Chief of Staff, General Peyton March. March was largely responsible for carrying out the herculean task of transporting over one million American troops across the Atlantic to fight in World War 1. Never before were the doctrines espoused in Seapower more relevant than in the tumultuous year of 1918.
Next, it is reasonable to conclude that this volume was consolidated into The Army Library. A study of the evolution of military libraries in Washington D.C. suggests that this volume then moved in sequence to the War Department Library, the Pentagon Library, and the Department of Defense Library. Many years later, with several pages cracked at the binding, this volume was deaccessioned from its last institution.
While we may never know if this copy passed through the hands of historical giants, this book’s value comes from having been enshrined in the headquarters of a nation whose destiny it had charted.
In terms of sheer historical impact, The Influence of Seapower Upon History probably ranks in the second tier of influential texts, not far below America’s founding documents. The copy now offered, considering its historical significance and provenance, is not unworthy of being in the National Archives.
This is not a book for “fine book” collectors. To assure durability, this working copy was bound in a rugged library binding. It has red, blue, and lead pencil underlining and marginal notes. It has cracked and fragile pages. It is, however, an extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime collectible - the highest U.S. military copy of a book that profoundly changed our world.